Institute Contexts: Inside the Confucius Institutes

This chapter examines the internal contexts of Confucius Institutes, focusing on the roles of directors, staffing models, and managerial challenges to analyze their operational dynamics. At the institute level, Chinese influence appears most potent compared to (sub)national or (sub)organizational contexts, primarily due to the typically higher number of staff sent from China versus those hired locally. Nevertheless, this chapter argues that the daily operations and decision-making processes within Confucius Institutes are predominantly shaped by local actors. It discusses how a combination of structural and informal factors has empowered locally hired staff, thereby curtailing the influence of staff and directors from China, despite the intention of Chinese stakeholders for their directors to hold authority equal to their local counterparts.