The De:link//Re:link Brown Bag Talks concentrate on a specific areas of research, both from guests and associated researchers, thus offering a platform for synergies under the umbrella of the project’s own research orientation. In general, each talk will consist of a short input of around 15 to 20 minutes, based on a text distributed prior to the meeting. The events are planned in a hybrid format.
Our next Brown Bag Talk will take place on 15 January 2026 at 13:00 CET. De:link//Re:link PI Katja Mielke (bicc) will discuss her recent research in a short lecture entitled Navigating the Field in Afghanistan Post-2021: Epistemological Reflections on Infrastructure (re)Construction and Development Efforts. Conrad Schetter (bicc) will moderate the event and Andrea Fleschenberg dos Ramos Pinéu (HU Berlin) will provide a brief comment.
Description
Four years after the regime change in 2021, Afghanistan is a highly politicized and uncertain research environment. Taking the De:Link//Re:Link research interest in the effects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as point of departure, the talk will focus on two aspects related to Afghanistan: a summary of recent research insights regarding the viability of China’s engagement in the country and an invitation to reflect about knowledge production in highly politicized and uncertain research contexts.
De:link//Re:link members and interested researchers can register here.
Upcoming talks
12 March 2026
Title tbc
Valentin Krüsmann (ZOiS)
Chair: Julia Langbein (ZOiS)
21 May 2026
Reform, Opening Up, Going Out:
Africa-China Engagement from the 1990s to the Present
Jamie Monson (Michigan State University)
This talk will focus on a book chapter Jamie Monson is currently writing. The chapter will use experiences and stories from everyday life to illustrate the local, regional and global context of China-Africa engagement from the 1980s to the present. African states and the PRC implemented economic reforms in the context of globalization in the 1980s, becoming more fully integrated into the global trade and production system. As China developed into the world’s new manufacturing center, goods “made in China” quickly took over African markets. Chinese traders were attracted to do business in many African countries, while the Chinese government invested heavily in African infrastructure projects. These activities of “Chinese in Africa” were welcomed at the same time that they were contested. Meanwhile, African entrepreneurs and students traveled to China to pursue new opportunities and as a result multiple and diverse African communities have now become established in China.
15 July 2026
Gwadar, Imperial Outpost since 1862:
A Survey of Archives and Sources
Hasan H. Karrar (LUMS)
Past talks
13 November 2025
14:00 CET
GCC Economies and Changing Geopolitics:
Connectivity through Sustainability at Sohar Port and Free Zone
Dr. Abdullah Al-Abri
Dr. Dawud Al-Ansari
Chair: Sabine Dorpmüller (AGYA)