SUN Degang
Professor, Ph.D., Fudan University
Research Interests: Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations; Great Powers’ Strategies in the Middle East; China’s Middle East Diplomacy
Email: sundegang@fudan.edu.cn
Dr. SUN is Professor of Political Science at the Institute of International Studies, Director of Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. He was the Editor-in-Chief of Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (published by Routledge, Taylor & Francis), Professor and Deputy Director of the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, China. He was a visiting scholar at Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University (September 2018-September 2019), and Senior Associate Member at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University, and an Academic Visitor to Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (2012-2013), Denver University (2007-2008), and Hong Kong University (2004-2005). His research interests are Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations; Great Powers’ Strategies in the Middle East; China’s Middle East Diplomacy.
Projects:
China’s Participation in the Middle Eastern Security Affairs
China-Arab Cooperation in the 21st Century
Outside Powers’ Rivalries in the Middle East
Publications:
1. Books in English:
Sun Degang with Zhang Dandan, Diplomacy of Quasi-alliances in the Middle East, Berlin: Gerlach Press, 2020.
Sun Degang and Zhongmin Liu, eds., The New Frontier of the Middle East Politics and Security, Beijing: World Affairs Publisher, 2017.
Tim Niblock, with Talmiz Ahmad and Sun Degang, eds., Conflict Resolution and Creation of Security Community in the Gulf Region, Berlin and London: Gerlach Press, 2017.
Tim Niblock, with Alejandra Galindo and Sun Degang, eds., The Arab States of the Gulf and BRICS: New Strategic Partnerships in Politics and Economics, Berlin and London: Gerlach Press, 2016.
Sun Degang and Yahia Zoubir, eds., Building a New Silk Road: China and the Middle East in the 21st Century, Beijing: World Affairs Publisher, 2014.
2. Books in Chinese:
Sun Degang, etc., China’s Participation in the Middle Eastern Security Affairs, Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 2022 (forthcoming).
Sun Degang and Zhang Yuyou, eds., Belt and Road Country Report: the Kingdom of Morocco, Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 2020.
Sun Degang, China’s Participation in the Middle East Governance since the End of the Cold War, Beijing: Social Science Academic Press, 2018.
Sun Degang, The US and European Powers’ Military Bases in the Middle East in the Post-Cold War Era, Beijing: World Affairs Publisher, 2015 (Won the Prize of “Outstanding Books and Articles in Philosophy and Social Sciences of Shanghai”, 2016).
Sun Degang, National Security Strategy in Crisis Management: A Study of Preemption in the Middle East, Shanghai: Shanghai People’s Publishing House, 2010.
Sun Degang, Multi-facet Balancing and A Quasi-alliance Theory, Beijing: Current Affairs Publishing House, 2007 (Won the Prize of “the Outstanding Academic Books of Shanghai International Studies University”, 2008).
3. Articles on SSCI Journals
1. Degang Sun & Ruike Xu, “China and Egypt’s Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the Xi-sisi Era: A ‘Role Theory’ Prism,” Mediterranean Politics, March 2022, DOI: 10.1080/13629395.2022.2035139.（2021 Impact Factor: 1.979）
2. Degang Sun, Haiyan Xu, Yichao Tu, “In with the New: China’s Nuclear-Energy Diplomacy in the Middle East,” Middle East Policy, Vol. 29, Issue 1, 2022, pp. 41-60.（2021 Impact Factor: 0.462）
3. Zou Zhiqiang & Sun Degang（Correspondence Author）, “China’s Seaport Diplomacy in the Eastern Mediterranean: Features, Dynamics and Prospects,” China: An International Journal, Volume 19, Number 4, November 2021, pp. 100-120 （2021Impact Factor: 0.756）.
4. Degang Sun, “China and the Islamic World: How the New Silk Road is Transforming Global Politics,” (Book Review), Journal of Islamic Studies, Volume 32, Issue 3, September 2021, pp. 441–444.
5. Degang Sun and Yahia Zoubir, “Securing China’s ‘Latent Power’: The Dragon’s Anchorage in Djibouti,” Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 30, No.130, 2020, pp. 677-692（2020Impact Factor: 2.345）.
6. Degang Sun and Yahia Zoubir, “China’s Participation in Conflict Resolution in the Middle East and North Africa: A Case of Quasi-Mediation Diplomacy?” Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 27, No. 110, 2018, pp. 224-243（2018 Impact Factor: 2.030）.
7. Degang Sun and Yahia H. Zoubir, “The Eagle’s Nest in the Horn of Africa: US Military Strategic Deployment in Djibouti,” Africa Spectrum, Vol. 51, No. 1, 2016, pp. 111-124 (2015Impact Factor:0.900).
8. Degang Sun and Yahia Zoubir, “China’s Economic Diplomacy towards the Arab Countries: Challenges Ahead?” Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 23, No. 95, 2015, pp. 903-921（2014 Impact Factor: 1.085）.
9. Degang Sun and Yahia Zoubir, “China’s Response to the Revolts in the Arab World: A Case of Pragmatic Diplomacy,” Mediterranean Politics, Vol. 19, No. 1, 2014, pp. 2-20 （2013 Impact Factor: 1.179）.
4. Articles on Other International Journals and Book Volumes
Sun Degang, “International System Transformation and Sino-US Strategic Quasi-alliance,” China Review, No. 2, 2009.
Sun Degang, “China-India-Israel Quasi-alliance Needed,” Journal of Power Politics, Vol. 2, No. 10, 2009.
Sun Degang, “Brothers Indeed: Syria and Iran Quasi-alliance Revisited,” Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Vol.3, No. 2, 2009.
Sun Degang, “The Post-Yichao Duoqiang Pattern and China’s Three-Ring Quasi-alliance Strategy,” Journal of China Review, No. 5, 2010.
Sun Degang, “China and the Global Jihad Network,” Journal of the Middle East and Africa, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2010.
Sun Degang, “Six Decades of Chinese Middle East Studies: A Review,” Bustan: The Middle East Book Review, Vol. 2, No.1, 2011.
Sun Degang, “Outpost for Power Projection: A Chinese Perspective of French Military Bases on African Continent,” Journal of Cambridge Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2011.
Sun Degang, “Shanghai World Expo in 2010: Major Threats and China’s Countermeasures,” Journal of Rivista Italiana, Vol.1, No. 2, 2011.
Sun Degang and Yahia Zoubir, “From Hard Military Bases to Soft Military Presence: US Military Deployment in Iraq Reassessed,” Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Vol. 6, No. 3, 2012.
Sun Degang, “U.S. Military Bases in the Gulf and the Dynamics of Redeployment” in Michael C. Hudson and Mimi Kirk eds., Gulf Politics and Economics in a Changing World, Singapore: World Knowledge, 2014.
Sun Degang, “The Strategic Evolution of US Military Presence in Iraq,” in Omar Al-Ubaydli and Andrea Plebani eds., GCC Relations with Post-War Iraq: A Strategic Perspective, Cambridge, UK: Gulf Research Centre Cambridge, 2014.
Sun Degang, “The Dragon Heads West: China-Arab Cooperation in the New Era,” Georgetown Security Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2015.
Sun Degang, “China’s Security Measures for 2010 Shanghai World Expo: A Retrospect,” Journal of International Relations and Diplomacy, Vol. 3, No. 7, 2015.
Imen Belhadj and Sun Degang, China in North Africa: A strategic Partnership, in Yahia H. Zoubir and Gregory White eds., North African Politics, London and New York: Routledge, 2016.
Sun Degang, “China and the Middle East Security Governance in the New Era,” Contemporary Arab Affairs, Vol. 10, No. 3, 2017.
Sun Degang and Yahia Zoubir, “Development First: China’s Investment in the Sea Constructions and Operations along the Maritime Silk Road,” Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Vol. 11, No. 3, 2017.
Sun Degang and Shuai Zhang, “Marriage without Certificate: On Syria-Iran Quasi-alliance from the Iranian Revolution to the Arab Revolution,” Journal of International Relations and Diplomacy, Vol. 5, No. 9, 2017.
Sun Degang, “Transformations of Regional Environment in West Asia and North Africa,” in Hosam Matar, ed., Arab and Regional Order: Actors and Trends in a Transitional Era (2015-2016), Beirut: The Consultative Center for Studies and Documentation, 2017.
Sun Degang and Hend Elmahly, “NATO vs. SCO: A Comparative Study of Outside Powers’ Military Presence in Central Asia and the Gulf,” Asian Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Vol.12, No.4, 2018.
Sun Degang, “Pains and Dreams on the Silk Road,” The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, No. 31, 2018.
Sun Degang, “From Bystander to Stakeholder? China’s Participation in Middle East Security Affairs,” The Middle East in London, Vol. 14, No. 4, 2018.
Degang Sun, “Will China and the US have a New Cold War in the Middle East?”Araa Magazine (Arabic), August 2020.
Degang Sun and Yahia Zoubir, “AFRICOM’S Military Base in Djibouti: A History of Its Advancement,” in Tshepo Gwatiwa and Justin van der Merwe, eds., Expanding US Military Command in Africa: Elites, Networks and Grand Strategy, London and New York: Routledge, 2021.
Degang Sun, “US Middle East Policy in the Biden Administration” Araa Magazine (Arabic), August 2022.
Degang Sun, “China’s Party Diplomacy in the Middle East,” in Jonathan Fulton, ed., Routledge Handbook on China-Middle East Relations, London and New York: Routledge, 2022.
5. Articles on CSSCI Journals (including CSSCI Extension)
Sun Degang, “Limited War Theory and Israeli Military Action in Lebanon,” Journal of West Asia and Africa, No. 8, 2006.
Sun Degang, “Analysis of Quasi-alliance Diplomacy,” International Review, No. 2, 2007.
Sun Degang, “The Israeli Preemptive Strategy in the Shadow of Iranian Nuclear Issue,” Journal of West Asia and Africa, No. 12, 2007.
Sun Degang, “Quasi-alliance Theory in International Security Cooperation,” Diplomatic Review, No. 6, 2007.
Sun Degang, “Theoretical and Empirical Studies of U.S.-Saudi Quasi-alliance,” Journal of Arab World Studies, No. 5, 2008.
Sun Degang, “The Middle East Factor in Pakistani Terrorist Groups,” South Asia Quarterly, No. 3, 2008.
Sun Degang, “The Yom Kippur War in 1973: A Revisit,” Journal of Social Science Studies, No. 2, 2008.
Sun Degang, “On Turkish Government’s Military Policy to PKK,” Journal of West Asia and Africa, No. 11, 2008.
Sun Degang, “Alliance Diplomacy and the Three-level Games in International Security Rivalry,” International Forum, No. 6, 2008.
Sun Degang, “Preemptive Strike, Preventive War and China’s National Security Strategy in the 21st Century,” International Relations Studies, No. 4, 2008.
Sun Degang, “Israeli Preemptive Strategy and Iranian Nuclear Issue,” Journal of International Data Information, No. 8, 2008.
Sun Degang, “The Yom Kippur War and Nixon Administration’s Crisis Management,” Journal of East China Normal University, No.1, 2009.
Sun Degang, “International System Transformation and Big Powers’ Quasi-alliance Strategy at the Post-Cold War Era,” Journal of Arab World Studies, No. 6, 2009.
Sun Degang, “Analysis of the Dynamics of Preemptive Strike Strategy—An Empirical Study of West Asia and Africa,” Diplomatic Review, No. 5, 2009.
Sun Degang, “On the Four Schools of Preemptive Strategy Studies in Contemporary Western Countries,” Social Sciences Abroad, No. 1, 2009.
Sun Degang, “Transcending the Gap between Historical Studies and International Politics,” International Survey, No. 3, 2009.
Sun Degang and Zhu Weilie, “On the Hot-spot Diplomacy of Western Powers: Models and Their Implications to China,” Journal of Tongji University, No. 2, 2009.
Sun Degang and Deng Haipeng, “Analysis of US Adjustment of Its Military Bases in the Persian Gulf,” Journal of Contemporary International Relations, Vol. 30, No. 5, 2010.
Sun Degang, “On the Global Governance of Somali Piracy Issue: A Public Goods Perspective,” Forum of World Economics and Politics, No. 4, 2010.
Sun Degang, “On the Concept of Military Alliance in International Security Cooperation,” Journal of International Forum, No. 5, 2010.
Sun Degang, “The 1973 Yom Kippur War and the US Mediation Diplomacy,” Fudan American Review, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2010.
Sun Degang, “On China-Arab Strategic Relations,” Journal of Arab World Studies, No. 6, 2010.
Sun Degang, “On Quasi-alliance Strategy,” Journal of World Economics and Politics, No. 2, 2011.
Sun Degang, “On the Efficacy of French Military Base in Djibouti,” Diplomatic Review, No. 5, 2011.
Sun Degang, “US Military Base in Iraq: From Hard Military Bases to Soft Military Presence,” Journal of Contemporary International Relations, No. 2, 2012.
Sun Degang, “On China’s Quasi-Alliance Diplomacy in the New Era,” Journal of World Economics and Politics, No. 3, 2012.
Sun Degang, “French Military Bases in Africa: A Historical Review,” Journal of Tongji University, No. 2, 2012.
Sun Degang, “The Arab Revolt and the Obama Doctrine,” Journal of Arab World Studies, No. 4, 2012.
Sun Degang and Haipeng Deng, “Theoretical Analysis of Foreign Military Bases,” Journal of International Forum, No. 6, 2012.
Sun Degang, “Dynamics of Soviet and Russian Military Bases in Syria,” Journal of Russian Studies, No. 5, 2013.
Sun Degang, “Analysis of US Soft Military Presence in the Maghreb,” Journal of Arab World Studies, No. 6, 2013.
Sun Degang, “Beyond the Francophone: French Military Base in the UAE,” Journal of West Asia and Africa, No. 4, 2014.
Sun Degang and Haipeng Deng, “The Strategic Evolution of US Military Bases in Saudi Arabia,” Journal of Arab World Studies, No. 4, 2014.
Sun Degang and Haipeng Deng, “The Outside Powers’ Military Deployment in the Middle East and Islamic Studies and Its Implications to China,” Global Review, No. 5, 2014.
Sun Degang, “On China’s Foreign Military Presence in the Middle East,” Journal of World Economics and Politics, No. 8, 2014.
Sun Degang, “The Deployment of Japanese Military Bases in Djibouti and Its Implications,” Global Review, No. 3, 2015.
Sun Degang, “Great Powers’ Military Deployment abroad: A Theoretical Survey,” Journal of World Economics and Politics, No. 7, 2015.
Sun Degang, “China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System and the Arab World,” Journal of Social Sciences, No. 7, 2015.
Sun Degang, “The Strategic Readjustment of US Military Bases in the Middle East,” Journal of World Economics and Politics, No. 7, 2016.
Sun Degang and Yuyou Zhang, “Theory and Practice of China’s Participation in the Iranian Nuclear Issues,” Journal of Arab World Studies, No. 4, 2016.
Sun Degang and Yongbiao Zhu, “The Evolution of US Military Bases in Afghanistan,” Journal of Contemporary International Relations, No. 8, 2016.
Sun Degang, “On China’s General Diplomacy towards the Middle East,” Global Review, No. 2, 2017.
Sun Degang, “The Four Dimensions of the US Military Deployment Abroad: A Case of the Greater Middle East,” Journal of International Survey, No. 2, 2017.
Sun Degang, “On the Security Cooperation between US and Israel,” Journal of West Asia and Africa, No. 2, 2017.
Sun Degang, “On China’s Seaport Diplomacy: Theory and Practice,” Journal of World Economics and Politics, No. 8, 2018.
Sun Degang and Zhang Dandan, “‘Belt and Road Initiative’ and China-Arab Strategic Partnership,” Journal of Contemporary World, No. 10, 2018.
Sun Degang and Hend AlMahly, “Homogenous Alliance and the Structural Causes of Saudi-Qatari Discord,” Journal of West Asia and Africa, No.1, 2018.
Sun Degang and Zhang Shuai, “China’s Participation in the UN Peace-keeping Missions in the Middle East: Theory and Practice,” Journal of Arab World Studies, No. 5, 2018.
Sun Degang and Bai Xinyi, “China’s Participation in the Djibouti Seaport Constructions: Reality and Prospect,” Journal of Contemporary World, No. 4, 2018.
Sun Degang and Zou Zhiqiang, “Outside Powers’ Military Deployment in the Eastern Africa: Posture and Impact,” Journal of Contemporary International Relations, No. 12, 2018.
Sun Degang and Zhang Shuai, “Functional Alliance: the New Posture of the Middle Eastern Alliance Politics since the ‘Arab Spring’,” Journal of World Economics and Politics Forum, No. 2, 2019.
Sun Degang and Aml Ali, “Outside Powers’ Outlooks of Middle Eastern Security Governance: A Comparative Survey,” Journal of Arab World Studies, No. 5, 2019.
Sun Degang and Wang Yaqing, “Russian Middle East Policy in the Background of US Strategic Retreat,” Journal of Contemporary World, No. 9, 2019.
Sun Degang and Zhang Dandan, “Peace Through Development: Theory and Trajectory of China’s Participation in the Middle Eastern Security Affairs,” Journal of World Outlook, No. 6, 2019.
Sun Degang, “On China’s Partnership Diplomacy towards the Middle East Countries in the 21st Century,” Journal of World Economics and Politics, No. 7, 2019.
Sun Degang, “Governance by Integration: On China’s Integrated Diplomacy in the New Era,” Journal of World Economics and Politics, No. 4, 2020.
Sun Degang and Wu Sike, “China’s Participation in Middle East Security Affairs in the New Era: Ideas and Practice,” Journal of International Studies, No. 4, 2020.
Sun Degang, “From Following the Trend to Shaping the Trend: On the Outlook of Security Governance in the Middle East with Chinese Characteristics,” Fudan Journal (Social Science Edition), No. 5, 2020.
Sun Degang and Wu Tongyu, “On China’s Science and Technology Diplomacy towards the Arab Countries,” Journal of West Asia and Africa, No. 6, 2020.
Sun Degang and Wang Yaqing, “On the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between China and Saudi Arabia,” Journal of Arab World Studies, No. 4, 2020.
Sun Degang and Han Ruiding, “The Rise and Fall of Arab Nationalism in a Century,” Journal of Contemporary World, No. 1, 2021.
Sun Degang and Yu Zhen, “From Balance of Threat to Multi-Faceted Balancing: the UAE’s Hedging Strategy in the ‘New Middle East’,” Journal of West Asia and Africa, No. 2, 2021.
Sun Degang and Ling Shengli, “Solidarity through Integration: on Entente in the Middle East,” Journal of World Economics and Politics, No. 1, 2022.
Sun Degang and Zhang Jieying, “Complex Identity Politics: Three Dimensions of West Asian Powers’ Participation in Afghan Security Affairs,” Journal of International Security, No. 2, 2022.
