Information that comes out of China is extremely difficult to collect and sift through. While many think tanks across the world have set up dedicated China centers, there is still a gap present in looking at the grassroot level chatter in China and making sense of it. The CiCMs are divided into three sections —covering viral or trending topics on Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo; tracking local, regional, domestic and foreign Chinese news outlets and; an analysis section with a focus on how these developments affect Indian domestic and foreign policy. The CiCM newsletters are curated by our interns in totality, who are specifically trained to research and analyse accessible Chinese news. The CiCMs are a great tool for connecting seemingly unrelated news with that of broader Chinese policy developments, and a one of a kind output in India.
About
- To build knowledge, interest and understanding across sectors, professionals and laypeople regarding China’s innate perceptions of —and responses to—Asia and especially India..
- To assess and decode data/resources that narrate the daily ‘chatter’ of China’s domestic circles on happenings both within China and involving China beyond its own borders.
- To link this data/resource collection with the broader political, diplomatic, cultural, economic and social developments taking place and their impact on India’s regional power, India-China ties and India’s national and economic security.
- To ensure that the venture emerges as a go-to resource tool for policymakers, scholars, students and enthusiasts alike.
- To implement research and data from social media ‘chatter’ in China to dedicated subsections focused on India’s neighborhood, Indo-Pacific partners, culture, economics, maritime security and Asian security as forays to study vis-à-vis China’s domestic developments.
- To publish daily newsletters, monthly reports and frequent publications that are dedicated to deciphering broader strategic meaning of on-ground ‘chatter’, data and information vis-à-vis China, China-India relations, Asian security, the Indo-Pacific and the nexus between China’s domestic policies and international outlook.
Now that you are here, we would also love for you to understand our rationale behind our logo and namesake acronym. The orca is considered one of the deadliest mammals, while concurrently ranking as amongst one of the most intelligent species, on the planet. Orca’s are also called ‘Pandas of the Sea’ –allowing a parallel to China’s unofficial diplomats, the giant pandas. This allows ORCA a link to China with its own identity creation in mind. Furthermore, as orcas —despite being ferocious— only defend rather than attack and are known to be great at conflict resolution, our logo’s mascot draws parallels to India’s own strategic autonomy, no-attack policy and role as a promoter of peace and the rules-based order.
Our Team Members
Output and Ventures
Opinion pieces by scholars on China and its workings in Asia and beyond. These well-analysed, substantive pieces on China, Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific landscape with focused assessments on topics ranging from geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific to domestic Chinese politics allow a publication base largely catering to the younger scholars across the world. ORCA’s audience is now global, with the site being routinely accessed across over a hundred countries. Hence, publishing op-eds with us allows scholars –ranging from college students to young professionals –to present their views in front of a niche global audience focusing on all things China.
This output is based on our daily newsletter, Conversations in Chinese Media (CiCM). Fact-based short reports that take a deep dive into certain aspects covered in the CiCMs, these Insights allow interns working with us to delve more acutely into certain facets from their newsletter coverage and connect dots across multiple sources reporting on the same event to deduce its impact. Insights are not exactly analytical in nature; they are critical assessments of particular events that allow readers to at a glance understand the how, what, when, where and why of topics. These publications are limited to submissions by in-house interns only.
This section publishes columns by senior scholars in the field of China and Asia studies on issues of vital importance. Expertise-driven estimations on the present and future of China in particular and Asia at large is covered by leading voices in the field. Uniquely, our Expert Columns allow writers to delve into intelligence based critique; this allows senior scholars the flexibility to write in a manner that conventional media houses and think-tanks would ideally not publish, especially as the pieces are largely encouraged to be predictive in nature, drawing more from the scholars own research experiences and expertise rather than coverage found online/in print.
These are longer research pieces detailing the relevance, scope and impact of specific pertinent issues with implications for Asia and beyond. Our Issue Briefs are informative assessments of issues accompanied with policy implications. These are mostly written by young professionals with work experience or mid-career scholars and provide a cohesive and thorough understanding of the topic as well as deductions on how its progression can be expected in the near future.
This section explains China in the form of data visualisations. In this section through Maps and Graphs we present quantitative data to track the rise of China and make assessments according to our findings. The maps are prepared using QGIS and geo-tagging of points is accurately maintained. The goal of this section is to bridge the gap between quantitative and qualitative research in the field of China studies. This section also allows for external submission, guidelines for which can be found on the website.
ORCA also produces detailed background information about Chinese domestic and foreign policy. A valuable resource for understanding the context behind how China got to where it currently is, in terms of its policies and more. This vertical is meant as a resource tool for scholars across career levels and sectors, allowing them a one-stop destination for finding references to China’s domestic and international history.
The ORCA Files is ORCA’s very own podcast series, hosted by the team at ORCA. The ORCA Files holds conversations with our Community of Scholars for a greater understanding of all things China. Scholars deep dive into the nitty-gritties of their publications with us and provide additional context for their pieces. Beyond these conversations we also host spaces for delving into explainer series, interactions amongst team members as well as interviews with experts. Our podcast series is available on Spotify as well.
Through these publications, ORCA will study Chinese leaders & policymaking by connecting it to China’s culture and cultural outputs ranging across documentaries, books, songs & more.
Submission Guidelines
Our Collaboration Partners
Dialogue Partner: Society for Policy Studies (SPS) is a New Delhi-based independent think tank focused on India. It analyses India’s relations with the world, its place in South Asia and in the larger Indo-Pacific dynamic; its public policies and their strategic, security, economic, social and geopolitical impact. Through its various platforms, it provides a non-partisan forum for policymakers, opinion leaders and civil society to foster dialogue and engagement on critical issues, affecting India and the region.
Research Cooperation Partner: Initiative for Peace and Security in Africa (IPSA), a think-tank specializing in defense, security and peace studies based in Dakar, Senegal.
Dialogue Partner: Asian Pathfinders is a knowledge sharing and networking forum to bring together scholars and practitioners working on the Asian region for a constructive dialogue.
Promotional Cooperation Partner: WICCI’s India-EU Business Council is an up-to-date and diverse community of businesswomen, female entrepreneurs, and change-makers from all over India and the European Union. It serves as a networking platform to highlight their accomplishments and unique experiences. By sharing knowledge, business opportunities, and best practices the Council generates awareness of women’s contributions in developing the India-EU relations.
Research Cooperation Partner: Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE) is an independent, apolitical and non-partisan think tank based in Nepal, which believes in freedom, democracy and a world free from conflict. We envision a world, where sources of insecurity are identified and understood, conflicts are prevented or resolved, and peace is advocated.