Vorawan Wannalak
Master of Public Management
Campus Griebnitzsee
DFG-Research Training Group "WIPCAD"
University of Potsdam
Department of Economics
and Social Sciences
August-Bebel-Straße 89
14482 Potsdam, Germany
Office: Campus Griebnitzsee, House 7,
Room 3.07.211-15
Research Topic
"Exploring China-Thailand Environmental Cooperation for Low-carbon Transitions in Southeast Asia"
Curriculum Vitae
WORK EXPERIENCE
2015-2017
Lecturer, International Development Program, School of Social Innovation at Mae Fah Luang University (Chiang Rai, Thailand)
2014-2014
Project Coordinator for the project under Memorandum between National Broadcasting and Telecommunication (NBTC) Office and Institute of ASEAN Studies and International College, Rachabhat Uttaradit University, Study trip on Self-regulation, Media Ethics and Media Freedom in ASEAN (Uttaradit, Thailand)
2014-2014
General Manager at POET Partnership on Eco-Textile Social Enterprise (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
2008-2012
Assistant to Program Coordinators (Media for Democracy, Energy and Climate Policy, Myanmar/Burma Program) at Heinrich Böll Stiftung Southeast Asia Regional Office (Chiang Mai and Bangkok, Thailand)
2010-2010
Research Assistant of the project "the Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Initiative (iPrEx)" at Research Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai University (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
2007-2008
Research Assistant of the project on “Social Capital and Informal Social Networks in a Changing Natural and Institutional Environment” at IAMO: Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
2007
Translator (Thai to English) – Tsunami Aid Watch publications: “Building House for future” and “Community Shipyard” at Southeast Asia Consult & Resources Co. Ltd. (Chiang Mai, Thailand)
EDUCATION
2012-2013
Master of Public Management (GeoGovernance) at University of Potsdam (Potsdam, Germany),
Master Thesis: “Assessing Success of Renewable Energy Policy in Thailand.” Awarded grade of 1,0 (Excellent) for the thesis
2002-2007
Bachelor of Science (Sociology and Anthropology at Chiang Mai University (Chiang Mai, Thailand) with Second Honor
RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS AND PAPER PRESENTATIONS
2019
Wannalak, V. (10–13 September, 2019). People-To-People Science and Technology Diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics: The Case of Sino-Thai Vocational Cooperation. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Presentation at the 2019 EuroSEAS conference, Berlin, Germany. Retrieved from euroseas2019.org/program/panels/already-southern-china-or-still-northern-southeast-asia
2019
Wannalak, V. (4-7 September, 2019). ‘Energy Diplomacy’: China Influences in Southeast Asia for Energy Transitions. University of Wrocław. Paper presentation at the 2019 European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) General Conference, Wrocław, Poland. Retrieved from ecpr.eu/Events/PaperDetails.aspx
2018
Wannalak, V. (2018). Public-Private Partnership under the South-South Cooperation: The Case of Solar Energy Development in Thailand. In S. Wajjwalku (Eds.), Actors and processes in development cooperation: challenges to traditional practices (pp. 53–79). Network of International Development Cooperation (NIDC).
2017
Wannalak, V. (23-24 June, 2017). Enhancing Local Participation in Forest Conservation through Inclusive Business: A Case Study of Mivana Coffee. Thammasart University (Tha Prachan Campus). Paper presentation at International Conference on International Relations and Development (ICIRD), Bangkok, Thailand.
2017
Wannalak, V. (15-18 July, 2017). Wiang Nhong Lom Wetland: A History of the Commons. Chiang Mai University. Paper presentation at the 13th International Conference On Thai Studies Globalized Thailand? Connectivity, Conflicts And Conundrums Of Thai Studies, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
2015
Wannalak, V. (9-10 July, 2015). The Public–Private Partnership under South–South Cooperation: The Case of Solar Energy Development. Mahidol University. Paper presentation at International Conference on International Relations and Development (ICIRD), Bangkok, Thailand.
2013
Tangmunkongvorakul A, Chariyalertsak S, Amico KR, Saokhieo P, Wannalak V, Sangangamsakun T, Goicochea P, Grant R. (2013), Facilitators and barriers to medication adherence in an HIV prevention study among men who have sex with men in the iPrEx study in Chiang Mai, Thailand, AIDS Care. 2013 Aug;25(8), 961–967: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23252473
2010
Wannalak, V. (2010). Nuclear Waste: An Unsolvable Problem. Green Line, Department of Environmental Quality Promotion, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Vol.30;10-13
GRANTS AND AWARDS
Since 2017
German Academic Exchange Service -Graduate School Scholarship Programme (GSSP)
2017
ICMA YSEALI Environmental Sustainability Fellows Program (27 April – June 2, 2017), United States (Washington D.C. and Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
2016
YSEALI Women’s Leadership Academy, Jakarta, Indonesia
2015
DAAD-Alumni-Seminar “Enhancing Food and Income Security along Agricultural Commodity Chains”, Witzenhausen, Germany
2015
German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) - CapREG Seminar “Management Aspects of Renewable Energy Grid Integration”, Bangkok, Thailand
2012-2013
German Academic Exchange Service - Public Policy and Good Governance scholarship program (DAAD-PPGG)
2004
Singaporean International Foundation ASEAN Student Fellowship, National University of Singapore (Singapore)
Abstract
"We call on the people of all countries to work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind, to build an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity,"
President Xi Jinping, 2017
China has emerged as a key global leader of newly industrialized countries in regard to the commitment towards the post-Paris Agreement. Domestically, China has actively promoted the concept of ‘ecological civilization’ as a guiding principle to balance its economic development with minimal impact on the environment and as contribution to achieve sustainable development.
However, promotion of the ‘Eco-Civilization’ concept is not limited to China. The launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013 by the Chinese government which aims to promote economic cooperation across Asia, Africa and Europe, highlights on Chinese global infrastructure projects and investment. The BRI also faces heavy criticisms on their environmental impacts, while it is also acknowledged by international relation scholars as China’s most important geopolitical tool to build its soft power. Later, in 2017, the Chinese government proposed the Belt and Road Ecological and Environment Plan (or the Green BRI), which emphasizes the importance of promoting an eco-friendly ‘Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)’ in order to contribute to sustainable development and practice the concept of ecological civilization.
Thus, the concept of ecological civilization is now promoted widely along with the BRI. To internationalize the concept, the Chinese government has increased its engagement in multilateral and regional institutions and provided more funding to other developing countries. Various former and current environmental corporations are also included and being carried out under the Green BRI. Yet, the understanding of the concept of ecological civilization is not known internationally and it is critical to pay attention to its application in the local context of partner countries.
This study looks at foreign policy as a complex and dynamic entity because ‘when policy moves, it is always translated’ (Clarke et al., 2015). The study focuses on the approach of translation in policy study in response to the gap of the ‘rational-linear notion’ in conventional policy literature. Framing policy as a meaning-making process can help broaden analysis of policy study and contribute to recent discussion on translation theory within international relation disciplines. Thailand as a partner country of the BRI is selected as a case study to demonstrate how the Green BRI and the concept of ecological civilization are translated in the local context. The study also asks how China and Thailand environmental cooperation is arranged and implemented under the Green BRI and to what extent it is aligned with the ecological civilization concept through sub-case studies at the project level. The latter question focuses on scrutinizing empirical studies of policy translation.