Huawei Zheng joined the GCDC in September 2018. His PhD, supervised by Professor Elena Korosteleva, examines the Eurasian Economic Union as an evolving regional actor. He reflects on this past academic year and the evolution of his research.
“My PhD at the University of Kent is heading towards its final stage. The third year at Kent has been an intense, busy but fruitful one. Following on the theoretical framework developed in my second year, I went on to work on the empirical part of my thesis, and I will be expecting the completion of my chapter 6 by the end of this academic year.
I approached the three constitutive elements (identity, representation, and instrument) of an order-making actor (OMA), which is posited in my thesis, and looked at the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in detail. I found that the EAEU is primarily dedicated to economic and social issues, aiming to consolidate an internal common market and advance the free movement of goods, labour, capital and service. The Eurasian Economic Commission serves as a crucial representing agent both in internal and external contexts. Finally, the EAEU possessed a variety of financial, legal and technocratic instruments that would help establish a governing arrangement effectively.
“This year my research was published for the first time”
This academic year is also important for my self-development as a scholar. Methodologically, I learnt how to use data-analysing software such as R and NVivo. In my chapters, I processed my data using these newly gained skills. Furthermore, I also got myself published for the first time in my career. My master thesis was developed into a journal article and published in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs, while one of my empirical chapters was published by a Policy Paper funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
At the same time, I am very grateful to our GCDC team and Directors. They have been of great help by organising our informal virtual ‘hangouts’ and several useful training sessions. The GCDC hangouts was a great way to socialise against the background of COVID and our ‘quarantined academic life’ consequently. One of the training sessions that got me impressed was the one on research ethics, which has become increasingly important in the production of knowledge today. I also want to give tremendous thanks to our University for keeping funding our research against financial hardship and the reduction of research funding from governmental sources.
Finally, I hope that all our GCDC fellow students can enjoy their time at Kent and get the most out of their PhD!”
Huawei has been a valued member of the GCDC since 2018! See his 2019 student profile to see how his research has developed over time