Maria Adele Carrai

Maria Adele Carrai is a sinologist and political scientist with an interest in conceptual history and history of international law. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Global China Studies at NYU Shanghai where her research explores the history of international law in East Asia and investigates how China’s rise as a global power is shaping norms and redefining the international distribution of power. In light of the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, she is looking in particular at the economic, legal, and political repercussions of Chinese investments and economic engagement in Europe and Africa. Prior to joining NYU Shanghai, she was a recipient of a three-year Marie-Curie fellowship at KU Leuven. She was also a Fellow at the Italian Academy of Columbia University, Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program, Max Weber Program of the European University Institute of Florence, and New York University Law School. Her first book, Sovereignty in China. A Genealogy of a Concept since 1840 (CUP, 2019) provides a historical perspective through which to better understand the path China is taking as a normative actor within the international order. 

CLD Research Brief, 2019: Chinese Weaponized Investments and the Rise of Screening Mechanisms in Europe

CLD Resesarch brief, 2020: Corporate Social Responsibility along the Chinese Financed Railway Mega-Project in East Africa