Taiwanese religious communities and their internationalization strategies (guojihua) since the 1980s (A03)

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This project examines Taiwanese communities that are creating new spatial formats through their missionary work. The headquarters of the religious organizations in Taiwan are producing transnational spaces through interactions with local actors across the world, which is revealed by the internationalization strategies in South Africa of the Buddhist organization, Fo Guang Shan, as well as the new religious movement, Yiguandao. In analysing these two organizations, the project explores the transnational organizational structures, the translation of doctrines and practices for other socio-cultural contexts, and the dynamics of central control and decentralization. The study is placed within the context of the currently burgeoning economic and political science research on 'China in Africa'.