ATLANTA — Georgia State University PhD Candidate and Transcultural Conflict and Violence Initiative (TCV) Presidential Fellow, Keyu Alexander Glanz presented a part of his dissertation at the Association for Asian Studies annual conference in Columbus Ohio on March 16 in an organized panel: “Narrative Construction, Threat Perception, and Securitization in the U.S.- China Tensions: Critical Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Approaches”
Abstract:
Rivalry on Human Rights: Sentiment Analysis and Topic Modeling of 2002-2023 China-United States Human Rights Reports
Human rights have become a central point of diplomatic contention and ideological rivalry in U.S.-China relations, serving as both a moral battleground and a strategic tool in their broader geopolitical competition. This study examines human rights as a contested ideograph—one that links foreign policy narratives to the ideological struggle between the two nations. This research project adopts mixed-methods approach to analyse human rights discourse in annual reports issued by the U.S. State Department and China’s State Council Information Office from 2000 to 2022. Through computer-assisted topic modelling, the synchronic analysis explores how the ideograph of human rights intersects with other key ideographs in these diplomatic texts, while the diachronic analysis traces the shifts in its meaning and strategic deployment over time. Additionally, sentiment analysis assesses the intensity of evaluative language as both nations seek to discredit each other, identifying linguistic patterns that assign responsibility and construct legitimacy. By positioning human rights rhetoric within the broader landscape of ideological competition, this study reveals how ideograph function as an instrument of power in international relations. The findings contribute to scholarship on global human rights narratives, political communication, and the evolving dynamics of U.S.-China rivalry.
The Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference brings together over 3000 Asian studies scholars from across the globe. As the largest Asian Studies Conference worldwide dedicated exclusively to Asian Studies research, topics covering all countries in Asia across 30 academic disciplines, our annual conference is the ideal setting to meet face-to-face with University faculty and staff, including professors, administrators, librarians and students.