Partnerships Terminated: An Investigation into German University Choices vis-à-vis Confucius Institutes Between Exit, Voice, Loyalty, and Neglect

After an initial “hype” in the years since their inception in 2004 to the early-to-mid-2010s, Confucius Institutes (CIs) are now facing increasing scrutiny for potential undue interference. Consequently, some universities have terminated their CI partnerships. This study identifies the triggers that have led to universities in Germany reconsidering their relationships with CIs and examines two causes behind decisions to terminate such relationships: undue interference and strategic considerations. We focus on five German universities that ended or amended their CI relationships. Based on thirteen interviews, primary data, and secondary sources, we find that terminations were driven more by strategic concerns about the CI's value than direct experiences of undue interference. When a university's termination decision was informed by concerns about undue interference, this most often constituted a precaution in light of a subjectively anticipated undue interference risk, rather than a reaction to an actual, lived experience of undue interference. Decisions were most often triggered by bureaucratic procedures.