Barry Sautman
Barry Victor Sautman (born July 11, 1949) is a professor emeritus with the Division of Social Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He holds both Canadian and American nationalities and he speaks both English and Cantonese A political scientist and lawyer by training who primarily teaches international law, he has conducted research about ethnic politics and nationalism in China, as well as China–Africa relations, in cooperation with anthropologist Yan Hairong in the latter field. Graduate education. The title of his Ph.D. thesis is "Retreat from Revolution. Why Communist Systems Deradicalize". Work experience. From  1983 to 1985, he was a law clerk and from 1985 to 1991, an attorney. From fall 1990 to spring 1991, he was an adjunct assistant professor at California State University, Northridge, teaching courses in US politics. In 1991–1992, he was a visiting assistant professor in comparative politics at the Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies, in Nanjing, China. He taught courses in comparative politics; politics, law & society; political development; and US-China relations. From 1993 to 2000, he was an assistant professor in the Division of Social Science at Hong Kong University of Science  & Technology, then from 2000 to 2008, an associate professor at the same university. In 2002–2003, he was also a Visiting Fellow in the Department of East Asian Studies at Princeton University. He taught undergraduate courses in international law; politics, law & society; China-US relations; political development; and comparative politics; and also graduate courses in nationalism, ethnicity, and US hegemony. Fields of research. His areas of research have been Communist and post-Communist systems; Chinese politics (especially ethnic politics); the political economic and legal aspects of the Tibet and Xinjiang issues; China-Africa links; the supposed strategic rivalry between the US  and China in Africa; and international law (especially human rights). Expertise. His opinions and comments as an expert have been sought by media such as CNN, "USA TODAY", "The New Yorker", "The Manila Times", "Digital Journal", the AFP press agency and various web sites. He was interviewed by Radio France Internationale and "Voice of America News" and took part in the BBC Radio 4 program "Today". Australian sinologist Colin Mackerras, an emeritus professor at Griffith University, sees Barry Sautman as "probably the main contributor to Tibet studies in Hong Kong's universities, at least in English." His research focuses on  contemporary Tibet and uses history to shed light on it. As a scholar, he is tremendously productive. Although he does not speak Tibetan and is not a specialist of Tibetan culture, he "balances this lack with profound understanding of world history and international law." He views law and political science as his main areas of expertise. His stand on Tibet-related issues is akin to that of China, whose historical and legal claims to Tibet he supports. As this is not a fashionable stand in Western countries, "he has become a controversial figure." On the other hand, "because he is  so well-informed and his research is so thorough," he is often asked to put across pro-Chinese positions in venues dealing with Tibet. Reception. On account of his refutation of the claim of a physical and cultural genocide in Tibet, his underlining of the various benefits, rights, and material gains Tibetans have reaped from the region's modernization, and his indictment of what he calls "ethnonationalism" on the part of exile Tibetans, Barry Sautman has drawn criticism from writers supportive of an independent or free Tibet such as Jamyang Norbu and Elliot Sperling. Jamyang Norbu called Sautman a "running -dog propagandist" in 2008 and accused him of selectively using of dubious facts and figures, skillfully applying "academic gobbledygook", and jumping to conclusions without citing evidence. Sautman responded to Norbu's criticism in an article in "Phayul.com", stating "Being attacked by Jamyang Norbu is like being criticized by John Bolton." Australian sinologist Colin Mackerras sees Barry Sautman as the main contributor to Tibet studies in Hong Kong's universities. He added that Sautman has become a controversial figure because his stand on Tibet is not fashionable in the West but he is also "so well-informed and his research is  so thorough," Publications. Barry Sautman has published articles and studies in peer-reviewed journals specializing in law: "Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal", "Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal", "Texas International Law Journal", "Chinese Journal of International Law", "Stanford Journal of International Law", "Rutgers Race and Law Review"; economic and social policies: "Pacific Affairs", "Problems of Post-Communism"; history: "Current History"; international relations: "World Affairs"; Asia: "The Journal of Asian Studies", "", and especially "China Information", "The China Quarterly", "Modern China"; Africa: "African Studies Review", "African and Asian Studies", "South African Labour Bulletin". He co-authored a number of articles with Irene  Eng, Baogang He, Yan Hairong, Kenneth King, as well as monographs with Shiu-hing Lo, Ellen Kneehans. He co-edited a collective book with June Teufel Dreyer. He has also contributed opinion articles to newspapers the "South China Morning Post" in Hong Kong) and "The Guardian". Lectures. In 2013, professor Sautman was the speaker at the Adelaide Confucius Institute's annual Public Lecture.