Anqi Wang
This book is based on my doctoral dissertation, which was completed with the financial support of the China Scholarship Council (csc).
It is a rather emotional moment to write this acknowledgement, and I have many people to thank. First and foremost, I want to thank my parents for their understanding and unconditional love. As I write this, I have not visited them for three years due to the covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, their support has never been absent.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank my supervisors, Prof. Peter Van Den Bossche and Dr. Rodrigo Polanco, for their invaluable advice and continuous support during my doctoral study. Their immense knowledge and enthusiasm for international law have encouraged me throughout my doctoral research.
This work would not be made possible without the support from my beloved friends. I want to express my sincere gratitude to my colleague, my proofreader and my dear friend Dr. Alex Beyleveld, whose friendship, encouragement and interesting opinions on movies have certainly brightened my doctoral life.
With this opportunity, I would like to thank my best friend Yin, without whom my life would be much less enriched. Her continued love and support have helped me overcome many depressions over the years. I would also like to express my appreciation to my dear friend and my colleague Dr. Aylin Yildiz, whose enthusiasm and loving hugs have surely motivated and comforted me in dark times. I also want to take this chance to express my thankfulness to Dr. Iryna Bogdanova and Dr. Zaker Ahmed. Their friendship is one of the most precious memories during my doctoral study. I admire their remarkable insights and great passion for international law, which have inspired me greatly for the past years. I am also grateful for my friendship with Dr. Qingnan Sun, who has been very considerate and supportive for my years in Bern.
With great pleasure I express my thankfulness to Dr. Anil Aksöz, for all the laughs we had and the enjoyable time we spent together. Moments like these gave me great strength to push forward my work.
I am deeply grateful to my dear friend Dr. Jannik Piepenburg and his family. Without their tremendous motivation and encouragement over the past years, it would be impossible for me to complete my study.
This work was finished during the time of the covid-19 pandemic, throughout which my dear friend Dr. Gu encouraged and accompanied me with her caring words, and I owe great gratitude to her.
Thank you all, and may the Force be with you.