Established in October 2016, the Country and Area Studies Academy (CASA) at Beijing Foreign Studies University is a comprehensive research institution integrating scientific research, education, policy consultation and talent cultivation. CASA is responsible for developing the university’s first-level-discipline doctoral program in Country and Area Studies and has independently established a second-level-interdisciplinary master’s program in Country and Area Studies.

CASA currently has 33 faculty, research and administrative staff members, including six full professors and nine associate professors. Its research areas cover theoretical and methodological studies of country and area studies, European and American studies, research on the Global South and neighboring regions, comparative studies of political parties across regions and countries, as well as global and regional governance. The CASA faculty has led numerous national and ministerial/provincial-level social science funds-supported projects, published significant papers in authoritative journals, submitted multiple policy consultation reports adopted by ministries, commissions, or provincial-level authorities, and has been repeatedly granted the university’s Outstanding Research Unit Award.

CASA is responsible for the development and operation of five national and ministerial/provincial-level research platforms, including the Secretariat of the International Think Tank Cooperation Alliance of Political Parties under the International Department of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the Research Base for the Chinese National Community at the National Ethnic Affairs Commission. CASA also serves as the secretariat for both the Global and Chinese Community for Country and Area Studies. It coordinates four Ministry of Education-supported bases for Country and Area Studies, 37 Ministry of Education-registered centers for Country and Area Studies, and four Ministry of Education Humanities Exchange Centers within the university.

Additionally, CASA plays a leading role in several major “Double World-Class” university construction projects, including the Global Index Series, Country and Area Studies Blue Book Series, the International Organizations Database, the Global Political Parties Database, and the BFSU Global Think Tank. It also manages two professional journals: International Forum (a CSSCI journal) and the Journal of Country and Area Studies. In 2024, it launched the Journal of Country and Area Studies, an English-language academic journal in the field within China. CASA is also leading the construction of the Global Communication Laboratory.

In 2025, the “Innovative Talent Introduction Base for Interdisciplinary Studies in Country and Area Studies” was officially designated as a 111 Base (Higher Education Discipline Innovation and Talent Introduction Program).