REC5730
International University of Japan
CONTEMPORARY CHINESE POLITICS
Fall Semester 2014
COURSE SYLLABUS
Class Time: Monday, 4-5 periods (14.40-17.50)
Instructor: Vida Macikenaite
Contacts: [email protected]
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Today’s Chinese leadership, although able to celebrate China’s unprecedented economic growth,
faces numerous challenges – necessity to accommodate to significantly different socio-economic conditions,
cope with environmental degradation or appropriately respond to changing demands from the citizens, louder
than ever expressed through new means of media. Seeking to foresee how such issues will shape China’s
future, it is necessary to understand how political system in China functions. However, understanding of the
political system in contemporary China is hardly possible without appropriate grasp of its historical
development.
This course is designed in such a way that it would provide not only knowledge on how the current
political system of China works but also an explanation on how it developed into such a system as we observe
it today. The first part of the course looks into historical development since the Imperial period, through the
rise of the communist movement into the first decades of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Second part
of the course discusses contemporary political system. Nonetheless, the readings selected provide historical
perspective on the issues discussed. Two weeks at the end of the course are dedicated to specific issues in
contemporary China before the course is rapped up by the topic on regime stability.
COURSE OBJECTIVES AND ASSESMENT
This course is designed with two objectives in mind:
w to provide knowledge of the structure of China’s political system, as well as deeper understanding about its
everyday functioning;
w to further develop or brush-up the students skills to design their research independently and present it,
which is done through a series of related assignments, including class presentation.
COURSE FORMAT
This course consists of 10 three-hour weekly meetings. The first half of the class will be conducted as
a lecture. The course is designed for foreign students, thus selected reading materials are in English. However,
during the lecture the Instructor will also introduce Japanese scholarship on the topic. The second half of the
class will be dedicated to a seminar, organized as a discussion, based on the weekly reading assignments. In
the seminars of week 8 and week 9 the students will be asked to make individual presentations on the topics
they select by week 3.
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COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSIGNEMENTS
1. Class participation and reading assignments. Students are required to keep up with the reading
assignments and participate in class discussions during the seminars. Occasionally, the students may be asked
to reflect on the weekly readings and previous classes in writing in the beginning of the class.
2. Other assignments are related to the Student’s individual research of a selected issue in
contemporary Chinese politics. The students are highly encouraged to consult the Instructor on their selected
research during the course. The assignments are divided into three parts:
(1) overview of the problem/research topic: by week 3 each student will select an issue for
individual research and submit a one-page overview of the development of that
problem (including the definition of their research problem);
(2) presentation: during the seminars on week 8 and week 9 each student will make a
presentation of the literature review on their selected research topic. NOTE: this is not
a general presentation of the topic; the Student should define their research problem
clearly and focus on presenting the arguments in the literature on that problem;
(3) final assignment: research proposal on the selected issue including literature review.
NOTE: the students are not expected to submit a full paper, but only a research
proposal, demonstrating their ability to design and clearly explain their research idea
and its importance. Proposals should be submitted via email.
The class readings and discussion topics may be adjusted during the course depending on the
participants.
FINAL GRADING
Final course grades are to be determined as follows:
w Class participation and in-class written assignments 20%
w Overview of the research problem (week 3) 10%
w Presentation (week 8/9) 30%
w Final assignment – research proposal 40%
MAIN READINGS
The following are the main readings for this course:
1. Dittmer, Lowell, and Guoli Liu (eds.) 2006. China’s Deep Reform: Domestic Politics in Transition.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
2. Lieberthal, Kenneth. 2004. Governing China: From Revolution Through Reform. 2nd ed. W. W.
Norton.
3. Wang, James C.F. 2002. Contemporary Chinese Politics: An Introduction. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
4. Li, Cheng (ed.). 2008. China’s Changing Political Landscape. Brookings Institution Press.
WEEKLY CLASS SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
PART I. POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CHINA. How did the political system of China develop to
become as it is today? What political and cultural legacies has it inherited from the past?
W1. Historical legacies of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Pre-reform China.
Introduction to the course; course requirements.
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Imperial China and its encounter with the outside world. The rise of the Communist movement, civil war, and
Mao Zedong era.
w Lieberthal, Governing China, Ch. 1-4 (pp. 1-121).
w Xinhua “Xi Pledges ‘Great Renewal of Chinese nation,” November 29, 2012.
Optional:
w Mao Zedong “On New Democracy,” January 1940, in Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung, vol.II.
Available from
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-2/mswv2_26.htm
As the seminar follows the first lecture of the course, the students are not expected to come well prepared and
familiar with the reading assignments. However, the students are required to read the materials independently
and will be asked to write a short essay (15-20 minutes) on the historical legacies of the PRC in the following
class.
W2. Post-Mao China: Economic Reform, and the Erosion of Ideology.
The logics of economic reform: how was it different from that in other countries? Economic reform and power
struggle. Erosion of communist ideology.
w Fan Gang. 1994. “Incremental Changes and Dual-track transition: Understanding the Case of China.”
Economic Policy 9 (19): 99-122.
w Lieberthal, Governing China: From Revolution Through Reform, ch. 5 (pp.122-156).
w Yingyi Qian “The Process of China’s Market Transition, 1978-1998: The Evolutionary, Historical,
and Comparative Perspectives,” in Dittmer & Liu, ch. 8 (pp. 229-251).
Optional:
w James Wang, Contemporary Chinese Politics: An Introduction, ch. 11 (pp.301-337), ch.12 (pp.
338-370).
w Bao Pu, Renee Chiang, and Adi Ignatius (eds.) 2009. The Prisoner of the State. Simon & Shuster, Part
3 (pp. 89-158), 5 (pp. 215-244).
PART II. FUNCTIONING OF THE SYSTEM.
W3. Party institutions. Political Leadership, Succession, and Power Sharing.
Pyramid structure of the CCP; elections of the Central Committee of the CCP; inner-Party democracy and
collective leadership.
w Wang, Contemporary Chinese Politics, Ch. 4 (pp. 69-83 only), Ch. 5 (pp. 105-124 only).
w Lieberthal, Governing China, Ch. 7-8 (pp. 183-208; 219-42).
w Cheng Li. 2011. “The Battle for China’s Top Nine Leadership Posts.” The Washington Quarterly
35(1): 131-145.
Submit a one-page overview of your selected research problem/topic for the presentation and final
assignment (clearly define the problem chosen for your research, present that evolution of the
problem).
W4. State institutions and Party-state relations. Democratic institutions in China: National People’s
Congress and Local Elections. Political reform.
Party control of the state; the role of democratic institutions and the meaning of political reform in China.
w Wang, Contemporary Chinese Politics, Ch. 4 (pp. 83-104 only).
w Lieberthal, Governing China, Ch. 7 (pp. 192-219).
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w Kevin J. O’Brien. 2008. Reform without Liberalization: China’s National People’s Congress and the
Politics of Institutional Change, Ch. 7 (pp. 125-156), ch. 8 (pp. 157-179).
w Robert A. Pastor, and Qingshan Tan. 2000. “The Meaning of China’s Village Elections.” The China
Quarterly 162: 490-512.
w Tianjian Shi “Village Committee Elections in China: Institutionalist Tactics for Democracy,” in
Dittmer & Liu, Ch. 13 (pp.353-381).
Optional:
w Bao Pu, Renee Chiang, and Adi Ignatius (eds.). 2009. The Prisoner of the State. Simon & Shuster.
Part 6 (pp. 245-274).
w Randall Peerenboom “Globalization, Path Dependency, and the Limits of Law: Administrative Law
and Rule of Law in the People’s Republic of China,” in Dittmer & Liu, Ch. 7 (pp.191-228).
W5. State-Society Relations and the New Media.
Regime legitimacy in China; nationalism and patriotic education; ‘hukou’ system; NGOs and the Party
control. The new media and its challenge to social stability.
w Susan Shirk. 2008. China: Fragile Superpower. Oxford University Press, Ch. 4 (pp. 78-105).
w Tony Saich. 2000. “Negotiating the State: The Development of Social Organization in China.” China
Quarterly 161: 124-141.
w Johan Lagerkvist. 2010. After the Internet, Before Democracy. Competing Norms in Chinese Media
and Society. Peter Lang International Academic Publishers. “Introduction” (pp. 11-40).
w Guobing Yang. 2006. “The Internet and Civil Society in China: Co-evolutionary Dynamics and
Digital Formations,” in Dittmer & Liu, Ch. 11 (pp. 303-318).
w Lucy Homby. “Human Costs of China’s Hukou System,” Financial Times, November 8, 2013.
Available from
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5c38bbd0-46c7-11e3-9c1b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3EhqEZTW1
W6. State-business relations. State-owned enterprise reforms.
[readings to be announced later]
W7. The politics of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Administrative divisions in the PRC. Political status of Hong Kong and Macao in the PRC (the Basic Law).
Mainland-Hong Kong political and society relations; elections and democratic movements in Hong Kong;
electoral reform in Hong Kong and protests in September 2014.
Readings on Hong Kong:
w Edward A. Gargan “China Resumes Control of Hong Kong, Concluding 156 Years of British Rule,”
New York Times, July 1, 1997, pp.1, 9.
w Enid Tsui “A City Past the Point of No Return?” Nikkei Asian Review, September 25, 2014. Available
from http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Policy-Politics/A-city-past-the-point-of-no-return
w C.Y. Leung “Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung: Raw emotion ‘will get us nowhere,’ CNN
Online, September 28, 2014. Available from
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/27/opinion/hong-kong-oped-cy-leung/
Readings on Taiwan:
w Reuters “China’s Xi says political solution for Taiwan can't wait forever,” October 6, 2013. Available
from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/06/us-asia-apec-china-taiwan-idUSBRE99503Q20131006
w Susan Shirk. 2008. “Taiwan: A Question of Regime Survival” in China: Fragile Superpower. Oxford
University Press, 2008, Ch. 7 (pp.1-12).
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PART III. MAJOR CHALLEGES TO THE REGIME STABILITY.
W8. Minority issues in China. Ethnic Separatism in Xinjiang. Autonomy of Tibet.
w Michael C. Davis. 2007. “The Quest for Self-Rule in Tibet” Journal of Democracy 18 (4): 157-171.
w Colin Mackerras. 2001. “Xinjiang at the Turn of the Century: the Causes of Separatism” Central
Asian Survey 20(3): 289-303.
w Wang, Contemporary Chinese Politics, Ch. 7 (pp.177-186 only).
W9. The Consequences of Economic Reform: ‘floating’ population, urban-rural divide, unemployment,
environmental pollution, corruption.
w Lieberthal, Governing China, Ch. 10 (pp. 276-291, also see pp. 259-275).
w Minxin Pei “Fighting Corruption: A Difficult Challenge for Chinese Leaders,” in Cheng Li (ed.)
China’s Changing Political Landscape, Ch. 12 (pp. 229-250).
w Qingyue Meng, Jian Zhang, Fei Yan, Edward J. Hoekstra, and Jiatong Zhuo. 2012 “One Country,
Two Worlds – The Health Disparity in China” Global Public Health 7 (2): 124-136.
Optional:
w Alexandra Harney. 2008. The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage,
Penguin Press.
W10. Concluding Class. Political (In-)stability and Party Adaptation. Authoritarian resilience?
w Andrew J. Nathan. 2003. “Authoritarian Resilience” Journal of Democracy 14 (1): 6-17.
w Andrew J. Nathan. 2013. “China at the Tipping Point? Foreseeing the Unforseeable” Journal of
Democracy 24 (1): 20-25.
w Susan Shirk. 2008. China: Fragile Superpower. Oxford University Press, 2008. Ch. 1 (pp.1-12).
w Teresa Wright. 2010. Accepting Authoritarianism. Stanford University Press, Ch. 1 (pp. 1-36).
w Baogang Guo. 2006. ‘Political Legitimacy in China’s Transition: Toward a Market Economy,’ in
Dittmer & Liu, Ch. 5 (pp.147-176).
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