Power and Politics in Greater China

This course introduces students to key concepts, actors, and events in the politics of greater China. Does democracy or China's current system of rule have bigger advantages? What are the key sources of China's remarkable economic growth? What is the nature of accountability and informal institutions within the Middle Kingdom? In light of China's policies toward Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and the South China Sea, is China a status quo or revisionist power? Students confront these and a wide range of other pivotal economic, security, and global controversies. Students debate and assess the merits of China's policies on issues such as the China model, economic growth, authoritarian resilience, decentralization, informal institutions, and media censorship, as well as the relations of China's government with domestic, regional, and international actors. The course includes independent research, intensive writing, and debates on the conditions both within and beyond greater China.