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Government & Politics of China
POLS G4452x
Credits:3 pts.
SYLLABUS
This course is a graduate level seminar designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of the numerous challenges and issues faced by Chinas leaders as they attempt to grapple with the task of managing an increasingly complex and diverse society of 1.3 billion people. At the apex of the Chinese political system sits the Chinese Communist Partyan organization that is seeking to maintain its power, control and legitimacy while change is ubiquitous around it. If we could identify just one word that describes China today it would be fluidity. Coming out of the Cultural Revolution, Chinas post-Mao leadership under Deng Xiaoping recognized that significant reforms would needed to adequately feed, clothe, and house the population as well as ensure that China would not be left behind the West and Japan in terms of advanced science & technology and modern military capabilities. The process and politics of reform, however, have been uneven at best, and at times produced great turbulence in socio-political and economic terms. How Chinas leadership grapples with the intended and unintended consequences of reform and change will determine, to a great extent, how the political system will evolve in the years ahead. Along with obvious questions regarding democracy and human rights, there are many others issues on the political agenda, e.g. social and economic inequality, healthcare, environment, etc. that necessarily also will shape the form and substance of Chinese politics in the coming years. Our goal for the semester is to assess the capacity of the present regime to respond and adapt to the new complexities of a more modern, more mobile, more connected, and more open Chinese society. In other words, does the regime have the ability to reform itself to a sufficient degree so that it can survive in the future?
Course Sections
Fall
- 2009
Section Number:
001
Call Number:
81451
Course Number:
4452
Section Title:
GOV''T & POLITICS OF CHIN
Day/Time:
M 1:10p - 4:00p
501A International Affairs Bldg
M 2:10p - 4:00p
501A International Af
Course Bulletin: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/bulletin/uwb/subj/POLS/G4452-20093-001
Instructor: D. Simon
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