Political Science 373/East Asian Studies 373

Government and Politics of the People’s Republic of China

State University of New York at Albany

Fall 2007

 

Professor Cheng Chen                                                                             MWF 10:25-11:20

Office: Milne Hall 212                                                                             Earth Sciences 241    

Phone: 591-8724                                                         Office Hours: Wednesdays 11:30-1:00

E-mail: cchen@albany.edu                                                                               Humanities 16

 

Course Description

 

This course introduces students to the government and politics of the People’s Republic of China, emphasizing events in the period since the Chinese Communist Party established its regime in 1949.  It begins with a brief overview of China’s political history before 1949 in order to establish the necessary foundation for understanding the significance of subsequent events.  The second part of the course analyzes the ways in which the Communist Party set out to reorganized China after the revolution, the consequences of these efforts, and the debates provoked within the elite and among the population.  Next, the course focuses on the reform era in China.  Specifically, we study how China has defined and confronted the challenge of economic development, nation-building, social transformation, and international relations.  Finally, we assess the prospect of a Communist regime in China in light of its impressive achievements, painful failures, as well as current challenges.  The objective of this course is to provide students with a broad survey of Chinese politics grounded in specific historical contexts.  No previous knowledge of China’s history, culture, or language is required nor will such knowledge be assumed. 

 

Course Requirements

 

There will be an in-class midterm exam and a take-home final essay, which is due on Wednesday, December 12 by two o’clock in the afternoon.  The take-home essay is not a research paper and students need only draw on the readings and lectures for this course.  In-class participation will count for 20% of the grade, the midterm 30%, and the take-home essay 50%.  It is mandatory that all class members complete the assigned readings prior to the lectures. 

 

Readings

 

Lucien Bianco, Origins of the Chinese Revolution (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1971) [Required]

Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China: From Revolution through Reform, 2nd ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 2004) [Required]

Avery Goldstein, Rising to the Challenge: China’s Grand Strategy and International Security (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2005) [Required]

Jonathan D. Spence, The Search for Modern China, 2nd ed. (New York: W. W. Norton, 1999) [Recommended]

The above books are available at both the University Bookstore and Mary Jane downtown.  The rest of the readings will be included in a course pack, available at Shipmates Printmates, Stuyvesant Plaza.

PART I: THE CHINESE REVOLUTION

 

 

August 27: Introduction

 

  • Course Syllabus

 

 

August 29-31: Historical Background

A. The Decline of Imperial China

B. The Pre-Revolutionary Era

 

  • Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China, 1-39
  • Lucien Bianco, Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1-52

 

 

September 5-7: The Communist Revolution

A. Early Struggles and the Sino-Japanese War

B. The Civil War and the Eventual Success

 

  • Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China, 39-56
  • Lucien Bianco, Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 53-208

 

 

PART II: THE MAOIST ERA

 

 

September 10-12: Early Political and Economic Transformation (1949-1965)

A. Consolidation

B. Great Leap Forward

 

  • Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China, 59-112

 

 

September 17-21: The Cultural Revolution (1966-1978)

A. The Cultural Revolution

B. Stalemate and Succession

 

  • Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China, 112-122
  • Jonathan D. Spence, The Search for Modern China, 565-617

 

 

September 24-28: China’s Foreign Policy during the Cold War

A. Sino-Soviet Alliance and Its Split

B. Sino-American Rapprochement

 

  • Jonathan D. Spence, The Search for Modern China, 523-530, 553-559
  • Robert A. Scalapino, “Foreign Policy,” The People’s Republic of China after Thirty Years: An Overview (Institute of East Asian Studies, UC Berkeley, 1979), 49-68

PART III: THE POST-MAO ERA

 

 

October 1-5: Beginning of the Reform Era

A. Initiation of Reforms

B. Early Reforms

 

  • Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China, 123-167
  • Ezra Vogel, “A Decade of Reforms,” in One Step Ahead in China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989), 76-122

 

 

October 8-12: Tragedy and Recovery

A. The Tiananmen Incident

B. Recovery

 

  • Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China, 171-242
  • Andrew J. Nathan, “The Tiananmen Papers,” Foreign Affairs 80:1 (January-February 2001)

 

 

October 15: In-Class Midterm

 

 

October 17-19: Deepening Economic Reforms

A. Political Economy

B. Successes and Failures

 

  • Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China, 245-288
  • Ted C. Fishman, “The Chinese Century,” The New York Times, July 4, 2004

 

 

October 22-26: Political Reforms

A. Political Reforms

B. Will China Democratize?

 

  • Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China, 289-314
  • Selections by Metzger, Oksenberg, Scalapino, Waldron, and Nathan from the special issue on “Will China Democratize?” Journal of Democracy 9:1 (January 1998)

 

 

October 29-November 2: Social Transformation

A. Social Conditions

B. Rise of Nationalism

 

  • Maurice Meisner, The Deng Xiaoping Era (New York: Hill and Wang, 1996), 492-523
  • Nicholas Eberstadt, “China’s Population Prospects: Problems Ahead,” Problems of Post-Communism 47:1 (January/February 2000): 28-37
  • Maria Hsia Chang, Return of the Dragon: China’s Wounded Nationalism (Boulder: Westview, 2001), 175-204

 

November 5-9: China’s Foreign Policy after the Cold War

A. China and the United States: Containment or Engagement?

B. The Taiwan Issue

 

  • Avery Goldstein, Rising to the Challenge, 1-81, 136-203
  • Kenneth Lieberthal, “Preventing a War over Taiwan,” Foreign Affairs 84:2 (March/April 2005): 53-63

 

 

November 12-16: China and the World

A. China and Globalization

B. Contemporary China in Comparative Perspective

 

  • C. Fred Bergten et. al., China: The Balance Sheet (New York: Public Affairs, 2006), 73-117
  • Francis Fukuyama, “Confucianism and Democracy,” Journal of Democracy 6:2 (April 1995): 20-33
  • Cheng Chen, “Institutional Legitimacy of an Authoritarian State: China in the Mirror of Eastern Europe,” Problems of Post-Communism 52:4 (July/August 2005): 3-13

 

 

November 19: In-Class Debate: Is China a Threat to the United States?

 

  • Avery Goldstein, Rising to the Challenge, 81-135

 

 

PART IV:  PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE

 

 

November 26-30: Facing Challenges

A. The Coming Transformation

B. The Current Leadership

 

  • Kenneth Lieberthal, Governing China, 315-336
  • George Gilboy and Eric Heginbotham, “China’s Coming Transformation,” Foreign Affairs 80:4 (July-August 2001)
  • Minxin Pei, “China’s Governance Crisis,” Foreign Affairs 81:5 (September-October 2002)
  • Tony Saich, “China in 2006: Focus on Social Development,” Asian Survey 47:1 (January/February 2007): 32-43

·         Avery Goldstein, Rising to the Challenge, 204-219

 

 

December 3-7: The Future of China - Contrasting Views

A. Discussion: Assessing China  

B. Review Session

 

  • Special issue on “China Rising,” Foreign Policy 146:44 (January/February 2005): 44-58