University of Washington
Department of Political Science and Jackson School of International Studies
Spring 2014
The Chinese Political System
POLS 532/JSIS 532
Tuesday, 1:30-4:20pm
109 Smith Hall
Professor Susan Whiting
45 Gowen Hall
543-9163
swhiting@u.washington.edu
Course Description
This graduate-level course surveys the latest developments in the field of Chinese politics. The syllabus
reflects two themes and three trends in the field. Two overarching themes are evident in the study of Chinese
politics today: explaining economic growth and authoritarian resilience. In light of China’s unorthodox
economic institutions, political scientists seek explanations for China’s three-and-a-half decades of sustained
economic growth with reference to political features of the regime. As in comparative politics more broadly, the
resilience of authoritarian regimes in the twenty-first century poses another puzzle, particularly in light of latetwentieth-century expectations of the “end of history.” Issues in Chinese politics as diverse as elections, media,
civil society, welfare provision, and labor politics are framed today in terms of authoritarian resilience. This
emphasis on the durability of the CCP regime replaces an earlier theme of potential for democratization, raising
questions about how we know what we know in general comparative theory and Chinese politics.
Three underlying trends are evident in the field: first, the study of Chinese politics is increasingly engaged
with general comparative theory. Second, and relatedly, the field is characterized by improved access to data
and methodological diversification. Third, the boundaries among disciplines are increasingly blurred, uniting
the work of economists and sociologists, among scholars of other disciplines, with that of political scientists.
The course examines these themes and trends through sets of weekly readings on the following topics:
leadership selection and incentives within the one-party state, elections, economic development, welfare and
public goods, contentious politics, rights consciousness and constitutionalism, labor politics, media politics, and
civil society. For each topic, we will trace the development of debates in the fields of comparative and Chinese
politics and critically examine the relationship between theory and method in the Chinese case. In a ten-week
quarter, some topics are, of necessity, left out. There could easily be sessions, for example, on revolutionary
change; nationalism and regime legitimation; ethnic conflict; industrial policy and technological innovation;
global supply chain dynamics, etc. The final paper assignment provides students the opportunity to build on
syllabus topics or to explore these other issues.
Course Requirements
Short responses (40%)
You will write eight short responses to the readings, not to exceed one page in length. Each response should
critically and constructively explore a theme, debate, method, etc. in one or more readings for that class session.
Short responses are to be posted to Catalyst (https://catalyst.uw.edu/gopost/board/swhiting/36412/) by the
beginning of class. No late responses will be accepted, since the idea is to quickly get your thoughts down and
to use them as a starting point for class discussion.
Participation (20%)
You are expected to read the assigned material before class and to contribute to discussion regularly and
thoughtfully. In addition, you will give one or more short presentations (approximately 5-10 minutes) based on
the readings for that day, and you will co-facilitate class discussion. Your presentation should appreciate and
critique the readings, raise questions, and draw connections to other readings and themes of the course. The
purpose of your presentation is to launch discussion, and you will help direct the conversation that follows.
Final paper (40%)
You will write a longer, analytical paper of approximately 10-15 pages in length. The longer paper may take
the form of a theoretically informed research paper, an extensive critical review of the literature, or a research
design that treats the literature as a springboard. The final paper is due on Friday, June 6 to Dropbox:
(https://catalyst.uw.edu/collectit/dropbox/swhiting/31248). Unexcused late papers will be marked down 0.1
point per day.
Office Hours
Office hours are Fridays 10am-12noon in 45 Gowen Hall.
Additional Course Information
If you would like to request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disability Resources
for Students, 011 Mary Gates Hall (http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs ). If you have a letter from Disability
Resources for Students indicating you have a disability that requires academic accommodations, please present
the letter to me so that we can discuss the accommodations you may need for class.
Course Materials
The following books are available for purchase at the University Book Store:
Allen Carlson et al., eds., Contemporary Chinese Politics ‘
Pierre Landry, Decentralized Authoritarianism in China
Susan H. Whiting, Power and Wealth in Rural China
Lily L. Tsai, Accountability without Democracy
Xi Chen, Social Protest and Contentious Authoritarianism
Daniela Stockmann, Media Commercialization and Authoritarian Rule in China
Timothy Hildebrandt, Social Organizations and the Authoritarian State in China
Journal articles are available full-text online through the UW Library E-Journal collection.
Course Schedule *Required readings
WEEK ONE
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Introduction
(*Readings to be done in advance of first class; No short responses)
*Allen Carlson, et al., “Introduction,” in Carlson et al., eds., Contemporary Chinese Politics: New Sources,
Methods, and Field Strategies (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 1-12.
*Kenneth Lieberthal, “Reflections on the Evolution of the China Field in Political Science,” in Carlson, ed.,
Contemporary Chinese Politics, pp. 266-277.
*Kevin J. O’Brien, “Studying Chinese Politics in an Age of Specialization,” Journal of Contemporary China
Vol. 20, No. 71 (September 2011), pp. 535-541.
For reference:
Tarrow, Sidney. 2008. “The New Contentious Politics in China: Poor and Blank or Rich and Complex?” in
Kevin J. O’Brien, ed., Popular Protest in China, pp. 1-10. (Google Books)
Carsten A. Holz, “Have China Scholars All Been Bought?” Far Eastern Economic Review Vol. 170, No. 3
(April 2007), p. 36-40.
Elizabeth J. Perry, “Studying Chinese Politics: Farewell to Revolution?” The China Journal No. 57 (January
2007), 1-22.
Haihui Zhang, ed., “Scholarly Review of Chinese Studies in North America,” Asia Past & Present: New
Research from AAS, Number 11
Elizabeth J. Perry, “The Cultural Foundations of Chinese Communism,”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6fRrhxBt_A
2
WEEK TWO
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Leadership selection and incentives in the party-state
*Victor Shih, Christopher Adolph, and Mingxing Liu, “Getting Ahead in the Communist Party: Explaining the
Advancement of Central Committee Members in China,” American Political Science Review. Vol. 106,
No. 1 (February 2012), pp. 166-187.
*Victor Shih, Wei Shan, Mingxing Liu, “The Central Committee, Past and Present: A Method of Quantifying
Elite Biographies,” in Allen Carlson et al., eds., Contemporary Chinese Politics (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2010), pp.51-68.
*Pierre Landry, Decentralized Authoritarianism in China (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008).
*James Kai-sung Kung and Ting Chen, “Do Land Revenue Windfalls Reduce the Career Incentives of County
Leaders? Evidence from China,” Unpublished ms., July 29, 2013.
*Susan H. Whiting, “The Cadre Evaluation System at the Grassroots: The Paradox of Party Rule,” in Barry
Naughton and Dali Yang, eds., Holding China Together (New York: Cambridge University Press).
For reference:
Susan H. Whiting, Power and Wealth in Rural China (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001), Chp 3.
Mary Gallagher and Jonathan Hanson, “Authoritarian Survival, Resilience, and the Selectorate Theory,” in
Martin Dimitrov, ed., Why Communism Did Not Collapse: Understanding Authoritarian Regime
Resilience in Asia and Europe (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013).
Yasheng Huang, Investment and Inflations Controls (New York: Cambridge University Press, ), Part I: The
Economic and Political Roles of Local Government Officials,”
Susan L. Shirk, The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China (Berkeley: University of California Press, )
“Leadership Incentives”
Cheng Li, “The End of the CCP’s Resilient Authoritarianism? A Tripartite Assessment of Shifting Power in
China,” China Quarterly No. 211 (September 2012), pp. 595-623.
Andrew Nathan, “Authoritarian Resilience,” Journal of Democracy Vol. 14, No. 1 (January 2003), pp. 6-17.
Andrew Nathan, “Authoritarian Impermanence,” Journal of Democracy Vol. 20, No. 1 (July 2009).
Milan W. Svolik, “Power Sharing and Leadership Dynamics in Authoritarian Regimes,” American Journal of
Political Science Vol. 53 No. 2 (April 2009), pp. 477-494.
James Kai-sing Kung and Shuo Chen “The Tragedy of the Nomenklatura: Career Incentives and Political
Radicalism during China's Great Leap Famine,” American Political Science Review Vol. 105 (2011), pp
27-45.
Dali L. Yang, Huayu Xu, and Ran Tao, “A Tragedy of the Nomenkalura? Career Incentives, Political Loyalty,
and Political Radicalism during China’s Great Leap Forward,” Journal of Contemporary China (2014)
R. Kent Guy, Qing Governors and Their Provinces: The Evolution of Territorial Administration in China,
1644–1796. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 2010.
WEEK THREE
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Elections
*Rory Truex, “The Returns to Office in a ‘Rubber Stamp’ Parliament,” American Political Science Review,
forthcoming.
*Melanie Manion, “The Selectoral Connection in Chinese Local Congresses,” Paper presented to the SeverynsRavenholt Seminar in Comparative Politics at the University of Washington, March 1, 2013.
*Melanie Manion, Authoritarian Parochialism: Local Congressional Representation in China,” Unpublished ms.
*Melanie Manion, “A Survey of Survey Research on Chinese Politics: What Have We Learned?” in Carlson et
al., eds., Contemporary Chinese Politics: New Sources, Methods, and Field Strategies (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2010),
*Pierre Landry, Deborah Davis and Shiru Wang, “Elections in Rural China: Competition Without Parties,”
Comparative Political Studies Vol. 43, No. 6 (2010), pp. 763-490.
*Fubing Su, Ran Tao, Sun, Xin, Liu, Mingxing, “Clans, Electoral Procedures and Voter Turnout: Evidence from
Villagers’ Committee Elections in Transitional China,” Political Studies Vol. 59 No.2 (June 2011), pp.
432-457.
3
For reference:
Tianjian Shi, “Voting and Nonvoting in China: Voting Behavior in Plebiscitary and Limited Choice Elections,”
Journal of Politics Vol. 61, No. 4 (1999), pp. 1115-1139.
Jie Chen and Yang Zhong, “Why do People Vote in Semicompetitive Elections in China?” Journal of Politics
Vol. 64, No. 1 (February 2002), pp. 178-197.
Young Nam Cho, “From ‘Rubber Stamps’ to ‘Iron Stamps’: The Emergence of Chinese Local People’s
Congresses as Supervisory Powerhouses,” The China Quarterly, No. 171 (September 2002), pp. 724740.
Xin Sun, “Autocrats Dilemma: The Dual Impacts of Village Elections on Public Opinion,” China Journal, No.
71, (January 2014), pp. 109-131.
Kevin O’Brien and Rongbin Han, “Path to Democracy? Assessing Village Elections in China,” Journal of
Contemporary China Vol. 18, No. 60 (June 2009), pp. 359-378.
John James Kennedy, Legitimacy with Chinese Characteristics: ‘two increases, one reduction’,” Journal of
Contemporary China Vol. 18, No. 60 (2009), pp.391-395.
Joshua Hill, “Seeking Talent at the Voting Booth: Elections and the Problem of Campaigning in the Late Qing
and Early Republic,” Twentieth-Century China Vol. 38, No. 3 (October 2013), pp. 213-229.
Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way, “The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism,” Journal of Democracy Vol. 13,
No. 2 (2002), pp. 51-65.
WEEK FOUR
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Economic Development
*Jean C. Oi, “Fiscal Reform and the Economic Foundations of Local State Corporatism in China. World Politics
Vol.45, No. 1 (1992), pp.99-126.
*Gabriella Montinola, Yingyi Qian, and Barry R. Weingast, “Federalism, Chinese Style: The Political Basis for
Economic Success in China,” World Politics Vol. 48, No.1 (1995), pp.50-81.
*Susan Whiting, Power and Wealth in Rural China: The Political Economy of Institutional Change (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2001).
*Chenggang Xu, “The Fundamental Institutions of China’s Reforms and Development,” Journal of Economic
Literature Vol. 49, No. 4 (2011), pp. 1076-1151.
*Pierre Landry and Lü Xiaobo, “Show Me the Money: Interjurisdiction Political Competition and Fiscal
Extraction in China,” American Political Science Review, forthcoming.
WEEK FIVE
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Public Goods and Welfare Provision
*Lily L. Tsai, Accountability without Democracy: Solidary Groups and Public Goods Provision in Rural China
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007).
*Lily L. Tsai, “Quantitative Research and Issues of Political Sensitivity in Rural China,” in Carlson et al., eds.,
Contemporary Chinese Politics: New Sources, Methods, and Field Strategies (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2010)
*Jean C. Oi, Kim Singer Babiarz, Linxiu Zhang, Renfu Luo and Scott Rozelle, “Shifting Fiscal Control to Limit
Cadre Power in China’s Townships and Villages,” China Quarterly Vol. 211 (September 2012), pp.
649-675.
*Renfu Luo, Linxiu Zhang, Jikun Huang and Scott Rozelle, “Village Elections, Public Goods Investments and
Pork Barrel Politics, Chinese Style,” Journal of Development Studies 46:4 (April 2010): 662-84
*Xian Huang, The Politics of Social Welfare Reform in Urban China: Social Welfare Preferences and Reform
Policies,” Journal of Chinese Political Science Vol. 18 (2013), pp. 61-85.
For reference:
Loren Brandt, et al., “Tax-for-Fee Reform, Village Operating Budgets and Public Goods Investment,”
Unpublished ms.
Martinez-Bravo et al., “Political Reform in China: Elections, Public Goods, and Income Distribution,”
Unpublished ms.
4
Erik Wibbels and John S. Ahlquist, “Development, Trade, and Social Insurance,” International Studies
Quarterly Vol. 55 (2011), pp. 125-149.
WEEK SIX
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Contentious politics
*Xi Chen, Social Protest and Contentious Authoritarianism in China (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2011).
*Xi Chen, “State Generated Data and Contentious Politics in China,” in Allen Carlson et al., eds., Contemporary
Chinese Politics (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp.
*Jing Chen, “Who Participates in Collective Petitions in Rural China?” Journal of Chinese Political Science Vol.
17 (2012), pp. 251-268.
*Yanhua Deng and Kevin J. O’Brien, “Relational Repression in China: Using Social Ties to Demobilize
Protestors,” China Quarterly (August 2013), pp. 1-20.
*Kevin O’Brien, “Rightful Resistance Revisited,” Journal of Peasant Studies, forthcoming.
For reference:
Kevin J. O’Brien, Rightful Resistance,” World Politics Vol. 49, No. 1 (October 1996), pp. 31-55.
Kevin J. O’Brien and Li Lianjiang, “Popular Contention and Its Impact in Rural China,” Comparative Political
Studies 39(3), April 2005: 235-259.
Karrie J. Koesel and Valerie J. Bunce, “Diffusion-Proofing: Russian and Chinese Responses to Wave of Popular
Mobilizations against Authoritarian Rulers,” Perspective on Politics Vol. 11, No. 3 (September 2013),
pp. 753-768.
WEEK SEVEN
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Rights Consciousness and Constitutionalism
*Elizabeth J. Perry, “Chinese conceptions of ‘rights’: from Mencius to Mao—and now,” Perspectives on
Politics Vol. 6, No.1 (March 2008), pp. 37–50
*Lianjiang Li, “Rights consciousness and rules consciousness in contemporary China,” China Journal 64, (July
2010), pp. 47–68.
*Peter L. Lorentzen and Suzanne E. Scoggins, ‘Rising rights consciousness: undermining or undergirding
China’s stability?” Unpublished ms. (2011).
*Michael Dowdle, “Popular Constitutionalism and the Constitutional Meaning of Charter 08,” Jean-Philippe
Beja and Hualing Fu, eds., Liu Xiaobo, Charter 09, and the Challenges of Political Reform in China
(Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong Press, 2012), pp. 205-228. E-book, UW Library.
*Fu Hualing, “Challenging Authoritarianism through Law,” Jean-Philippe Beja and Hualing Fu, eds., Liu
Xiaobo, Charter 09, and the Challenges of Political Reform in China (Hong Kong, University of Hong
Kong Press, 2012), pp. . E-book, UW Library.
*Qianfan Zhang, “A Constitution without Constitutionalism? The Paths of Constitutional Development in
China,” International Journal of Constitutional Law Vol. 8, No. 4 (2010), pp. 950-976.
*Yuhua Wang and Carl Minzner, “The Rise of the Security State,” Unpublished ms. December 9, 2013.
For reference:
Carl Minzner, “China’s Turn Against Law,” American Journal of Comparative Law Vol. 59 (2011), pp. 935984.
Ching Kwan Lee and Yonghong Zhang, “The Power of Instability: Unraveling the Microfoundations of
Bargained Authoritarianism in China,” American Journal of Sociology Vol. 118, No. 6 (May 2013), pp.
1475-1508
Stéphanie Balme and Michael W. Dowdle, eds., Building Constitutionalism in China , 2009.
Philip C. C. Huang, “Introduction to Constitutionalism,” Modern China Vol. 36, No. 1 (January 2010), pp. 3-11
Columbia Journal of Asian Law Spring-Fall2005 issue on Chinese constitutionalism
Zachary Elkins, Tom Ginsburg, James Melton, The Endurance of National Constitutions (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2009).
5
WEEK EIGHT
Friday, May 23, 2014
CUP Seattle Seminar
Labor Politics
*Mary Gallagher, Authoritarian Legality: Law, Workers, and the State in Contemporary China, Unpublished
manuscript, CUP Seattle Seminar, 2014.
For reference:
Jeffrey Becker, “The Knowledge to Act: Chinese Migrant Labor Protests in Comparative Perspective,”
Comparative Political Studies Vol. 45, No. 11 (2012), pp. 1379-1404.
Wonik Kim and Jennifer Gandhi, “Coopting Workers under Dictatorship,” Journal of Politics Vol. 72, No. 3
(July 2010), pp. 646-658.
Eli Friedman and Ching Kwan Lee, British Journal of Industrial Relations Vol. 48, No. 3 (September 2010).
Ching Kwan Lee, Against the Law: Labor Protests in China’s Rustbelt and Sunbelt (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 2007).
WEEK NINE
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Media Politics/ Political Communication
*Daniela Stockmann, Media Commercialization and Authoritarian Rule in China (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2013).
*Daniela Stockmann, “Information Overload? Collecting, Managing, and Analyzing Chinese Media Content,”
in Allen Carlson et al., eds., Contemporary Chinese Politics (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2010), pp.107-128
*Gary King, Jennifer Pan, and Margaret E. Roberts, “How Censorship in China Allows Government Criticism
but Silences Collective Expression,” American Political Science Review Vol. No. (May 2013), pp.
*Guobin Yang, “Online Activism,” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 20, No. 3 (July 2009), pp. 33-36.
*James Leibold, “Blogging Alone: China, the Internet and the Democratic Illusion?” Journal of Asian Studies
(2011), pp. 1-19.
*Yuen Yuen Ang, “Authoritarian Restraints on Online Activism Revisited: Why “I-Paid-A-Bribe” Worked in
India but Failed in China,” Unpublished ms. November 2, 2013.
For reference:
Xiao Qiang, “The Rise of Online Public Opinion and Its Political Impact,” in Susan Shirk, ed., Changing Media
Changing China (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 202-224.
Shui-Yan Tang and Xueyong Zhan, “Civic Environmental NGOs, Civil Society, and Democratisation in China,”
Journal of Development Studies Vol. 44, No. 3 (March 2008), pp. 425-448.
Florian Butollo and Tobias ten Brink, “Challenging the Atomization of Discontent,” Critical Asian Studies Vol.
44, No. 3 (2012), pp. 419-440.
Ora John Reuter and David Szakonyi, “Online Social Media and Political Awareness in Authoritarian Regimes,”
British Journal of Political Science, forthcoming.
WEEK TEN
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Civil Society
*Timothy Hildebrandt, Social Organizations and the Authoritarian State in China (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2013).
*Susan H. Whiting, “The Politics of NGO Development in China,” Voluntas Vol. 2, No. 1 (1991), pp. 16-48.
*Jessica C. Teets, “Let Many Civil Societies Bloom: The Rise of Consultative Authoritarianism in China,”
China Quarterly 213 (March 2013): 19-38.
*Elizabeth J. Perry, “Casting a Chinese "Democracy" Movement: The Roles of Students, Workers, and
Entrepreneurs,” in Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom and Elizabeth J. Perry, eds., Popular Protest & Political
Culture in Modern China (Westview Press, 1992).
*Changdong Zhang, “Non-Governmental Organizations’ Policy Advocacy in China: Resources, Government
Intention, and Network ,” China: An International Journal, forthcoming 2015 .
6
For reference:
Anthony J. Spires, “Contingent Symbiosis and Civil Society in an Authoritarian State: Understanding the
Survival of China’s Grassroots NGOs,” American Journal of Sociology Vol. 117, No. 1 (July 2011).
Sabine Lang, NGOs, Civil Society, and the Public Sphere (New York: Cambridge University Press 2012).
7