Gov 98ci: China and India Compared
Fall 2015
Knafel 107 Thursday 1-3 pm
Nara Dillon
Government & East Asian Languages & Civilizations
ndillon@gov.harvard.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 2-4 pm or by appointment
Room 230 2 Divinity Ave.
Meg Rithmire
Harvard Business School
mrithmire@hbs.edu
Office hours: By appointment
This course compares politics, economics, and societies in the two largest countries in the world.
Both countries achieved national liberation in the late 1940s as predominantly agricultural and
poor societies. After decades of what was called “socialism,” both countries adopted market
reforms, China beginning in 1978 and India in 1991. In each country, reforms have been
followed by impressive economic growth and equally dramatic social transformations and
enhanced inequalities. In 2015, both countries are led by a new generation of high-profile
political leaders with ambitious missions to deepen market reforms.
In comparing the experiences of these two giants, the course also engages larger questions that
extend well beyond China and India: Why do countries adopt neo-liberal reforms? What are the
distributional and social effects of market reforms? How do regime types affect governance at an
everyday level, and in terms of large outcomes? How do ethnic and religious divisions interact
with democratic and authoritarian politics? How can corruption be contained? What is the future
of a world in which India and China are economically and politically powerful?
Reading assignments will be available through the course website. As a seminar, preparation
and active participation in class discussion every week is expected. Student grades will be
assessed on the basis of seminar participation and a final research paper on a comparative
question. There will be two assignments over the course of the semester to provide feedback on
students’ progress on research and writing the final paper. The final grade will be determined as
follows:
Weekly Participation & Conference Presentation (25% - conference on 12/3)
Annotated Bibliography (10% - due 10/5 at 5 pm)
Literature Review (15% - due 11/2 at 5 pm)
Final Paper (50% - due 12/10)
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SEMESTER SCHEDULE:
Week 1 (9/3): Overview: Why do we compare? Why compare China and India?
Week 2 (9/10): National Liberation: 1947 in India and 1949 in China
Mohandas Gandhi. “Victory in South Africa.” pp. 75-98 in The Essential Gandhi, 2nd
edition. Vintage Books, 2003.
Gyanendra Pandey. Remembering Partition. Cambridge University Press, 2001. Pp. 2144.
Mao Zedong, “Report on a Peasant Movement in Hunan” in Selected Works of Mao Tsetung, Vol. 1 (Foreign Languages Press, 1965) pp. 23-39, 44-48
Chalmers Johnson. Peasant Nationalism and Communist Power. 1962. Ch 1 (pp. 1-30)
and 7 (176-187)
Week 3 (9/17): Sustaining Democracy in India Against Expectations
Atul Kohli. ‘The Puzzle of India’s Democracy’.
Ashutosh Varshney. Why Democracy Survives. Journal of Democracy - Volume 9,
Number 3, July 1998, pp. 36-50.
Patrick Heller. “Degrees of Democracy: Some Comparative lessons from India” World
Politics. 52. July 2000, pp. 484-519.
Week 4 (9/24): Sustaining Communism in China Against Expectations
Andrew Nathan. Authoritarian Resilience. Journal of Democracy, Volume 14, Number 1,
January 2003, pp. 6-17.
Rory Truex. “Consultative Authoritarianism and its Limits. Comparative Political
Studies. 2014. Pp. 1-33.
Eric X. Li. “The Life of the Party.” Foreign Affairs. (Jan/Feb.2013).
Yasheng Huang. “Democratize or Die.” Foreign Affairs. (Jan/Feb.2013).
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Week 5 (10/1) : Economic Liberalization: Why Reform?
Francine Frankel. 2005. India’s Political Economy, 1947-2005. Oxford University Press.
Pp. 580-595.
Rob Jenkins, “Political Skills: Reform by Stealth” in Mukherji, ed. India’s Economic
Transition: The Politics of Reforms, Oxford University Press, 2011.
Barry Naughton. The Chinese Economy. MIT Press, 2007, Chs 3 and 4.
Susan Shirk, The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China, University of California
Press, 1993, Intro.
Annotated Bibliography Due Monday October 5 by 5 pm.
Week 6 (10/8): Reforms and Growth
Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya. Why Growth Matters. 2013. Preface,
Introduction, and Ch 3
Atul Kohli. “Politics of Economic Growth in India, 1980-2005.” Economic and Political
Weekly. April 8, 2006.
Thomas Rawski. “Reforming China’s Economy: What Have We Learned?” The China
Journal. (41): 139-156.
Wing Thye Woo. “The Real Reasons for China’s Growth.” The China Journal. (41): 115137.
Week 7 (10/15): Poverty & Inequality
Amartya Sen & Jean Drez, Hunger and Public Action. Oxford University Press, Ch. 11
China and India.
Yasheng Huang, “Policy Model and Inequality” in DeLisle and Goldstein, eds. China’s
Challenges, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.
Jane Duckett and Guohui Wang, “Poverty and Inequality” in DeLisle and Goldstein, eds.
China’s Challenges, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.
Stuart Corbridge et al., “Is the Indian State Delivering on Promises of Inclusive Growth?”
in India Today: Economy, Politics & Society, Polity Press, 2013.
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Varshney, Iyer, and Khanna. “Caste and Entrepreneurship in India,” in Varshney. Battles
Half-Won. 2013.
Week 8 (10/22): Ethnic Conflict
Ashutosh Varshney. “Ethnic Conflict and Civil Society: India and Beyond.” World
Politics. (53) April 2001: pp. 362-398.
Steven Wilkinson. Votes and Violence. Cambridge University Press, 2004: selections.
Emily Yeh. Taming Tibet. Cornell University Press, 2013. Selections.
Tom Mullaney. Coming to Terms with the Nation. Stanford University Press. 2011.
Selections
Week 9 (10/29): Popular Mobilization
Ashutosh Varshney. “Is India becoming more democratic?” Battles Half-Won. PenguinViking 2013. Pp. 64-95.
CK Lee. “State and Social Protest.” Daedalus 143 (2) Spring 2014: pp. 124-134.
Helen Gao, “Land of Many Nationalisms” Dissent Spring 2013: 30-35.
Literature Reviews Due Monday November 2 by 5 pm.
Week 10 (11/5): HBS Case: Reform in China and India, 2015
Rafael DiTella, Meg Rithmire, and Kaitlyn Szdlowski. “The ‘Chinese Dream’:
Corruption, Inequality, and the Rule of Law.” HBS 714-440.
Week 11 (11/12): HBS Case: Reform in China and India, 2015
Akshay Mangla. “Inclusive Growth in India: The State and Education.” HBS 715-049.
Week 12 (11/19): Globalization & the Future
Prasenjit Duara. The Crisis of Global Modernity. Cambridge. 2014. Selections.
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Review of International Political Economy (2013) Special Issue: Dreaming with the
BRICS? The Washington Consensus and the New Political Economy of Development
Thanksgiving!
Week 13 (12/3): Student Conference
Reading Period
Final Paper Due Thursday, December 10 by 12 pm.
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