POLITICAL SCIENCE 6370: POLITICS OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Fall 2011
Professor: Bruce Dickson
Office: 480 Monroe Hall
Office Hours: Fridays, 10-12 (and by appointment)
ph: 994-4186, fax: 994-7743, e-mail: bdickson@gwu.edu
Objective: This course will serve as an introduction to Chinese politics in three ways: it will
introduce the key individuals and events in the People's Republic of China; it will introduce the
main issues that have concerned China’s leaders and citizens and the processes by which they
have been resolved; and it will introduce the principal scholars and debates in the study of
Chinese politics.
Scope: We will concentrate on the post-1949 period of Chinese politics, looking at issues of elite
politics, policy making, political participation, and political change. We will consider changes
and continuities between the Maoist era (1949-1976) and the post-Mao era of reform.
Readings: The following books are available for purchase in the GW bookstore:
Lucien Bianco, Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 (Stanford: Stanford University
Press, 1971).
Anita Chan, Richard Madsen, and Jonathan Unger, Chen Village: Revolution to Globalization
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009).
Bruce J. Dickson, Wealth into Power: The Communist Party’s Embrace of China’s Private
Sector (NY: Cambridge University Press, 2008).
Joseph Fewsmith, China since Tiananmen: The Politics of Transition, 2nd edition (NY:
Cambridge University Press, 2008).
Roderick MacFarquhar, ed., The Politics of China, second edition (NY: Cambridge University
Press, 1997).
David Shambaugh, China’s Communist Party: Atrophy and Adaptation (Berkeley and Washington,
DC: University of California Press and Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2008).
In addition, other readings (marked with * in the weekly assignments below) will be available on
Blackboard. You are expected to finish all assigned readings before each class. Active
participation is a requirement of this class, and you cannot participate if you are not prepared.
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Assignments: Grading will be based on several different types of written assignments and
participation in class.
Participation (15%): this includes both active involvement in classroom discussions and the
submission of 2-3 weekly discussion questions. One can be a question asking for clarification of
something you did not understand in the readings, but at least one question must be more
analytical in nature or a topic you want to discuss in class. The questions must be posted on
Blackboard on the “Discussions” tab by 12 noon the day of class.
Short Papers (2 @ 20% = 40%): you will write two essays that analyze and evaluate key issues
and events covered in the weekly readings. You are not expected or required to do additional
outside reading. There will be no assigned topics; instead, you will use your own discretion in
selecting paper topics, so long as they respond to the readings in some way. Your essay may be
explanatory (focusing on some aspect of Chinese politics and policy making); theoretical
(focusing on the utility of one or more approaches to the study of Chinese politics); or policyspecific (focusing on a specific policy or set of policies, the context in with it was adopted, its
consequences, its lessons or legacies, etc.) The essays must be posted on Blackboard on the
“Discussions” tab by 12 noon the day of class.
The weeks you write a short paper you do not have to post discussion questions. Instead, you
should post a one paragraph abstract that summarizes the main points and conclusions you’re
your paper. You will present in-class a short summary of your paper, which may end with
questions for further discussion.
A good paper should do the following things:
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it may compare and contrast several of the readings, or provide an in-depth critique of just
one of the readings. Your papers do not have to cover all the readings in a particular
week, but should address main themes.
it should analyze and critique the readings, not simply summarize them. Your paper
should make an argument and convey a point of view. You should provide your own
analysis of the events or issues discussed in the readings, or provide an alternative
argument not offered in the readings. In the weeks when we read an entire book, you can
also write a standard book review.
it should give credit where credit is due: always cite your sources of information. This
includes facts and figures, direct quotes, and paraphrased wording.
it must be double spaced, use 12 point font, and be no more than five pages long.
Final Exam or Research Paper (45%): as a final project, you will have two options:
1. a take-home final exam. The questions will be passed out on the last day of class, and due
December 12 by 12 noon.
2. a 20-25 page research paper on a topic of your choosing. The topic must be relevant to the
themes of this class and approved by me. If you choose this option, you must submit your
proposed topic to me by October 6 and a preliminary outline and bibliography by
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November 3. The paper will be due on December 12 by 12 noon.
Learning Objectives:
During the semester, students will:
 Become familiar with the key issues, institutions, and individual leaders of modern
Chinese politics
 Become familiar with the scholarly debates on Chinese politics
 Learn how to both analyze and forecast the evolution of contemporary China
 Learn how to design and implement an original research paper
Academic Integrity:
I personally support the GW Code of Academic Integrity, and all students are also
expected to abide by it. It states: “Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind,
including misrepresenting one's own work, taking credit for the work of others without
crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information.” For
the remainder of the code, see: http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html
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READINGS
1.
(September 1) Introduction: No readings
I. THE MAKING OF CHINA'S POLITICAL SYSTEM
2.
(September 8): The Chinese Revolution
Lucien Bianco, Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949.
II. THE EVOLUTION OF ELITE POLITICS
3.
(September 15): The Beginning of the Mao Era, 1949-1965
Frederick C. Teiwes, “Establishment and Consolidation of the New Regime,” in
MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp. 5-86.
Kenneth Lieberthal, “The Great Leap Forward and the Split in the Yanan Leadership,” in
MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp. 87-147.
4.
(September 22): The Cultural Revolution and Its Aftermath, 1966-1982
Harry Harding, “The Chinese State in Crisis,” in MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp.
148-247.
Roderick MacFarquhar, “The Succession to Mao and the End of Maoism, 1969-1982,” in
MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp. 248-339.
5.
(September 29): The Beginning of the Reform Era, 1982-1992
Richard Baum, “The Road to Tiananmen: Chinese Politics in the 1980s,” in
MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp. 340-471.
Fewsmith, China since Tiananmen, pp. 1-79.
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6.
(October 6): The Third Generation of Leaders, 1992-2002
Fewsmith, China since Tiananmen, pp. 83-227.
* Cheng Li and Lynn White, “The Fifteenth Central Committee of the Chinese
Community Party: Full-Fledged Technocratic Leadership with Partial Control by Jiang
Zemin,” Asian Survey, Vol. 38, no. 3 (March 1998), pp. 231-264.
*** (Optional): Research Paper Topic Due ***
7.
(October 13): The Fourth (and Fifth?) Generations of Leaders, 2002-2011
Fewsmith, China since Tiananmen, pp. 231-284.
* Andrew Nathan, “Authoritarian Resilience,” Journal of Democracy, vol. 14, no. 1
(January 2003), pp. 6-17.
* Bruce J. Dickson, “Beijing’s Ambivalent Reformers,” Current History (September
2004), pp. 249-255.
* Minxin Pei, “The Dark Side of China’s Rise,” Foreign Policy (March/April 2006),
pp. 32-40.
* Cheng Li, “China’s Team of Rivals,” Foreign Policy (March/April 2009), pp. 8893.
* Linda Jakobson and Dean Knox, “New Foreign Policy Actors in China,” SIPRI Policy
Paper no. 26 (September 2010).
III. THE POLITICS OF REFORM
8.
(October 20): Political Reforms
* Tianjian Shi, “Village Committee Elections in China: Institutional Tactics for
Democracy,” World Politics, vol. 51, no. 3 (April 1999), pp. 385-412.
* Kevin J. 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.
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* Tony Saich, “Negotiating the State: The Development of Social Organizations in
China,” China Quarterly, no. 161 (March 2000), pp. 124-141.
* George J. Gilboy and Benjamin L. Read, “Political and Social Reform in China: Alive
and Kicking,” Washington Quarterly (Summer 2008), pp. 143-164.
* Joseph Fewsmith, “Participatory Budgeting: Development and Limitations,” China
Leadership Monitor, no. 29 (Summer 2009).
* John Thornton, “Long Time Coming,” Foreign Affairs (January-February 2008),
pp. 2-22.
* Bruce Gilley, “Democratic Enclaves in Authoritarian Regimes,” Democratization,
vol. 17, no. 3 (June 2010), pp. 389-415.
* Vivienne Shue, “Legitimacy Crisis in China?” in Peter Hays Gries and Stanley
Rosen, eds., Chinese Politics: State, Society, and the Market (New York:
Routledge, 2010), pp. 41-68.
9.
(October 27): Local Politics, part I
Chan, Madsen, and Unger, Chen Village, pp. 13-266.
10.
(November 3): Local Politics, part II
Chan, Madsen, and Unger, Chen Village, pp. 267-396.
* Lily Lee Tsai, “Cadres, Temple and Lineage Institutions, and Governance in Rural
China,” China Journal, no. 48 (July 2002), pp. 1-28.
*** (Optional): Research Paper Outline and Draft Bibliography Due ***
11.
(November 10): Government-Business Relations
Dickson, Wealth into Power, chaps. 1-6.
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12.
(November 17): The Political and Social Consequences of Economic Reform
* Kevin J. O’Brien, “Rightful Resistance,” World Politics, vol. 49, no. 1 (October 1996),
pp. 31-55.
* 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, No.64 (July 2010), pp.47-68.
* Mary Gallagher, “Mobilizing the Law in China: ‘Informed Disenchantment’ and the
Development of Legal Consciousness,” Law and Society Review, Vol. 4, no. 4 (December
2006), pp. 783-816.
* Evan Osnos, “Angry Youth: The New Generation’s Neo-Con Nationalists,” New
Yorker, July 28, 2008.
Dickson, Wealth into Power, chaps. 7-8.
(November 24): Thanksgiving Break -- No Readings
13.
(December 1): The Chinese Communist Party and the Future of Chinese Politics
David Shambaugh, The Chinese Communist Party
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DECEMBER 12: FINAL EXAMS AND RESEARCH PAPERS DUE BY 12 NOON
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