POLITICAL SCIENCE 3192W:
CHINA’S TRANSFORMATIONS
Fall 2012
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:
Anita Chan, Richard Madsen, and Jonathan Unger, Chen Village: Revolution to Globalization
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009).
Scott Kennedy, ed., Beyond the Middle Kingdom: Comparative Perspectives on China’s
Capitalist Transformation (Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2011).
Roderick MacFarquhar, ed., The Politics of China, third edition (NY: Cambridge University
Press, 2011).
Kevin O’Brien, ed., Popular Protest in China (Harvard University Press, 2008).
Teresa Wright, Accepting Authoritarianism: State-Society Relations in China’s Reform Era
(Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2010).
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 9 a.m. 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 9 a.m. 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 Research Paper (45%): as a final project, you will have two options:
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 September 25; and a preliminary literature review by October 30.
The final paper will be due on December 11 by 12 noon.
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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 analyze and critique scholarly literature on 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.
(August 28) Introduction: No readings
I. THE EVOLUTION OF ELITE POLITICS
2.
(September 4): The Beginning of the Mao Era, 1949-1956
Frederick C. Teiwes, “Establishment and Consolidation of the New Regime,” in
MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp. 6-86.
3.
(September 11): The Great Leap Forward and Its Aftermath
Kenneth Lieberthal, “The Great Leap Forward and the Split in the Yanan Leadership,” in
MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp. 87-146.
Chan, Madsen, and Unger, Chen Village, pp. 1-102.
4.
(September 18): The Cultural Revolution and the End of the Maoist Era, 1966-1976
Harry Harding, “The Chinese State in Crisis,” in MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp.
147-245.
Roderick MacFarquhar, “The Succession to Mao and the End of Maoism, 1969-1982,” in
MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp. 246-307.
Chan, Madsen, and Unger, Chen Village, pp. 103-212.
5.
(September 25): The Beginning of the Reform Era, 1978-1989
MacFarquhar, “The Succession to Mao and the End of Maoism, 1969-1982,” pp. 308336.
Richard Baum, “The Road to Tiananmen: Chinese Politics in the 1980s,” in
MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp. 337-467.
Chan, Madsen, and Unger, Chen Village, pp. 213-287.
*** TERM PAPER TOPIC DUE ***
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6.
(October 2): The Third Generation of Leaders, 1992-2002
Joseph Fewsmith, “Reaction, Resurgence, and Succession: Politics since Tiananmen,” in
MacFarquhar, ed., Politics of China, pp. 468-527.
* Andrew Nathan, “Authoritarian Resilience,” Journal of Democracy, vol. 14, no. 1
(January 2003), pp. 6-17.
Chan, Madsen, and Unger, Chen Village, pp. 288-329.
7.
(October 9): The Fourth (and Fifth?) Generations of Leaders, 2002-2012
Alice Miller, “Dilemmas of Globalization and Governance,” in MacFarquhar, ed.,
Politics of China, pp. 528-599.
* Cheng Li, “The Battle for China’s Top Nine Leadership Spots,” Washington Quarterly,
vol. 35, no. 1 (Winter 2012), pp. 131-145.
Chan, Madsen, and Unger, Chen Village, pp. 330-396.
II. THE POLITICS OF REFORM
8.
(October 16): The China Model
Margaret Pearson, “Variety within and Without: The Political Economy of Chinese
Regulation,” in Kennedy, ed., Beyond the Middle Kingdom, pp. 25-43.
Arthur Kroeber, “Development Dreams: Policy and Reality in China’s Economic
Reforms,” in Kennedy, ed., Beyond the Middle Kingdom, pp. 44-65.
Andrew Wedeman, “Crossing the River by Feeling for Stones or Carried Away by
the Current? The Transformation of the Chinese Automotive Sector,” in Kennedy,
ed., Beyond the Middle Kingdom, pp. 66-88.
* Scott Kennedy, “The Myth of the Beijing Consensus,” Journal of Contemporary
China, vol. 19, no. 65 (June 2010), pp. 461-477.
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Teresa Wright, Accepting Authoritarianism, pp. 1-36.
* Bruce Dickson, “Revising Reform: China’s New Leaders and the Challenge of
Governance,” China: An International Journal, vol. 10, no. 2 (August 2012), pp. 34-51.
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9.
(October 23): Emergence of a Private Sector
Teresa Wright, Accepting Authoritarianism, pp. 37-57.
* Bruce Dickson, “China’s Cooperative Capitalists: The Business End of the Middle
Class,” in Cheng Li, ed., China’s Emerging Middle Class: Beyond Economic
Transformation (Washington, DC: Brookings, 2010).
Scott Kennedy, “Fragmented Influence: Business Lobbying in China in Comparative
Perspective,” in Kennedy, ed., Beyond the Middle Kingdom, pp. 113-135.
Kellee Tsai, “Comparing China’s Capitalists: Neither Democratic Nor Exceptional,” in
Kennedy, ed., Beyond the Middle Kingdom, pp. 136-158.
10.
(October 30): Politics of Protest
* 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.
Yongshun Cai, “Disruptive Collective Action in the Reform Era,” in O’Brien, ed.,
Popular Protest in China, pp. 163-178.
Teresa Wright, Accepting Authoritarianism, pp. 136-161.
* 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.
* * * LITERATURE REVIEW FOR TERM PAPER DUE * * *
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11.
(November 6): Labor Politics
Teresa Wright, Accepting Authoritarianism, pp. 85-135.
William Hurst, “Mass Frames and Worker Protest,” in O’Brien, ed., Popular Protest
in China, pp. 71-87.
Feng Chen, “Worker Leaders and Framing Factory-Based Resistance,” in O’Brien,
ed., Popular Protest in China, pp. 88-107.
12.
(November 13): Managing Relations between State and Society
* Tony Saich, “Negotiating the State: The Development of Social Organizations in
China,” China Quarterly, no. 161 (March 2000), pp. 124-141.
* 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.
* Lily Lee Tsai, “Cadres, Temple and Lineage Institutions, and Governance in Rural
China,” China Journal, no. 48 (July 2002), pp. 1-28.
Mark W. Frazier, “Welfare Policy Pathways among Large Uneven Developers,” in
Kennedy, ed., Beyond the Middle Kingdom, pp. 89-109.
13.
(November 20): Dissent and the Role of Intellectuals
Teresa Wright, Accepting Authoritarianism, pp. 58-84.
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Teresa Wright, “Student Movements in China and Taiwan,” in O’Brien, ed., Popular
Protest in China, pp. 26-53.
Guobin Yang, “Contention in Cyberspace,” in O’Brien, ed., Popular Protest in China,
pp. 126-143.
Yanfei Sun and Dingxin Zhao, “Environmental Campaigns,” in O’Brien, ed., Popular
Protest in China, pp. pp. 144-162.
Patricia M. Thornton, “Manufacturing Dissent in Transnational China,” in O’Brien,
ed., Popular Protest in China, pp. 179-204.
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14.
(November 27): Changing Political Beliefs
* Tianjian Shi, “China: Democratic Values Supporting an Authoritarian System,” in
Yun-han Chu, et al, eds. How East Asians View Democracy (New York: Columbia
University Press, 2008), pp. 209-237.
* 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.
Teresa Wright, Accepting Authoritarianism, pp. 162-179.
* Bruce Gilley, “Democratic Enclaves in Authoritarian Regimes,” Democratization,
vol. 17, no. 3 (June 2010), pp. 389-415.
* Bruce J. Dickson and Mingming Shen, “Generating Popular Support in China:
The Material, Cultural, and Institutional Bases for Regime Survival,” unpublished
paper.
* * * FINAL PAPER DUE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, BY 12 NOON * * *
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