China in International Politics

China in International Politics exposes students to key historical and contemporary issues facing China (People’s Republic of China, PRC) in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. Specifically, the course aims to analyze China’s developmental trajectory and understand the impact of national identity (as rooted in China’s historical experiences) on the PRC’s international affairs in the Indo-Pacific by studying critical junctures in contemporary Chinese history. The course comprises two parts. The first outlines the collapse of the Qing empire, the ensuing Republican years as well as the first decades of the newly established PRC. Further, it analyzes China’s "Reform and Opening," its "rise" in international power terms and the challenges that could stall China’s regional ambitions including contradictions in its economic model (e.g., excessive reliance on debt to fuel growth), environmental degradation, population aging etc. The second part focuses on Chinese politics and foreign policy and China’s bilateral relations with the main actors in the Indo-Pacific region including the United States, Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and states in Southeast Asia. The important "Taiwan issue" is also addressed in this part. As a result, students will enhance their understanding of (1) the main socio-economic changes that are taking place within the PRC, including industrialization, innovation, poverty reduction, health care improvements, climate action, and their relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as well as (2) the broader geopolitical and military developments that are taking place in the Indo-Pacific region.