Description:
China is one of the world’s major powers and its foreign policy is naturally of great interest to practitioners as well as academics. Yet there is a general deficit when it comes to understanding the nature of Chinese foreign policy, its main determinants, and how it is made. Opaque bureaucracies and a culture of state secrecy undermine foreign attempts to study this subject.
The goal of this class is to provide a general survey of the People’s Republic of China’s foreign policy since its establishment in 1949. Major doctrines (peaceful co-existence; shared prosperity), issues (Taiwan; South China Sea dispute), and processes (the MFA) will be studied as part of this class.
Course objectives:
a. Have a general understanding of the history of the PRC’s foreign policy
b. Have a general understanding of the policy-making process for PRC foreign policy
c. Have a general understanding of the major issues in PRC foreign policy
Mode of instruction:
Seminars twice a week where the readings are discussed. Each week, there will be one or more presenter from among the students.
All the readings are in English. No knowledge of the Chinese language needed.
Assessment method:
a. Presentation in-class for 40pc
b. Participation in-class for 20pc
c. Final exam for 40pc
Registration
See General Information
Timetable
See 'MyTimetable'