Home>Course>[CHES5143] Comparative Politics and China>

This course will introduce fundamental issues and approaches in comparative politics and systematically map out the political system of China in these perspectives. Specifically, we will discuss the characteristics of different political systems in the world, investigate the key elements in governance, examine various political and policy processes, and explore the role of societal actors in different political systems. In each section, we will understand China by comparing it with other systems in the world. Students will be asked to reflect on the status of Chinese political system in the world from each of these particular perspectives.

Introduction:     Politics, Comparative Politics, and China: What is the comparative politics study? How to approach China in a comparative framework? Is China comparable to other countries or is China an outlier?

History Matters:               Political History of the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Political Model Political System Political System/Regimes: How to define political system/regimes in the world? How to find China along the autocracy-democracy, authoritarian- hybrid-democratic regimes lines, etc.?

Political Structure I:         Party system: What is a political party? Why political parties? How to describe a political system using the party system? How about China?

Political Structure II:       Legislature: What is a legislature? How to understand the relationship between the Executive Branch and the Parliament? What are the functions of the National People’s Congress of China? How different the NPC is from other legislative branches in the world?

Political Structure III:      Executive/administrators: What are the responsibilities of the Executive Branch? How to understand leadership? The relationship between the central and local in different systems? And in China? Technocrats? Bureaucrats?

Political Structure IV:      Judicial/legal system: How important is the independence of judicial branch and check and balance? How to understand the Chinese legal system and its anticorruption campaigns?

Political Process I:            Development and Democracy: What is the relationship between economic development and political transition? What is democratization? How to understand and evaluate the economic and social development, and political situations in China?

Political Process II:           Policy Making Process: How are public policies made? Who are players in the policy process? How to understand some key social and economic policies in China?

Political Process III:          Globalization and International Relations: How to understand the international world, the role of international organizations? How has globalization shaped domestic politics? What is the Belt and Road Initiative in China and what to expect in the future?

Political Actors I:               Civil Society: What is the civil society and pressure groups? What can the civil society do? What is the relationship between the state and society in different regime types? And in China?

Political Actors II:             Individuals & Political culture: What is political culture? What is citizenship? How can individuals do to affect the political process?