About this course: This course offers a conceptual framework for understanding China that highlights the intersection of politics and economics. It shows that rather than develop into a full blown market economy, state and party officials at all levels of the political system maintain significant influence in economic development. Such a “political” economy has had both positive and negative outcomes, which we will assess in detail. We also look at the origins, views, backgrounds and relations among leaders, and how those leaders make decisions about public policy and try to get those decisions implemented down through the system. China has few formal institutions through which citizens can participate in politics, but we will study the strategies Chinese people use to try to influence their leaders’ decisions. Finally, we assess China’s future and whether rapid economic development and the emergence of a vibrant middle class will push China towards greater democracy or whether the single party system is likely to survive into the future. The course is a quite useful background for Chinese Politics Part 2 – China and the World. Course Overview video: https://youtu.be/7FpNL67EbE4
Taught by: David Zweig, Chair Professor of the Division of Social Science and Director of Center on China’s Transnational Relations
| Commitment | 7 weeks of study, 3-4 hours/week |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
- Video: Course Overview
- Reading: Assignments and Grading
- Discussion Prompt: Meet and Greet
- Reading: Module 1 Required Pre-course Reading
- Video: 1.1: Categorizing the System through Models
- Video: 1.2: Bureaucratic Model and Chinese Politics
- Video: 1.3: The Structure of the Political System
- Video: 1.4: Key Party Structures
- Video: 1.5: Government and the Party
- Video: 1.6: China’s Legislature
- Video: 1.7: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and China’s Military
- Video: 1.8: CCP Controls the Judiciary
- Reading: Module 1 Suggested Reading
- Video: 2.1: Elite Politics affects Economics and Business
- Video: 2.2: Leadership Values, Structures of Conflict and Political Stability
- Video: 2.3: Key Strategies for Elite Success and Elite Mobility in China
- Video: 2.4: Selection of Leaders: What do we know?
- Video: 2.5: Retired Leaders and the Succession Process
- Video: 2.6: New Leaders Bring Policy Changes
- Discussion Prompt: 2.6: Discussion
- Video: 2.7: Characteristics of Chinese Middle-level Leadership
- Discussion Prompt: 2.7: Discussion
- Video: 2.8: Generations among Chinese Elites
- Discussion Prompt: 2.8: Discussion
- Video: 2.9: International Experience of Top Chinese Leaders
- Reading: Module 2 Required Reading
- Video: 3.1: Policy Process in Chinese Politics
- Video: 3.2: The Politics of Policy Making in China
- Discussion Prompt: 3.2: Discussion
- Video: 3.3: Selecting Policy Alternatives
- Video: 3.4: Making the Decision
- Video: 3.5: Social Interests and Policy Making
- Video: 3.6: Policy Implementation through Campaigns
- Video: 3.7: Local Response, Unintended Consequences and Policy Adjustment
- Discussion Prompt: 3.7: Discussion
- Video: 3.8: Policy Failures and Successes
- Reading: Module 3 Course Reading
- Video: 4.1: Political Culture in China
- Video: 4.2: Political Culture as Empirically Measurable Variable
- Video: 4.3: Political Culture in Rural China
- Video: 4.4: Political Participation
- Video: 4.5: Details on the Modes of Participation
- Video: 4.6: Group Activity and Group Politics
- Video: 4.7: Collective Action and Protest
- Video: 4.8: Key Social Groups who Participate in Politics
- Video: 4.9: Concluding the Modes of Participation
- Reading: Module 4 Course Reading
- Video: 5.1: Six Components of China's Political Economy
- Video: 5.2: China’s Political Economy on the Eve of Reform
- Video: 5.3: Impact of Reforms on China’s Political Economy
- Video: 5.4: The Impact of Reform on Rural Income
- Video: 5.5: China’s Township and Village Enterprises (TVEs), 1984-1994
- Video: 5.6: Role of the Public Sector in China's Political Economy
- Video: 5.7: Central-Local Financial Relations
- Video: 5.8: China as a “Trading State”
- Video: 5.9: Dilemmas of a “Trading State”
- Video: 5.10: Chinese Firms “Going Out”
- Reading: Module 5 Course Reading
- Video: 6.1: China’s Future
- Video: 6.2: Scenario 1: Political Development and Democratic Transition
- Video: 6.3: Scenario 1: Further Forces for Political Development and Democratic Transition
- Video: 6.4: Lessons from Scenarios of Democratic Transition
- Video: 6.5: Scenario 2: Continued Market Leninism
- Video: 6.6: Constraints on Society and Ideology
- Video: 6.7: Xi Jinping’s Intense Attack on Corruption
- Video: 6.8: Jiang Zemin’s “Three Representatives” and the Role of the Middle Class
- Video: 6.9: Scenario 3: Collapse of the CCP
- Video: 6.10: Sources of Political Instability
- Video: 6.11: Inequality, Corruption and CCP Rule
- Video: 6.12: Conclusion
- Discussion Prompt: 6.12: Discussion
- Reading: Module 6 Course Reading
- Practice Quiz: Post-course Survey
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Refreshingly vivid content and lectures. Above average discussions for social science/politics classes on Coursera. Overall big thumbs up!
Very interesting course. Excellent Teacher.
This course about Chinese politics is very good. Chinese politics are extremely complicated, especially for anyone coming from non communist states. This course is a very good introductory course on Chinese politics. China is the world’s second largest economy and one of the most influential countries today. The Middle Kingdom has a very unique political system. The professor is excellent and the institution providing this course is a world class university. I took Part I and Part II of this course. I really enjoyed both courses. I think even Chinese people would learn a great deal during this course. （我建议大家上这门课）
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Comprehensive and practical. Prof. David Zweig's narrative teaching style and his first hand experience made the course content easy to understand.