Course content

The People’s Republic of China is a major player in the global economy and international politics. Future developments in peace and conflict, climate change, global production chains and the division of labour, technological innovation, and logistics around the world largely depend on China. Moreover, lack of knowledge and ill-informed prejudices about countries and peoples can create the potential for misunderstanding and conflict. A basic understanding of what is happening in China can therefore help make more informed assessments of current developments in China and international political constellations involving China. It can also help to make better policy and business decisions where one of the world’s most populous countries is involved. For these reasons, this lecture aims to provide a solid basis of knowledge on China’s politics, society, and economy. We will study and discuss the essentials of China’s political and legal systems, social policies and current social challenges, as well as the basic structures, developments, and trends of the country’s economy. The lecture takes a comparative approach, and participants will have the opportunity to appreciate and test a wide range of political science theories and social science methods.

Learning outcome

Knowledge - the student shall:

• have knowledge of how policy is formulated and implemented in China
• have knowledge of the basic political institutions of China
• have knowledge of the current political, social, and economic challenges that the Chinese leadership and society are facing
• have knowledge about important concepts and theories of political science
• have knowledge about the major social science methods

Skills - the student shall:

• treat one of the themes which was discussed in the lecture in an independent empirical analytical manner which fulfils the requirements for academic writing and discussion
• learn how to apply important social science analysis methods

Learning methods and activities

• 2 hours of lectures per week. The language of instruction is English.
• Continuous reading of the course materials.
• Supervised writing of a term paper on a topic of the student’s choice related to the topics covered in the lecture.

Compulsory assignments

• Approved term paper outline at mid-term

Recommended previous knowledge

None.

Required previous knowledge

None.

Course materials

Given at the start of the semester.