ASTK12609U SUMMER: The Rise of China in Domestic, Regional and Global Contexts

Introduction and objectives:

The Rise of China is reshaping the regional and global distribution of economic, political and military power. What kind of world power will China be? This question and more generally questions about how to approach the Rise of China theoretically and politically are among the most debated in Western International Relations environments. How Chinese leaders use China’s newly gained power in the coming years will have profound consequences for the rest of the world. Recent developments in Chinese foreign policy behaviour perceived as increasingly assertive and even aggressive have further raised the stakes and the demand for well-informed analyses.

This summer school sets out to thoroughly analyze and discuss the changing roles and policies of China in the international system – what are the driving factors and dynamics, the main implications and challenges? Specific emphasis is on gaining insights and knowledge about how the Chinese perceive, discuss and decide on the changing responsibilities and policies of China in the international system.

Structure:

The course is divided into four parts. The first part constitutes a general presentation of the course with focus on the background, objectives and expectations as well as a general introduction to China and China as an international actor. The first part also includes introduction to the on-going debate about ‘how to study China’, i.e. introduction to the main theoretical and historical approaches and arguments in the Western and Chinese academic debate on the Rise of China. In the second part the focus is on identifying the driving factors and dynamics behind the changing roles and policies of China in the international system. Understanding of the driving factors and the way they interact and exert influence is needed to comprehend the complexity behind the Rise of China on the world stage. The analysis is divided into three ‘levels’ - the global sources (unipolarity/change of polarity/end of global polarity, globalisation/global financial and governance crisis, multilateralism/unilateralism), regional sources (developments in economic, political and security relations with regional states and in the U.S. role and policy in the region) and domestic sources (e.g. cultural, historical, ideological and political factors) of Chinese foreign policy behaviour. The findings are investigated in more detail in the third part, where several case studies are conducted examining recent developments in Chinese foreign policy behaviour on certain issues in the area of international economy, politics and security hereby specifying how the identified driving factors interact and exert influence. In the fourth and last part, focus returns to the overall questions of the driving factors and dynamics, the main implications and challenges related to the Rise of China for Chinese leaders as well as for the region and the U.S. Specific attention is given to the way the U.S. is trying - especially through the American re-balancing or ‘pivot’ strategy in the Asia-Pacific - to ‘manage’ the Rise of China. The discussion also returns to the Western and Chinese academic debate on the Rise of China assessing the main theoretical and historical approaches and arguments.

Requirements:

Students are expected to have knowledge and understanding of theoretical concepts, insights and approaches from International Relations and Comparative Politics. Strong knowledge of Chinese history, politics and security is not required.