Expand+POL20260 Introduction to Chinese Politics
Academic Year 2022/2023

This module aims to introduce students to the political system of the People’s Republic of China and the politics of its ruling entity, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The mod...

Hide-POL20260 Introduction to Chinese Politics
Academic Year 2022/2023

This module aims to introduce students to the political system of the People’s Republic of China and the politics of its ruling entity, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The module first provides a historical foundation for understanding CCP rule, covering major events in the 20th Century. From this foundation, it then examines the party’s relationship to the state and policymaking, China’s foreign relations and foreign policy, as well as the politics of Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. By the end of the module students will have a well-grounded understanding and be prepared to think carefully about current and future developments in Chinese politics.

Learning Outcomes:
This course intends to provide students with a critical outlook on the common narrative surrounding the CPC and its rule over China. On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: understand how to approach the CPC; explain the origins and historical development of China’s contemporary political system; to describe the inner workings of the CPC and how it relates to the Chinese state; to assess both the sustained basis of legitimacy and future challenges to the CPC’s rule over China.

Indicative Module Content:
Content will include: the history of the CPC since 1949, with consideration of the decades that went before; key concepts through which to understand Chinese politics; the organisational make-up of party-state-military relations in China, as well as those between the party-state and society; ideology and policymaking within China; key issues within Chinese politics at present, as well as future challenges to the CPC’s rule.