POLS 586-2: THEORY AND PRACTICE OF CHINA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS

Spring 2007

Wednesdays 6:30 - 9:10 pm

DuSable 464

Dr. Y.K. Wang

Office: Zulauf 416

Office Hours: M & W 10:30-12:00, and by appointment

Tel: 753-7058

E-mail: ykwang@niu.edu

Course Description:

This seminar is intended to provide conceptual tools and historical background for the study of Chinese foreign policy. It has two objectives. First, the course gives you an overview of China’s foreign policy since 1949. We will examine the major events and issues that influenced the direction of Chinese policy. Topics include the Sino-Soviet alliance, China’s entry to the Korean War, rapprochement with the United States, Chinese nationalism, patterns in China’s use of force, China’s grand and regional strategies, the Taiwan Strait, globalization and economic integration, and “peaceful rise.”

Second, the course seeks to explore the intersection between international relations theory and the external behavior of the People’s Republic of China. We will apply IR theory to the Chinese case and see which approach better explains its behavior. The question is: How much of China’s foreign policy is driven by causes common to other great powers, and how much is driven by China’s unique culture and history? The important point is to see whether China has been behaving in a substantially different manner from other great powers and whether China has been an exception to the expectations of extant IR theory. The events covered in the course usually have competing explanations. Using IR theory, this course challenges you to think critically and come up with the most compelling explanation.

Required Texts:

The following books should be available for purchase at the NIU Bookstore. For students with a limited budget, the books are also on 2-hour reserve at Founders Memorial Library. Items marked E-brary are available in e-Book format through the Library’s website at: http://www.niulib.niu.edu/books.cfm. Other required articles can be found on the course’s Blackboard website.

Christensen, Thomas J. Useful Adversaries: Grand Strategy, Domestic Mobilization, and Sino-American Conflict, 1947-1958. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996.

Goldstein, Avery. Rising to the Challenge: China's Grand Strategy and International Security. Stanford, CA.: Stanford University Press, 2005. (E-brary)

Johnston, Alastair I., and Robert S. Ross. New Directions in the Study of China's Foreign Policy. Stanford, CA.: Stanford University Press, 2006.

Lampton, David M. The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Era of Reform, 1978-2000. Stanford, CA.: Stanford University Press, 2001. (E-brary)

Ross, Robert S. Negotiating Cooperation: The United States and China, 1969-1989. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1995.

Shambaugh, David L. Power Shift: China and Asia's New Dynamics. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. (E-brary)

Zhao, Suisheng. A Nation-State by Construction: Dynamics of Modern Chinese Nationalism. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004.

Grading:

Grading will be based on:

Class Participation 15%

Three Oral Presentations 15%

Book Review 20%

Research Paper 50%

Class participation includes both attendance and discussion. Students should actively participate in class discussion as this is an important part of the learning process. I strongly encourage you to speak and share your thoughts and reactions to the materials covered in class. I will usually add points to your participation grade if you actively contribute to discussion.

During the semester, you will be assigned to do three oral presentations on the readings aimed to stimulate discussion. In your presentation, you should make connections between the readings, offer persuasive criticisms, analyze the methodology used, and raise questions. Do not simply summarize the readings; everybody is supposed to have read them! You should limit your presentation to ten minutes and distribute an outline beforehand. Your presentations will constitute 15% of your final grade.

For the book review (5-8 pages, double-spaced, size-12 font), you may select from the readings of this course. If you wish to review a book not listed on the syllabus, you must obtain approval from the instructor at least two weeks before the due date. In your essay, you should summarize the book’s main points and offer your own critique. Your summary should be no more than two pages. A good essay should go beyond the summary and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the book under review (e.g., methodology, credibility of sources, coherence of arguments, and structure). The essay is due in class on March 7. Ten percent of your essay grade will be deducted for each day the essay is late.

The research paper (20-25 pages, double-spaced, size-12 font) should be original. You must discuss the topic with me in advance and submit a one-page prospectus by March 28. The prospectus should include the central question, tentative argument, research method, and at leave five bibliographical sources. In addition, you are required to present your paper in one of the last two sessions of class and, depending on class size, serve as discussant for one or more papers of classmates. To give your classmates enough lead time, you must post a copy of your first draft on Blackboard by April 18. These presentations are designed to help you receive constructive feedback and strengthen your final paper. The revised paper is due in the department office on May 9 at 4 p.m. Ten percent of your paper grade will be deducted for each day the prospectus, first draft, or revised paper is late. This penalty is cumulative, so please submit your assignments on time.

Your final letter grades will be based on the following grading scale:

90% to 100% = A

80% to 89% = B

70% to 79% = C

60% to 69% = D

0% to 59% = F

Course Policies:

1. Late Assignments. I will not accept late assignments unless under extreme circumstances. You must inform me as soon as possible before the assignment due date. Requests without prior notification and documented evidence will not be accepted.

2. Academic Misconduct: In preparing their work and meeting the requirements of this course, members of this seminar are expected to adhere to all the rules, regulations, and standards set forth by the Department of Political Science, Graduate School, Northern Illinois University, and the scholarly community. This statement encompasses intentional and unintentional plagiarism, cheating on examinations, using, purchasing or stealing others' work, misusing library materials, and so forth. Failure to honor these rules, regulations, and standards could result in a failing course grade and/or disciplinary action. Moreover, do not submit a paper written for another course. “Double-dipping” is strictly prohibited and will result in a failed course grade. If you have questions, consult with the instructor before submitting your paper.
3. Students with Disabilities: Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, NIU is committed to making reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Those students with disabilities that may have some impact on their coursework for which they may require accommodations should notify the University’s Center for Access-Ability Resources (CAAR). CAAR will assist students in making appropriate accommodations with course instructors. It is important that CAAR and instructors be informed of disability-related needs during the first two weeks of the semester. The CAAR office is located on the 4^th floor of the University Health Services building and its phone number is (815) 753-1303.

Important Due Dates:

Book Review March 7

Prospectus March 28

First Draft April 18

Final Paper May 9

COURSE SCHEDULE

(Any changes will be announced in class or on Blackboard)

Week 1 Overview and Organizational Meeting

January 17

Week 2 What Motivates China’s Foreign Policy?

January 24

John Garver, “The Legacy of the Past,” Foreign Relations of the People's Republic of China (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993), pp. 2-30. (on reserve)

Jian Chen, Mao's China and the Cold War (Chapel Hill, NC.: The University of North Carolina Press, 2001), pp. 17-37.

Fei-Ling Wang, “Self-Image and Strategic Intentions: National Confidence and Political Insecurity,” in Yong Deng and Fei-Ling Wang eds., In the Eyes of the Dragon: China Views the World (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1999), pp. 21-45.

Yong Deng, “Conception of National Interests: Realpolitik, Liberal Dilemma, and the Possibility of Peaceful Change,” in Deng and Wang eds., In the Eyes of the Dragon, pp. 47-72.

Jianwei Wang, “Managing Conflict: Chinese Perspectives on Multilateral Diplomacy and Collective Security,” in Deng and Wang eds., In the Eyes of the Dragon, pp. 73-96.

Thomas Christensen, “Pride, Pressure, and Politics: The Roots of China’s Worldview,” in Deng and Wang eds., In the Eyes of the Dragon, pp. 239-256.

Thomas J. Christensen, Alastair I. Johnston, and Robert S. Ross, “Conclusion and Future Directions,” in Johnston and Ross, eds., New Directions in the Study of China’s Foreign Policy, pp. 379-417.

Week 3 The Sino-Soviet Alliance and the Korean War

January 31

Christensen, Useful Adversaries, chapters 1-5.

Chen, Mao's China and the Cold War, pp. 38-117.

Recommended:

Chen Jian, China’s Road to the Korean War (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994).

Symposium on Rethinking the Lost Chance in China, Diplomatic History 21, no. 1 (Winter 1997), pp. 71-115.

Week 4 Sino-U.S. Normalization

February 7

Robert S. Ross, Negotiating Cooperation: The United States and China, 1969-1989 (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1995), read entire book.

Week 5 Use of Force

February 14

Allen S. Whiting, "China's Use of Force, 1950-96, and Taiwan," International Security 26, no. 2 (Fall 2001), pp. 103-131.

Alastair Iain. Johnston, "China's Militarized Interstate Dispute Behaviour 1949-1992: A First Cut at the Data," The China Quarterly, no. 153 (March 1998), pp. 1-30.

Thomas J. Christensen, “Windows and War: Trend Analysis and Beijing’s Use of Force,” in Johnston and Ross, eds., New Directions in the Study of China’s Foreign Policy, pp. 50-85.

John W. Garver, “China’s Decision for War with India in 1962,” in Johnston and Ross, eds., New Directions in the Study of China’s Foreign Policy, pp.86-130.

Avery Goldstein, “Across the Yalu: China’s Interests and the Korean Peninsula in a Changing World,” in Johnston and Ross, eds., New Directions in the Study of China’s Foreign Policy, pp. 131-161.

Bates Gill, James Mulvenon, and Mark Stokes, “The Chinese Second Artillery Corps: Transition to Credible Deterrence,” in James C. Mulvenon and Andrew N. D. Yang, The People's Liberation Army as Organization: Reference Volume v1.0 (Santa Monica: RAND Corp), Available at: http://www.rand.org/pubs/conf_proceedings/CF182/CF182.ch11.pdf

Recommended:

Andrew Scobell, China's Use of Military Force: Beyond the Great Wall and the Long March (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003).

Mark Burles and Abram N. Shulsky, Patterns in China's Use of Force: Evidence from History and Doctrinal Writings (Santa Monica, CA.: RAND, 2000).

Week 6 Chinese Nationalism and Foreign Policy

February 21

Suisheng Zhao, A Nation-State by Construction: Dynamics of Modern Chinese Nationalism (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), read entire book.

Recommended:

Peter Hays Gries, China's New Nationalism: Pride, Politics, and Diplomacy (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004).

Week 7 ISA Conference (No Class)

February 28

Week 8 Foreign Policy Decision-Making

March 7

Book Review Due

David Lampton, “China’s Foreign and National Security Policy-Making Process: Is It Changing or Does it Matter?” in Lampton, ed., The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy, pp. 1-36.

Lu Ning, “The Central Leadership, Supraministry Coordinating Bodies, State Council Ministries, and Party Departments, in Lampton, ed., The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy, pp. 39-60.

Tai Ming Cheung, “The Influence of the Gun: China’s Central Military Commission and Its Relationship with the Military, Party, and State Decision-Making Systems,” in Lampton, ed., The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy, pp. 61-90.

Joseph Fewsmith and Stanley Rosen, “The Domestic Context of Chinese Foreign Policy: Does Public Opinion Matter?” in Lampton, ed., The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy, pp.151-187.

Bonnie S. Glaser and Phillip C. Saunders, “Chinese Civilian Foreign Policy Research Institutes: Evolving Roles and Increasing Influence,” The China Quarterly 171 (September 2002), pp. 601-620.

Week 9 Spring Break (No Class)

March 14

Week 10 Rising China’s Grand Strategy

March 21

Avery Goldstein, Rising to the Challenge: China's Grand Strategy and International Security (Stanford, CA.: Stanford University Press, 2005), read entire book.

Week 11 Rising China’s Regional Strategy

March 28

One-page Prospectus Due

David Shambaugh, “Return to the Middle Kingdom? China and Asia in the Early Twenty-First Century,” in Shambaugh ed., Power Shift, pp. 23-47.

Zhang Yunling and Tang Shiping, “China’s Regional Strategy,” in Shambaugh ed., Power Shift, pp.48-68.

Bates Gill, “China’s Evolving Regional Security Strategy,” in Shambaugh ed., Power Shift, pp. 247-265.

Michael D. Swaine, “China’s Regional Military Posture,” in Shambaugh ed., Power Shift, pp. 266-285.

Robert Sutter, “China’s Regional Strategy and Why It May Not Be Good for America,” in Shambaugh ed., Power Shift, pp. 289-305.

David M. Lampton, “China’s Rise in Asia Need Not Be at America’s Expense,” in Shambaugh ed., Power Shift, pp. 306-326.

Week 12 The Taiwan Strait

April 4

Christensen, Useful Adversaries, chapter 6.

Michael D. Swaine, “Chinese Decision-Making Regarding Taiwan, 1979-2000,” in Lampton ed., The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy, pp. 289-336.

Thomas J. Christensen, "The Contemporary Security Dilemma: Deterring a Taiwan Conflict," The Washington Quarterly 25, no. 4 (Autumn 2002), pp. 7-21.

Robert S. Ross, "The 1995-1996 Taiwan Strait Confrontation: Coercion, Credibility and the Use of Force," International Security 25, no. 2 (Fall 2000), pp. 87-123.

Robert S. Ross, “Comparative Deterrence: The Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula,” in Johnston and Ross, eds., New Directions in the Study of China’s Foreign Policy, pp. 13-49.

Yu-han Chu, “Taiwan’s National Identity Politics and the Prospect of Cross-Strait Relations,” Asian Survey 44, no. 4 (July/August 2004), pp. 484-512.

Phillips C. Saunders, "Long-Term Trends in China-Taiwan Relations: Implications for U.S. Taiwan Policy," Asian Survey 45, no. 6 (November/December 2005), pp. 970-991.

Week 13 Globalization and Economic Integration

April 11

Margaret M. Pearson, “The Case of China's Accession to GATT/WTO,” in Lampton, ed., The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Reform Era, pp. 337-370.

Thomas Moore and Dixia Yang, “Empowered and Restrained: Chinese Foreign Policy in the Age of Economic Interdependence,” in Lampton, ed., The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Era of Reform, pp. 191-229.

Margaret M. Pearson, “China in Geneva: Lessons from China’s Early Years in the World Trade Organization,” in Johnston and Ross, eds., New Directions in the Study of China’s Foreign Policy, pp. 242-275.

Samuel S. Kim, “Chinese Foreign Policy Faces Globalization Challenges,” in Johnston and Ross, eds., New Directions in the Study of China’s Foreign Policy, pp. 276-306.

Allen Carlson, “More Than Just Saying No: China’s Evolving Approach to Sovereignty and Intervention Since Tiananmen,” in Johnston and Ross, eds., New Directions in the Study of China’s Foreign Policy, pp. 217-241.

Week 14 Can China Rise Peacefully?

April 18

First Draft Due

Zheng Bijian. "China's 'Peaceful Rise' to Great-Power Status." Foreign Affairs 84, no. 5 (October 2005), pp. 18-24.

Robert B. Zoellick, “Whither China: From Membership to Responsibility?” Remarks to National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, September 21, 2005. Available at: http://www.state.gov/s/d/former/zoellick/rem/53682.htm

Yong Deng, “Reputation and the Security Dilemma: China Reacts to the China Threat Theory,” in Johnston and Ross, eds., New Directions in the Study of China’s Foreign Policy, pp. 186-214.

Thomas J. Christensen, "Fostering Stability of Creating a Monster? The Rise of China and U.S. Policy toward East Asia," International Security 31, no. 1 (Summer 2006), pp. 81-126.

Jonathan D. Pollack, “The Transformation of the Asian Security Order: Assessing China’s Impact,” in Shambaugh ed., Power Shift, pp. 329-346.

Michael Yahuda, “The Evolving Asian Order: The Accommodation of Rising Chinese Power,” in Shambaugh ed., Power Shift, pp. 347-361.

Robert S. Ross, "Balance of Power Politics and the Rise of China: Accommodation and Balancing in East Asia," Security Studies 12, no. 3 (July-September 2006), pp. 355-395.

Week 15 Presentation and Discussion of Research Papers

April 25

Week 16 Presentation and Discussion of Research Papers

May 2

Week 17

May 9 Final Paper Due