Study location	Netherlands, Maastricht
Type	Summer Courses, full-time
Nominal duration	2 weeks (2 ECTS)
Study language	English
Course code	MSS1023

Tuition fee	€699 one-time

Entry qualification

Enrolled as an Undergraduate student or Undergraduate diploma This course is for specialization in politics and international relations. Before taking this course, students should be familiar with the major theories of international relations such as realism, liberalism, and constructivism, as well as key concepts of international relations such as power and sovereignty. The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English. Often you can get a suitable transcript from your school. If this is not the case, you will need official translations along with verified copies of the original.

Language requirements	English The language of the course is English, so we expect a fluent level and the ability to follow and participate in class.

More information	maastrichtsummerschool.nl

Overview

Course Description
This course aims to provide a critical examination of key issues and processes related to the politics and international relations of China. The focus of the course is on developments since the end of the Cold War, with a particular emphasis on China’s economic and political rising and its various implications for international politics to date.

In the summer of 1989, protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square to demand greater political rights. The changes that swept Europe with the disintegration of the Soviet Union seemed to be replicating in China. For more than three decades, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had continued to hold power and successfully negotiated to end the Cold War, laying the foundation for China’s rise as a world power. China has now integrated into the world economy and has played an important political role. At the same time, however, China seems to be very fragile. Many Western observers have been expecting the collapse of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Western scholars, journalists, and the like all believe that the regime lacks legitimacy because it is not based on an electoral/democratic system. The riots/protests in Tibet in 2008, Xinjiang in 2009, Hong Kong in 2014 and 2019, and the outbreak of the coronavirus in 2020, to some extent, confirmed their observations and concerns about China’s vulnerability. As Susan Shirk said, China is a ‘fragile superpower’. In addition, China’s rise appears threatening to many people. Foreigners often worry that China’s rapid development will present a threat to the stability of the current world order. Military and political tensions between China and Taiwan could undermine the stability of the Northeast Asian region; China’s historical animosity towards Japan endures. China has continued stepping up land reclamation on the disputed Islands in the South China Sea. Many Western countries, especially the United States, are increasingly anxious about losing their pre-eminence and are often even more outspoken than Chinese observers in proclaiming the imminent rise of a Chinese pole on the global power map.

Today, with global markets in turmoil and supply chains broadly affected by the U.S.-China trade war, the outbreak of COVID-19, and most recently the Ukraine war, the international political order as we know it may be re-altered. How exactly the international order will change? Are we moving away from the U.S.-centric world order to more China-centric world order, and in what ways? And what does a world order centred on China mean?

This course aims to draw considerable insight from IR and political theory to make a sophisticated and nuanced analysis of China’s ascent. The course is organized around three parts, 12 sessions. The first part (Session 1, 2, 3, 4) offers a general introduction to China’s politics and international relations including its worldview, strategic thinking, and Chinese theories of international relations. The second part (sections 5, 6, 7, 8) aims to explore questions such as whether China’s rise is a real phenomenon and what are the characteristics of China’s rise. It will examine China’s hard and soft power and the challenges facing contemporary China (that is, stability and unity). The third part (Sections 9, 10, 11, 12) is designed to consider China’s foreign relationships with different countries/regions around the world over various issues. The countries/regions discussed include Taiwan, Africa, the European Union, and the United States.

Goals
In this course, students will learn valuable theoretical, methodological, and analytical skills enabling them to interpret key issues in the politics and international relations of China. By the end of the course each student is expected to develop the following skills:

• Understanding of Chinese Politics and International Relations
o Critically identify and discuss key issues surrounding the history and development of China’s politics and international relations.
o A critical awareness of the key debates concerning the rise of China.

• Knowledge of International Relations Theories and Its Applications
o Critically reflect upon key theories and concepts of IR theories using a variety of case studies related to Chinese politics and international relations.
o Apply conceptual tools to analyse key events and processes in Chinese politics and international relations.

• Intellectual Skills
o Demonstrate appropriate cognitive, communicative, and transferable skills, develop the capacity for independent learning, critique major texts on Chinese politics and international relations, and participate in class debates.
o Display the confidence to present their arguments in relevant academic contexts (seminars, workshops, conferences) for specialists in IR of China.

Recommended Literature
There is no single textbook for this class. All reading materials are journal articles or book chapters, available electronically in the University Libraries.

Sample articles:
• Hwang, Y.J. (2021). The births of International Studies in China. Review of International Studies, 47(5), 580–600.
• Johnston, A.I. (1995) Cultural Realism: Strategic Culture and Grand Strategy in Chinese History (Princeton: Princeton University). Chapter 3.
• Mearsheimer, J. J. (2021). The Inevitable Rivalry: America, China, and the Tragedy of Great-Power Politics. Foreign Affairs (New York, N.Y.), 100(6), 48.

Teaching Methods
▪ Assignments ▪ Lectures ▪ Onderwijspoli’s ▪ Papers ▪ Patient contact ▪ PBL ▪ Presentations ▪ Research ▪ Skills ▪Trainings ▪ Work in subgroups ▪ Working Visits
• Assignments
• Lectures
• Papers
• Presentations
• Work in subgroups

Assessment Methods
▪ Assignment ▪ Attendance ▪ Computer test ▪ Final paper ▪ Observation ▪ Oral exam ▪ Participation ▪ Portfolio ▪ Presentation ▪ Take home exam ▪ Written exam
• Assignment
• Attendance
• Final paper
• Participation
• Presentation

Course Coordinator
Yih-Jye Hwang