YAL2 - Understanding Chinese Foreign Policy Making

4 July 2016 – 5 August 2016
Hosted by Yale University

An economically more powerful and confident China is exerting unprecedented influence on global affairs with its proactive diplomacy.

To understand the sources of Chinese external behavior is essential to predict and respond to China’s international behavior. The very nature of the structure of Chinese society and government has made this a difficult, if not impossible task, albeit appealing. The saying that foreign policy making is a black box is more accurate in China than in many other countries.

Aiming to open the black box of Chinese foreign policy making, this course tries to bridge foreign decision making theories and Chinese foreign policy making practice to understand the major factors that shape Chinese foreign policy and how they exert their influences.These include: the impact of historical legacies, systematic constraints, personality and decision making style of paramount leaders, evolving foreign policy making structure and changing bureaucratic process, fluid domestic politics, and the impact of the military, nationalism, and public opinion on Chinese foreign policy.

It will unveil how leaders coordinate domestic and international situations in foreign affairs as they will always emphasize today. It intends to inform students of China’s external behavior and provide an analytical understanding of the dynamics of China’s foreign policy decision making.

Download the detailed Course Syllabus.

Field Trip

The program will include a welcome lunch / campus tour, and farewell dinner. The course will also include a day trip to the United Nations in New York City.

Target Audience/ Prerequisites

Bachelor students

This course requires a TOEFL of 100 on the internet-based test. There is no academic prerequisite for the course.

Delivery Method & Learning Outcomes

Seminar with discussion.

Students are required to complete the reading assignments and be prepared to discuss the major themes in the readings. The bibliography for the papers must include books, journal articles, chapters, and other professional writings. Proper footnoting is required. Class attendance and active participation in class discussion are expected. Missing class or arriving late will affect your grade.

Assessment

• 15% - Participation-each student is required to sign in for attendance every session.
• 15% - Presentation-each student will participate in a group presentation and leading of that class discussion. Each student will be evaluated for his or her individual performance and contribution to the presentation.
• 30% - Closed book final examination with 3-4 essay style questions which are based on the required readings and class discussion.
• 40% - Final Paper-There will be one individual final research paper. Each student is required to write 4,000-4,500 word essay on a topic relevant to the course and the date to hand in the paper will be announced on the first day of class. No late exam is accepted and late papers will be marked down (one day late submission = half letter grade mark down).

Credit equivalent at host university & Contact hours

1 Yale College credit (1 credit at Yale roughly equals 4 credits at most other US universities).

32.5 total contact hours (classroom) + 8 field trip hours (excluding self-study hours)

Lecturer(s) / Tutor(s)

Professor Zhang Qing Min, Peking University

Accommodation

IARU GSP students will be housed together in one of Yale’s undergraduate residential colleges. Colleges have their own courtyard, dining hall, common room, library, laundry facility, and computer cluster.

Room assignments are made upon check-in at the residential colleges. More details about the summer colleges and which dining halls will be open will be posted on the Yale Summer Session website.

Additional information:
Students must arrive by Sunday 3, July, 2016.
Students will be able to check in from 10am-4pm.
Check-out date: Saturday 06 August, 2016
(Students may also check out on Friday 05 August, 2016)

Costs

Figures are estimates only. Click on each item for details.

Required and/or Recommended Insurance(s)

Yale Summer Session will register you and charge you for US based health insurance during the 5 weeks of the program. Once enrolled, you can download your card which you must carry with you at all times.

Further Information

For the nominated students: Upon acceptance to Yale Summer Session (YSS), students will be required to submit an on-line application and upload additional application materials. Students will receive an e-mail from YSS with detailed instructions on what needs to be submitted. In addition to the on-line application, they will have to provide a bank letter stating they have sufficient funds to cover the cost of the program. This is needed for us to petition for an I-20 for the student visa. We will also need a scan of their name page of their passport.

Yale Summer Session website: http://summer.yale.edu/

For admitted students: http://summer.yale.edu/admitted

For further information about this course, please contact Ms. Kathy Trputec This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..