The Spring 2026 syllabus is here.
This graduate seminar has two main objectives: (1) to explore the main theoretical, empirical, and methodological approaches to the study of Chinese politics, and (2) to evaluate explanations in the Chinese case of the most important issues in comparative politics:
- state capacity
- economic development
- welfare and inequality
- leadership selection
- authoritarian resilience, legality, and legitimation
- contention, civil society, and social movements
- coercion
- political identities—nationalism and localism
This course prepares graduate students for mastering the literature and conducting research at the M.A. and Ph.D. levels and beyond.
The course examines these themes and trends through weekly readings and discussion. Course requirements include participation (including co-facilitation and presentation) in seminar, short memos in response to the readings, and a final paper.
Course materials are available full-text online through the UW Library E-Journals and E-books collection.