Catch Up and Surpass: Politics and Techn

Why has the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) repeatedly treated technological catch-up as essential to national survival and political power, and how has its approach changed over time? This course analyzes the politics of the People’s Republic of China (1949–present) with a particular focus on the CCP’s attention to advanced technology as a core element of national power. This course will explore questions such as: How do Maoist and Dengist development policies influence contemporary China? Why did China become overwhelmingly competitive in EVs and solar but remain dependent in leading-edge semiconductors? What is new — and not new — about how China is approaching AI today? At a time of intense attention to China’s technological advances, it will ground current debates in the history that continues to shape China today. Drawing on leading scholarship from history, political science, sociology, and economics, it will provide students with a rich understanding of the evolution of the PRC and its emergence as a technological superpower that is reshaping the global balance of power.