Explore UCD

UCD Home >

POL20260

Academic Year 2026/2027

Introduction to Chinese Politics (POL20260)

Subject:
Politics
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Politics & Int Relations
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Professor Jos Dornschneider-Elkink
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module aims to introduce students to the political system of the People's Republic of China. The module first provides a historical foundation for understanding the current political regime, covering the Civil War and Communist victory, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the transition to economic modernisation under Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin. Building on this foundation, the module examines China's social context, including geography, urbanisation, demographics, and the hukou system. It then analyses political institutions—the Party, government, legislature, local politics, and the military—before turning to political contestation through factions, corruption, and protest. The module addresses mechanisms of authoritarian control, including repression, censorship, ideology, propaganda, and the politics of nationalism and ethnicity in Xinjiang and Tibet. It concludes by examining China's foreign relations, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, and global governance initiatives such as the Belt and Road initiative. By the end of the module students will have a well-grounded understanding of Chinese politics and be prepared to think carefully about current and future developments.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

* Analyse the historical foundations of contemporary Chinese politics, demonstrating knowledge of key events from the Civil War through economic modernisation and their lasting impact on CCP rule.

* Explain the structure and functioning of China's political institutions, including the relationships between the Communist Party, government, legislature, military, and local authorities.

* Evaluate mechanisms of authoritarian control employed by the CCP, including censorship, propaganda, ideological campaigns, and responses to protest and dissent.

* Assess patterns of elite politics in China, including factional competition, career trajectories, corruption, and anti-corruption campaigns.

* Examine the politics of ethnicity and nationalism in the PRC, with particular reference to Xinjiang, Tibet, and state-society relations.

* Analyse China's foreign relations and geopolitical strategy, including relations with Taiwan and Hong Kong, and initiatives such as the Belt and Road.

* Articulate informed arguments about regime stability and prospects for political change in China, drawing on theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence.

* Critically engage with scholarly debates on Chinese politics, demonstrating familiarity with key concepts, competing interpretations, and current research.

Indicative Module Content:

The module addresses the following key topics:

Historical Foundations: The Civil War and Communist victory; the Great Leap Forward under Mao Zedong; the Cultural Revolution; economic modernisation and the Tiananmen protests under Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin.

Social Context: Geography and development patterns, including urbanisation and coastal-interior disparities; demographics and social structure, including the hukou system and inequality.

Political Institutions: The structure and role of the Chinese Communist Party; the government apparatus; the legislature; local politics and elections; the military and civil-military relations.

Political Contestation: Elite competition, factions, and political careers; corruption and anti-corruption campaigns; protest movements and policy responsiveness.

Authoritarian Control: Repression and censorship, including social media control; ideology and legitimacy under Xi Jinping; propaganda strategies; nationalism and the politics of ethnicity in Xinjiang and Tibet.

International Politics: China's foreign relations, including policies toward Taiwan and Hong Kong; global governance and geopolitics, including the Belt and Road Initiative.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Not addressed

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Advanced Beginner

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Novice

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Novice

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Not addressed

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Advanced Beginner

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Novice

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Advanced Beginner

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Not addressed

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Not addressed

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Novice

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

End poverty in all its forms everywhere 1

Reduce inequality within and among countries 1

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 1

Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development 1
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22
Autonomous Student Learning

100
Total

122

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures, including video material; independent reading; and small exercises in class.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Exam (In-person): Oral in-person exam of 5 minutes. Week 9 Graded No
20
 No
Exam (In-person): 2-hour in-person, closed book exam covering material from readings and lectures. End of trimester
Duration:
2 hr(s)
 Graded No
55
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: 10 question multiple choice quiz (no negative marking) Week 6 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
25
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Mon 11:00 - 11:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Tues 12:00 - 12:50
Print this page
Fill in the following details:
Enter the body of your query here.

From time to time UCD would like to send you further information that we feel, based on your enquiry, would be of interest to you.