Iran’s nuclear program, North Korea, global warming, the world financial crisis, America’s budget deficit, Taiwan, oil prices and efforts to eradicate piracy near Somalia – what do all these issues have in common? The answer is that, to a lesser or greater extent, China is involved. Whether one likes it or not, the People’s Republic of China is becoming an economic and political powerhouse and the world’s second most powerful country after the United States. At the same time there are a lot of misconceptions and confusion about the real nature of Beijing’s political and economic system. If you are an undergraduate or graduate student interested in finding out what the real China is and where it is headed in the near future, SCHOLA EMPIRICA is pleased to invite you to the Summer School on China: A World Superpower – Myth or Reality?
Do you sometimes wonder whether China is still a communist country or whether it has become a capitalist authoritarian state?
Would you like to analyze China’s economic developments to find out whether Beijing can sustain its enviable economic growth and soon surpass the U.S. economy?
Are you interested in discussing the various domestic and international challenges that may prevent China from becoming an important player on the world stage? Would you like to spend a week in one of Europe’s most admired cities, combining summer holidays with a challenging academic and networking environment?
If so, then this summer program is the right choice for you!
Introduction
As many countries in the West experienced very low or even negative rates of economic growth since the recent financial crisis. China’s GDP has grown at an average 10% rate since 1990, Beijing overtook Germany as the world’s largest exporter. In the wake of the Middle Kingdom’s continuing economic successes, some have started talking about “the Beijing consensus” replacing the economic and political ideas of the previously dominant “Washington consensus” as the new recipe for managing a country’s political and economic system.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is also becoming increasingly assertive on the world stage, both in the arena of diplomacy at various summits and multilateral forums, especially with regard to its military development program. China’s first aircraft carrier entered service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy in 2012 and some analysts claim that Beijing is building what is shaping up to be the world’s biggest submarine fleet. If we add Beijing’s recent achievements in anti-missile technology to the mix, we end up with a picture of a new powerful player that is ready to change the present-day global geopolitical balance.
On the other hand the image of a new superpower willing and able to take on the United States and other established world players is being undermined by various factors. Chinese farmers engage in tens of thousands of protests every year while people in the cities swing between admiration for the West’s lifestyle and aggressive nationalism. However, more than anything else, the PRC is a volatile mix of no-holds-barred urban capitalism and a rural countryside with hundreds of millions of poor villagers. Overseeing this mix is an authoritarian political regime plagued by corruption whose legitimacy predominantly rests on maintaining solid annual GDP growth while keeping the unemployment low – a combination that is unlikely to be tenable in the long-term.
Objectives
The summer school on “China: A World Superpower – Myth or Reality?” will deal with a highly complex puzzle, which includes Chinese domestic politics, its economy, Beijing’s foreign policy and position in the current world order. A lot of attention will be paid to the Trump administration’s relations with the Middle Kingdom. The main aim of the program is therefore to explore, examine and understand how these phenomena relate to and influence each other.
Upon finishing the program, the students will ideally have gained a clearer picture of China’s capabilities as well as weaknesses and should understand the Beijing consensus, where the People`s Republic of China is headed and what China’s superpower ambitions will mean for other states, in both a short-term and long-term perspective.
Program History
Since 2003 Prague Summer Schools brought to Prague more than a thousand outstanding students from all over the World for an intensive academic week to learn and discuss various topics. The summer school on China was launched for the first time in 2011. With its intrinsically multidisciplinary approach focusing on political, economic, military and social aspects, has already attracted almost one hundred students to Prague.
For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.