Professor Chris Alden 9th Floor IDEAS, PAN

This course is available on the BSc in International Relations, BSc in International Relations and Chinese, BSc in International Relations and History and BSc in Politics and International Relations. This course is not available as an outside option. This course is available with permission to General Course students.

This course has a limited number of places (it is capped).

Foreign Policy Analysis (IR202)

This course focuses on the substantive role that China plays in the Global South where its preponderance of material power and putative developing country status confers upon it a dominant position in bilateral and regional political economies.  China's economic position, coupled to an astute use of finances flowing from its mercantilist policies, has enabled it to become the leading trading partner and a significant investor in the developing world.  Moreover, the Global South is increasingly figuring in Beijing's expanding security interests and soft power provisions.  Interpretations embedded in prevailing academic discourses like socialisation, threat and peaceful rise take on new meaning when studied through the lens of ties with developing countries.  Understanding how dynamics in this relationship are impacting upon a host of global and contemporary issues (BRICs, multilateralism, peacekeeping, the environment) is crucial to the shape of the 21st century.

This course is delivered through a combination of classes and lectures totalling a minimum of 20 hours across Autumn Term. Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy. The course is delivered in cooperation with Dr. Alvaro Mendez (PAN 9.01C).

Essay (1000 words max) on one question from Week 1-3 materials

• Chris Alden & Lu Jiang. (2019). Brave new world: debt, industrialization and security in China–Africa relations. International Affairs, 95(3), 641-657. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiz083
• Gaston Fornes & Alvaro Mendez. (2018). The China-Latin America Axis: Emerging Markets and their Role in an Increasingly Globalised World (2 ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan
• David Shambaugh (Ed.) (2016). The China Reader: Rising Power (6th ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press,

Exam (75%, duration: 2 hours) in the January exam period.
Presentation (25%) in the AT.

The presentation will be a 7-minute pre-recorded video presentation together with a 300-word annotated bibliography.