Unpacking the US-China Rivalry

Course Number 1515

Senior Lecturer Andy Zelleke

Fall; Q1; 1.5 credits
14 Sessions
Paper or Project
Enrollment: Limited to 50 students

Course Content and Objectives

The US-China bilateral relationship is in its worst shape since the two nations normalized diplomatic relations in 1979. The deterioration in Sino-American relations, and the intensely competitive rivalry that has developed, have important implications for the rest of the world, including the business sector. This course has three principal goals: (i) to leave students with a significantly better understanding of this most consequential bilateral relationship, holistically and across the multiple dimensions of the rivalry; (ii) to expose students to a diversity of perspectives, encouraging them to challenge and refine their own; and (iii) to engage students in creative ideation toward progress—as they define that—in some aspect of the US-China relationship.

Class sessions will focus on key competitive domains, including political economy; national security; technology; and world order visions. The course will be reading- and discussion-intensive. It will not be case-based. It will emphasize practitioner-oriented readings (e.g. articles from Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy; “think tank” reports, e.g. Council on Foreign Relations, CSIS, RAND, IISS; book chapters; speeches, transcripts and official policy statements; along with a few articles from scholarly journals). The course will also feature guest speakers. Assigned readings and guest speakers will, by design, represent a diversity of views. These will include Chinese and other non-US perspectives. The course aims to help students further refine the substantive world views they will have been developing at HBS, while enhancing their capacities for perspective-taking and empathy.

Students will select the topic for their final paper or project from among a list of choices to be provided.

Course Grading

The course grade will be based on the following: (i) 40% on class participation; (ii) 20% on short-answer assignments submitted throughout the course; and (iii) 40% on the final paper or project.