Research Field: Governance and Politics in China
As China entered the twenty-first century, it was obvious that reforms made enormous progress but the country was still far from being strong, wealthy, and esteemed in the global community as its leaders earnestly desire. It is also clear now that the Chinese Communist Party cannot derive enough legitimacy from economic growth. In fact, popular resentment against the increased inequality, pollution, corruption, and other problems has triggered simmering frustration and growing numbers of public protests. Consequently, the biggest challenge facing the CCP in this century is to provide good governance and grapple with the political consequences of its own program of economic reforms.
The Center seeks to shed light on the questions of China's governance primarily from three angles: The changing nature of state-society relations, the historical origins of Chinese governance, and China's foreign policy formulation. The research group 1 tries to address the complex problems of transitional relationship between the state and society theoretically and empirically. Historically, the CCP has taken over from traditional China as well as from the Soviet Union the notion of omnipresent view of the state, ethical values concerning politics, and the practices of everyday handling of bureaucracy and the populace. These historical aspects of China's governance are to be explored by the research group 2. The research group 3 deals with China's perceptions of global integration, the changing relationship with neighboring countries and the United States, and China's position within the region.
