POLS GU4871 / INAFU 6671: China’s Foreign Relations

Final Examination
Released May 10, 2019 @ 9am
Due for GRADUATE STUDENTS May 13th @ 12pm
Due for UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS May 14th @ 12pm

In an essay of about 10 double-spaced pages (no longer than 12!) answer ONE (1) of the two
questions below. Please number your pages and use 12-point Times New Roman with normal one-
inch margins.

Be sure to cite the readings from the course in endnotes where appropriate. Use historical facts to
back up your arguments. This is an exercise in concise writing. Endnotes should refer to the
literature or the class lectures only. They should not include additional text.

Do not put your name on the exam. Instead, name the document with your UNI and the time and
day of the week of your section (for example, DPC2128_WedsPM). This is to facilitate blind
grading. Your papers should be submitted electronically AS PDF FILES via Courseworks so that
that the time can be recorded. Late papers will be penalized out of fairness to your classmates and
penalties will increase with the lateness of the paper.

For graduate students, the essays should be submitted electronically by noon on Monday, May 13.
For undergraduate students the essays should be submitted by noon on Tuesday, May 14. If you
are graduating in May 2019 please indicate this at the top of your exam.

YOU MAY NOT DISCUSS THE EXAM WITH YOUR CLASSMATES UNTIL YOU HAVE
BEEN INFORMED THAT ALL THE EXAMS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED.

Question 1
At an academic conference a political scientist and an historian of modern China are
debating what is most important to study if one is to explain China’s foreign policies since
the financial crisis of 2008. The historian argues that a knowledge of the period from the
Opium War through the Mao years of the People's Republic (1949-76) will provide most
of the important lessons and analogies for China’s contemporary foreign relations. The
political scientist advocates instead a careful look at what has changed in China’s foreign
relations since the launching of Deng Xiaoping’s reform and opening strategy in 1978
period. With reference to three contemporary foreign policy issues of your choosing,
critically assess the relative power of each scholar's argument.

Question 2
Discuss how the management of tensions over Beijing’s and Washington’s policies toward
Taiwan have affected US-PRC relations since 1969. In analyzing both countries' policies
discuss the relative importance of strategic interests (international factors), domestic
politics, and leadership psychology in shaping those policies at any given point in the
history.
Pointer: This essay should not focus primarily on cross-Strait relations per se but how the
management of differences over Taiwan have affected US-PRC relations.