China Beyond Beijing

Among “China-watchers,” there is a strong emphasis on studying technological capabilities and translating official Chinese documents, but cultural and behavioral understanding of China and its military forces remains a blind spot, principally because of the difficulties involved in spending time on the ground. This three-session online course seeks to redress this blind spot by equipping students to understand China through tools that are underappreciated yet accessible and rigorous. Using maps, travelogues, historical accounts, and other primary source materials, fellows will learn the fundamentals of the behavioral and cultural aspects of China’s government and military forces.

Just as a sophisticated understanding of U.S. society and politics requires knowledge of different regions and cultures within the United States, so too for China. Instructor and geopolitical risk analyst Jeremy Furchtgott has spent extensive time travelling in China’s peripheral regions, with a focus on China’s northern and western regions (Tibetan areas, Xinjiang, and Mongol areas). He will provide an overview of the geographic, cultural, demographic, and other inputs that shape China’s border regions as well as China’s core, allowing fellows to understand Han China not as a homogenous whole, but instead as an amalgamation of different regions and cultures. By the end of the course, fellows will be equipped to produce their own independent assessments of China’s behavior and U.S.-China relations based on primary source analysis.

Image: Tom Stromer, Sticks & Glass, via Flickr Creative Commons

Learn about our online course

This seminar will meet weekly for three Mondays, via Zoom, from 6 PM to 8 PM ET. All course materials will be provided. Up to 15 fellows will be selected.

Faculty

Jeremy Furchtgott

Jeremy Furchtgott is Director at Baron, a firm dedicated to providing U.S. private-sector as well as U.S. government clients with insights needed to prevail in strategic competition. In addition to serving as a member of the firm’s management team, he leads Baron’s China practice.

Preview the Syllabus by Week/Session

Monday, February 12: China Beyond Beijing

Objective:

Understand China’s territory, and especially its peripheral regions.This class will review the geographic, cultural, demographic, and other inputs that shape China’s border regions, with an emphasis on west (Tibetan areas and Xinjiang) and north (Mongol areas).

Readings:

MAP: “Communist China Ethnolinguistic Groups,” U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Directorate of Intelligence, Office of Basic Geographic Intelligence, 1967
“Wolves in Mongolia” (Chapter XXX of Among the Mongols by James Gilmour, 1880)
Chinese vs. Mongol Caravan Practices (comments on Chapter VIII of Mongol Journeys by Owen Lattimore, 1941)
“The Mohammedan Rebellion in China, 1895–6” (Chapter XXV of Through Unknown Tibet by M.S. Wellby, 1898)
Discussion of Russian danger to British India, excerpted from Chapter VI of India and Tibet by Francis Younghusband (1910)

Discussion Question:

What differentiates China from its neighbors?

Monday, February 19: Fractures within Han China

Objective:

Understand Han China not as a homogenous whole, but instead as anamalgamation of different regions and cultures. Just as a sophisticated understanding of U.S.society and politics requires understanding different regions and cultures within the United States, so too for China.

This session will includea presentation from Edward Owen (Associate Director, Baron), an expert on Chinese martial arts who will explain differences in fighting styles associated with different regions of China.

Readings:

“Beijing and the Provinces: Geographic Disparities Among CCP Elites,” Baron, Spring 2022
Discussion of regional dynamics in China, excerpted from Chapter IV of Manchuria: Cradle of Conflict by Owen Lattimore, 1932
Presentation of notion of “not yet Chinese”: pp.170–71 from Studies in Frontier History by Owen Lattimore, 1962
Owen Lattimore,“An Inner Asian Approach to the Historical Geography of China,” The Geographical Journal 110, no. 4/6 (1947): 180–87
Mary S.Erbaugh, “The Secret History of the Hakkas: The Chinese Revolution as a Hakka Enterprise,” The China Quarterly, no. 132 (1992): 937–68

Discussion Questions:

How should the Northern Chinese character of the CCP elite inform our understanding of current and future PRC behavior?
Can one expect China to behave differently under a future Southern Chinese-dominated government?What would be the implications for U.S.-China relations?

Monday, February 26: Toolkits for Understanding China

Objective:

Produce independent assessments of China’s behavior and U.S.-China relations based on primary sources. Three toolkits are useful:

a bibliography of travelogues,with guidance on how to quickly yet rigorously generate independent analyses of current events through these travelogues,
an overview of different types of contemporary travelers who have valuable insights into China, with guidance how to access their insights, and
a practical travel guide for how to plan educational trips to East Asia given the difficulties of traveling to China today.

Class will include a presentation from Suzette Kane (Associate Director,Baron).

Writing Assignment:

Please consult any one travelogue from the bibliography provided in Session II and write a memorandum, no more than 2 pages in length (single-spaced, including footnotes) on what can be learned about China today from that travelogue.

Discussion:

Brief presentation and discussion of each student’s memo.

Alumni Spotlight

Melissa Pavlik

An alumna of the 2015 War Studies Program, Melissa Pavlik is now an M.A. Candidate in War Studies at King’s College London and previously worked as a Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War. She has held research positions at the Department of State, the Hudson Institute, and the Project for International Security Policy Workshop at the University of Chicago.

“Anybody who is interested in national security and has a Hertog background behind them has a leg up because of the way you’re taught to think about these issues. You’re not just reading from the books and learning doctrinal terms and definitions, you’re also learning to think about what you’ve read in a refined, respectful, and deep manner that I would’ve never been taught in university.”

Melissa Pavlik

Current Position:

M.A. Candidate in War Studies, King's College London
Past:

Institute for the Study of War, U.S. Department of State, Hudson Institute
Education:

University of Chicago

HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT THE HERTOG FOUNDATION? WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO APPLY?

I’ve always been interested in conflict studies, but universities tend not to offer a class that is basic “War 101” or “How to Understand Conflict.” And they certainly don’t offer it with the type of people who have the on-the-ground or real-life experience in conflict that Drs. Kim and Fred Kagan and the various guest professors have. The War Studies Program seemed like an opportunity to actually jump-start learning in this field in a way that I couldn’t really do in college.

WHAT STICKS OUT IN YOUR MEMORY ABOUT YOUR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE WITH HERTOG PROGRAMS?

There were a lot of moments in Hertog that were incredible. It was really a string of constant epiphanies so it’s hard to keep track of all the life-changing moments that occurred throughout the Program.

But one of the most crucial moments to my understanding was when we heard military leaders talk to us very explicitly about how war is fundamentally political and how civilian leadership is a critical part of how the military operates and how war operates. It made me realize that even though I wasn’t able to pursue a military career path, I could still very much have an impact on this area that I’m extremely passionate about and interested in. In fact, there is a very important role for people who aren’t in the military to play in analyzing and researching military affairs.

DO YOU THINK HERTOG PROGRAMS ARE BENEFICIAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE INTERESTED IN SECURITY STUDIES?

Anybody who is interested in national security and has a Hertog background behind them has a leg up because of the way you’re taught to think about these issues. You’re not just reading from the books and learning doctrinal terms and definitions, you’re also learning to think about what you’ve read in a refined, respectful, and deep manner that I would’ve never been taught in university. I can’t think of a program better designed for people who are interested in going into these fields.

TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR CAREER PATH. HOW DOES HERTOG FIT INTO YOUR PROFESSIONAL GOALS?

I did Hertog the summer before my senior year in college, and at the end of the Program, I was offered a job at the Institute for the Study of War. It’s essentially my dream job—studying counterterrorism and using the skills that I learned at Hertog to advance the organization that sponsored the Program. This is something that I would not have been able to do without Hertog, not only because I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet the Kagans and discuss these issues, but also because I wouldn’t have had the skillset or the knowledge necessary for the job.

OVERALL, WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF HERTOG PROGRAMS?

I think that they offer opportunities to learn things that you don’t learn in school. Even if you read texts related to what we learned in the War Studies Program, you would not be exposed to the breadth and depth of knowledge from the variety of professors that operate in the Hertog environment. It was a learning experience unlike any I’ve ever had.

You also wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet all the incredible students the Hertog network offers. Some of my closest friends and colleagues are Hertog alumni. It is a community that really maintains bonds past the Program, and that closeness comes out of more than just commonality of specific interests. It comes out of a shared passion for learning and the desire to continue focusing on these really important issues.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN 10 YEARS? IN A SIMILAR JOB, OR EMBARKING ON SOMETHING DIFFERENT?

I certainly hope to still be working the in the national security space. I think I found exactly what I want to do in life, and this is it. I want to find where I can really contribute to the community. So if not in a government position, I certainly see myself in some kind of role to influence national security decisions.