Description: Contemporary Chinese Politics: Sources, Methods, and Field Strategies considers how new and diverse sources and methods are changing the study of Chinese politics. Contributors spanning three generations in China studies place their distinct qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches in the framework of the discipline and point to challenges or opportunities (or both) of adapting new sources and methods to the study of contemporary China. How can we more effectively use new sources and methods of data collection? How can we better integrate the study of Chinese politics into the discipline of political science, to the betterment of both? How can we more appropriately manage the logistical and ethical problems of doing political research in the challenging Chinese environment? In addressing these questions, this comprehensive methodological survey will be of immense interest to graduate students heading into the field for the first time and experienced scholars looking to keep abreast of the state of the art in the study of Chinese politics.
Brief description: Allen Carlson is an Associate Professor in Cornell University's Government Department. He is the author of Unifying China, Integrating with the World: Securing Chinese Sovereignty during the Reform Era (2005) and the co-editor (with J. J. Suh and Peter Katzenstein) of Rethinking Security in East Asia: Power, Identity and Efficiencies (2004). His articles have appeared in the Journal of Contemporary China and Pacific Affairs.
Review Quotes: "The study of Chinese politics is changing. There's no better guide to how it is changing or who is leading the way than this book. Cutting-edge methods imported from the social sciences, sources that were unimaginable just a few years ago, and novel fieldwork strategies are all highlighted in a uniformly strong set of essays."
Kevin J. O'Brien, University of California, Berkeley