Susan Shirk
Ho Miu Lam Endowed Chair in China and Pacific Relations; Director of the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)
sshirk@ucsd.edu
Phone: (858) 822-4349
Fax: (858) 534-3939
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0519
Office #1224
Education
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1974 (political science)
M.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1968 (Asian studies)
Princeton University, 1965-66 (critical languages program)
B.A., Mount Holyoke College, 1967 (political science)
Biography
CV
Susan Shirk is director of the University of California system-wide Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation and professor of political science. Shirk first traveled to China in 1971 and has been doing research there ever since.
During 1997-2000, Shirk served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, with responsibility for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia.
She founded in 1993 and continues to lead the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue (NEACD), an unofficial “track-two” forum for discussions of security issues among defense and foreign ministry officials and academics from the United States, Japan, China, Russia and the Koreas.
Shirk’s publications include her books, How China Opened Its Door: The Political Success of the PRC’s Foreign Trade and Investment Reforms; The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China; and Competitive Comrades: Career Incentives and Student Strategies in China. Her latest book, China: Fragile Superpower, was published by Oxford University Press in Spring 2007.
Shirk served as a member of the U.S. Defense Policy Board, the Board of Governors for the East-West Center (Hawaii), the Board of Trustees of the U.S.-Japan Foundation, and the Board of Directors of the National Committee on United States-China Relations. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and an emeritus member of the Aspen Strategy Group. As Senior Adviser to The Albright Group, Shirk advises private sector clients on China and East Asia.
Programs and Centers
The Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
Korea Regional Concentration Program
China Regional Concentration Program
Current Projects
Upcoming Speaking Events
“An Evening with Susan Shirk”
January 24, 2008
Organization: Athena Bioscience Group
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Location: L'Auberge Del Mar Resort & Spa
More Information
Registration Required
Professional Activities
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Member, task force on U.S. Korea Policy, Center for International Policy, 2002
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Member and chair, economics sub group, task force on Chinese military power, Council on Foreign Relations 2002-2003
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Editorial board, The American Asian Review 2001-present
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Organizer and chair, "Cross Strait Relations After WTO", 30th Sino-American Conference on Contemporary China, IR/PS, 2001
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Faculty coordinator, IR/PS Dean's Roundtable, 2000-present
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Advisory committee, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Universities service centre, 2000-present
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Member and emeritus member, Aspen Strategy Group, 1996-present
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Editorial board, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 1996-97
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Member, board of trustees, U.S.-Japan Foundation, 1995-97
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Member, Defense Policy Board (advises the U.S. secretary of defense), 1995-97
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Member, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, 1995-97
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Member, Council on Foreign Relations, 1991-present
Research Interests
Recent Articles and Talks
Interview by Harry Kreisler
of the Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley
"Conversations with History" June 28, 2007
“An Evening with Susan Shirk”
Athena Bioscience Group, Del Mar, CA, January 24, 2008
"Media freedom riddle for China"
The Standard, November 5, 2007
"Voices on Genocide Prevention" interview
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, June 28, 2007
“China: Fragile Superpower”
Naval War College, October 24, 2007
"China Now"
NPR's On Point Radio, October 18, 2007
"How China's Internal Politics Could Derail its Peaceful Rise"
Pasadena, CA, October 17, 2007
"After Hu"
The Wall Street Journal Asia, October 12, 2007
"China's Youth Dance Reluctantly to U.S. Beat"
Boston Globe, November 17, 2005
"Subtle Power Struggle"
Newsweek, International, September 20, 2005
"UCSD Guestbook: Anson Chan with Susan Shirk"
UCSDTV, June 11, 2005
(watch the interview using RealPlayer)
"China's Rise: The Blueprint"
San Diego Union-Tribune, March 20, 2005
"Is China Losing its Soft Touch"
United Press International, June 26, 2004
"Washington Must Change Cross-Strait Policy Says Expert"
The Staits Time Interactive, June 22, 2004
"The United States Is Marginalizing Itself in Northeast Asia"
UCLA International Institute, May 16, 2003
"Under Global Spotlight, China's New Leaders Have to Reform"
Yale Global, May 12, 2003
Interview by Harry Kreisler
of the Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley
"Conversations with History" November 8, 2001
Publications of Note
Shirk is the author of How China Opened Its Door: The Political Success of the PRC's Foreign Trade and Investment Reforms and The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China, and editor of Power and Prosperity: Economic and Security Linkages in the Asia Pacific. Previous publications include The Challenge of China and Japan and Competitive Comrades: Career Incentives and Student Strategies in China. Shirk has also written numerous scholarly articles on Chinese politics and foreign policy.
Recent Publications
China: Fragile Superpower.
Oxford University Press, 2007.
China today is the world’s fastest growing economy, a dramatic turnaround that alarms many Westerners. But in China: Fragile Superpower, Susan Shirk finds that the real danger lies elsewhere, in the deep insecurity of China's leaders who face a troubling paradox: the more developed and prosperous the country becomes, the more insecure and threatened they feel. Shirk offers invaluable insight into how they think—and what they fear. In this revealing book, readers see the world through the eyes of men like President Hu Jintao and former President Jiang Zemin. Theirs is a regime afraid of its own citizens, and this fear motivates many of their decisions when dealing with the U.S. and other foreign nations. In particular, the fervent nationalism of the Chinese people has made relations with Japan and Taiwan a minefield. Shirk argues that rising powers such as China tend to provoke wars in large part because other countries mishandle them. Unless we understand China’s brittle internal politics and the fears that motivate its leaders, we face the very real possibility of conflict with China. This book provides that understanding.
Reviews and Book Talks
"Books of the Year: My China syndrome"
Denise Kingsmill, managementtoday.com December 1, 2007
China: Fragile Superpower
Book Review, KWR Advisor, October 29, 2007
“China: Fragile Superpower”
Naval War College, October 24, 2007
The Wednesday Club Luncheon:
"China: Fragile Superpower: How the Chinese Leaders Think & What They Fear."
Santa Monica, CA, October 16, 2007
"Bound to China"
Washington Post Book Reviews, August 26, 2007
China: Fragile Superpower Book Review
Archie McKee, U.S.-China Review, Vol. XXXI, No. 3, Summer 2007
Click here to learn more about China: Fragile Superpower
Click here to find out where you can hear Susan Shirk speak about China: Fragile Superpower
Order China: Fragile Superpower online at Amazon.com
U.S. China Relations
Winter 2007
Course Description:
Can the United States and China manage to develop a constructive relationship or are they headed toward a hostile relationship? This course addresses this question by examining the domestic and international influences on the foreign policies of both countries and key issues in the bilateral relationship. Students also do policy projects.
Chinese Politics
Fall 2006
Course Description:
This course will analyze post-1949 Chinese politics, including political institutions, the policy making process, and citizen political behavior. Special attention will be paid to the prospects for political reform in China.
