Few phenomena have transformed as much our contemporary world as the re-entry of China and India in the global economy. The reform and opening of China in the late seventies and that of India in the early nineties have fundamentally altered globalization dynamics. Their impact is increasingly felt in other fields as well such as foreign policy and climate change. This course evaluates this momentous shift, as well as the factors driving it.

While the relevance of these countries is not new, the past decade has seen them impact the international system in ways that cannot be ignored. India is poised to become the world’s third biggest economy in purchasing power terms this year. China is already the world’s largest under this measure after becoming its leading exporter and the main emitter of C02. Within the next decade China could well be the primary retail market, main importer, main oil consumer, and the country with the most listed firms in the Fortune Global 500. It could even be that within the next two decades China overtakes the United States in military spending. India is following close-by. This means that both China and India are changing global politics and economics in ways that no other actor has done in recent history. At the same time they face enormous challenges, both domestically and internationally. Almost no other country has seen inequality rise as dramatically as China, corruption, environmental degradation, and social unrest are major concerns for the Chinese leadership. The situation is not much different for India, which in addition remains the country with the most poor in absolute terms (400 million) and has much lower social indicators.

This course will look from an empirical and theoretical perspective at the challenges and opportunities that the rise of China and India bring. In doing so, we will look at their political economies, as well as discussing possibilities for economic and political reform. We will focus on their relevance for world politics and economics. A main question that will be present throughout the course is to which extent these countries will act as stakeholders in the current system even if they did not take part in its design, or on the contrary, whether they will challenge it.