Event

This talk addresses the question of how countries achieve rural development and offers a new way of thinking about East Asia’s political economy that challenges the developmental state paradigm. Through a comparison of Taiwan, South Korea, and China, Looney shows that different types of development outcomes were realized to different degrees, at different times, and in different ways. She argues that rural modernization campaigns, defined as policies demanding high levels of mobilization to effect dramatic change, played a central role in the region and that divergent development outcomes can be attributed to the interplay between campaigns and institutions. The analysis departs from common portrayals of the developmental state as wholly technocratic and demonstrates that rural development was not just a byproduct of industrialization. Looney’s research is based on several years of fieldwork and makes a unique contribution by systematically comparing China’s development experience with other countries. Her book, Mobilizing for Development, was published by Cornell University Press in 2020, and a related article appeared in World Politics in 2021. 

Kristen Looney is an assistant professor of Asian Studies and Government at Georgetown University, where she teaches courses on Chinese and Comparative Politics. Her research is on East Asian development and governance. She holds a B.A. in Chinese Studies from Wellesley College and a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University.

This event will be held on-site in the CSCC conference room, but with a Zoom option.

To attend in person:

Please use this link to RSVP for this event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rural-development-in-china-and-east-asia-tickets-172878232447

You must be a Penn Card holder. Please indicate in the RSVP link that you plan to attend in person. Under the university’s current COVID-19 protocols, we must limit on-site attendance at our events to Penn card holders and, to comply with contact-tracing requirements, we must have a record of who attends our in-person events. Therefore, we are asking that you RSVP is you plan to attend in person. If you do not RSVP and still wish to attend, you are still welcome to show up, but will need to sign in on arrival. Although social distancing is not required under current university rules, we will be limiting the number of people in our conference room to somewhat less than our past highest turnout events.

To participate by Zoom:

We understand that some of you will be unable or uncomfortable attending in person, but wish to participate. We will send you a Zoom link if you register here: https://upenn.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUtf-CrqD8tH90VUPUDOcNCaYX465z3IVZY