Center for Strategic and International Studies

Pekingology

China is one of the 21st century’s most consequential nations, and it has never been more important to understand how the country is governed. Pekingology is the podcast that unpacks Chinese politics, the inner workings of the Communist Party, and how China's domestic and foreign policy will impact the world. Pekingology is hosted by Henrietta Levin, Senior Fellow with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS. It is produced by Gina Kim.

Author

Center for Strategic and International Studies

Category

Government

Latest episode

Oct 29, 2026

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Episodes

Capital Mobility and Taxation 25.08.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Ling Chen, an assistant professor in political economy at Johns Hopkins SAIS, to discuss her article, Capital Mobility and Taxation: State-Business Collusion in China.

Picking Losers 11.08.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by David Bulman, the Jill McGovern and Steven Muller Assistant Professor of China Studies and International Affairs and U.S. Director of the Pacific Community Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), to discuss his co-authored paper, Picking Losers: How Career Incentives Undermine Indust...

Localized Bargaining 28.07.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Xiao Ma, an assistant professor of Political Science at Peking University and faculty associate at Peking University Research Center for Contemporary China, to discuss his recent book, Localized Bargaining: The Political Economy of China’s High-Speed Railway Program.

Terror Capitalism 14.07.2022

In this week’s episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Darren Byler, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University, to discuss two of his recent books, Terror Capitalism: Uyghur Dispossession and Masculinity in a Chinese City, and In the Camps: China's High-Tech Penal Colony.

Rebuilding Authority 30.06.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Jean Christopher Mittelstaedt, departmental lecturer in modern Chinese studies at the University of Oxford, to discuss his recent paper, Rebuilding Authority: The Party's Relationship with Its Grassroots Organizations.

Coalitions of the Weak 16.06.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Victor Shih, associate professor and Ho Miu Lam Chair in China and Pacific Relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC San Diego. They discuss his new book, Coalitions of the Weak: Elite Politics in China from Mao’s Stratagem to the Rise of Xi.

Factional Model-Making in China 02.06.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Olivia Cheung, Research Fellow at the China Institute at SOAS University of London, to discuss her recent paper, Factional Model-making in China: Party Elites’ Open Political Contention in the Policy Process.

China’s Power Position in Global Ports 19.05.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Isaac B. Kardon, an assistant professor in the Strategic and Operational Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College, to discuss his paper Pier Competitor: China’s Power Position in Global Ports, which is co-authored with Wendy Leutert.   The views expressed by the guest are his own and do not necessarily represent th...

Foreign and Security Policymaking in Xi Jinping’s China 05.05.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Suisheng Zhao, Professor and Director of the Center for China-US Cooperation at University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies, to discuss his paper, Top-level Design and Enlarged Diplomacy: Foreign and Security Policymaking in Xi Jinping’s China.

The Rise of Data Politics 21.04.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Lizhi Liu, Assistant Professor in the McDonough School of Business and a faculty affiliate of the Department of Government at Georgetown University, to discuss her recent paper, The Rise of Data Politics: Digital China and the World.

Elite Purges in Marxist-Leninist Regimes 07.04.2022

In this week’s episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Joseph Torigian, an assistant professor in the School of International Service at American University, to discuss his paper “You Don't Know Khrushchev Well”: The Ouster of the Soviet Leader as a Challenge to Recent Scholarship on Authoritarian Politics.

Defending Stability Under Threat 24.03.2022

In this week’s episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by H. Christoph Steinhardt, assistant professor in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna, to discuss his paper, Defending Stability under Threat: Sensitive Periods and the Repression of Protest in Urban China.

The Xi Jinping Effect 10.03.2022

In this week’s episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Ashley Esarey, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alberta, to discuss his recent paper, Propaganda as a Lens for Assessing Xi Jinping’s Leadership.

Why Does the CCP Need a Core? 24.02.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is join by Xuezhi Guo, the Lincoln Financial Professor of Political Science at Gilford College, to discuss his book, The Politics of the Core Leader in China: Culture, Institution, Legitimacy, and Power.

Grading Xi Jinping 10.02.2022

In this week’s episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Elizabeth Economy, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, currently on leave serving as senior advisor for China in the Department of Commerce. They discuss her evaluation of Xi Jinping’s leadership, as well as her new book, The World According to China.

Democratic Centralism 27.01.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Patricia Thornton, an Associate Professor of Chinese Politics at University of Oxford and Acting Chief Editor of The China Quarterly. They discuss her recent paper, Of Constitutions, Campaigns and Commissions: A Century of Democratic Centralism under the CCP.

Performative Governance 13.01.2022

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Iza Ding, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburg, to discuss her paper, Performative Governance.

From General Secretary to Chairman: Xi Jinping’s Third Road 16.12.2021

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Ling Li, a Lecturer in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Vienna, to discuss her essay, The Third Road: Where Will Xi Jinping Go in 2022?.

Cyber Nationalism and Regime Support under Xi Jinping 02.12.2021

In this week’s episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Rongbin Han, an Associate Professor in the Department of International Affairs at The University of Georgia, to discuss his recent paper, Cyber Nationalism and Regime Support under Xi Jinping: The Effects of the 2018 Constitutional Revision.

Public Opinion in China 18.11.2021

On this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Rory Truex, an Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University, to discuss his research on public opinion in China. For more on Rory's work: https://www.rorytruex.com/research-areas

Special Deals with Chinese Characteristics 21.10.2021

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair Jude Blanchette is joined by Chang-Tai Hsieh, the Phyllis and Irwin Winkelried Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, to discuss his recently co-authored paper, Special Deals with Chinese Characteristics.

From Mao to Now 07.10.2021

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by David Shambaugh, the Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science & International Affairs, and the founding Director of the China Policy Program in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University, to discuss his new book, China's Leaders: From Mao to Now.

Political Risk and Firm Exit 23.09.2021

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Jack Zhang, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of the Trade War Lab at the University of Kansas. They discuss a co-authored paper with Samantha Vortherms, Assistant Professor of Political Science at UC Irvine, Political Risk and Firm Exit: Evidence from the US-China Trade War, which exami...

Who Not What 09.09.2021

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Mary Gallagher, Professor of Political Science and Director of the International Institute at the University of Michigan, and Blake Miller, Assistant Professor of Computational Social Science at the London School of Economics, to discuss their recent paper, Who Not What: The Logic of China's Information Con...

Rethinking Chinese Politics 26.08.2021

In this episode of Pekingology, Freeman Chair in China Studies Jude Blanchette is joined by Joseph Fewsmith, Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the Boston University Pardee School, to discuss his new book, Rethinking Chinese Politics, which was recently published by Cambridge University Press.

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