Susan L. Shirk (born 1945) is a professor at the
School of Global Policy and Strategy
The School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) at the University of California San Diego, formerly the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), is devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, and policy ...
at the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
. Her research field is
Chinese politics
The People's Republic of China is run by a single party, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), headed by the CCP General Secretary who tends to be the paramount leader of China. China is among few contemporary party-led dictatorships to not hold ...
.
Shirk served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the
Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs of the
US State Department from 1997 to 2000 during the
Clinton administration
Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...
.
Early life and education
Susan Shirk was born circa 1945.
Shirk received a
bachelor of arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
with a major in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States.
...
at
South Hadley
South Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
South Hadley is home to Mount Holyoke Colleg ...
,
in 1967. She received a
master of arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in
Asian studies
Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asian ...
from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 1968 and a
doctor of philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
in political science from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
in 1974.
She first traveled to China in 1971 as a member of the
Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars
The Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars (CCAS) was founded in 1968 by a group of graduate students and younger faculty as part of the opposition to the American participation in the Vietnam War. They proposed a "radical critique of the assumptio ...
.
Career
Shirk is the Ho Miu Lam Endowed Chair of China and Pacific Relations in the
School of Global Policy and Strategy
The School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) at the University of California San Diego, formerly the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS), is devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, and policy ...
at the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
and Director of the
Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...
. She heads the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue, a track II diplomatic initiative.
Selected books
*''Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise,'' 2022
*''China: Fragile Superpower: How China's Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise'', 2007
*''How China Opened Its Door: The Political Success of the PRC's Foreign Trade and Investment Reform'', 1994
*''The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China'', 1993
*''The Challenge of China and Japan: Politics and Development in East Asia'', 1985
* Competitive Comrades, 1982
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirk, Susan
United States Department of State officials
American women diplomats
American diplomats
University of California, San Diego faculty
Mount Holyoke College alumni
MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences alumni
University of California, Berkeley alumni
1945 births
Living people
American women political scientists
American political scientists
21st-century American women