Upon completion of a two term course where students at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies studied the rise of China, they presented their research to peers and professors in the series: "Trends in International Affairs." MA students Dustin Stokes, Tim Little, Neha Navlakha, Leah Flynn, and Jackson Nichols looked at China from a variety of angles that included security, politics, economics, and culture to see the extent to which China is perceived as a responsible stakeholder in the international system.

Dustin Stokes began the presentation by explaining the internal reasons as to why China is authoritarian. He talked about China's Communist Party and found that they have demonstrated a desire to make China a responsible member of the international system.

Leah Flynn also talked about responsibility in China as she discussed the protection of human rights and corporate social responsibility. She addressed the role of Transnational Corporations (TNCs) in China and how TNCs can use their fiscal allure as a bargaining chip to influence state behavior.

China's behavior was further compared to other countries. Tim Little looked at how Russia and China are coming together to be global hegemons. He found that their common goal is to balance the power of the United States and that they are seeking to cooperate their efforts for a multi-polar world.

Neha Navlakha also drew comparisons when looking at China?s environment to India's. She found that India?s environmental efforts are more domestic. In China, she found that international efforts have more of an impact.

In order to make a positive assessment of China as a responsible stakeholder, Jackson Nichols looked at Taiwan to find common cultural links, political differences and economic evidence. He concluded that China is willing to accept its status quo in the near future.

This group of students showed how the rise of China has been unique, how its behavior has been far from uniform and how China's role, on the whole, will be peaceful.

As one of the two professors for the course, Lynn Holland, said, "the International System is not in the usual format for a class. The students have conducted their research projects over two terms and the panels show that this has been extremely valuable. They worked cooperatively, editing each other's work and pulling together a common theme for the presentation. They've really invested themselves in the project."