On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland China’s history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls ‘a minor bureaucrat’, offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about China’s political system. It wasn’t all smooth sailing Bell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandings but Bell’s post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today.
