Marc Blecher

Marc Blecher is the James Monroe Professor of Politics and East Asian Studies at Oberlin College, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. He holds a B.S. from Cornell University (1969), M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (1972, 1978). His research focuses on Chinese politics, including local governance, popular participation, and political economy, with current projects on workers' politics and urban political economy in China. He has authored/coauthored over 5 books, including Politics as a Science (2020, translated into Arabic, Spanish, and Chinese) and the two-volume Class and the Communist Party of China (2022). Courses taught include Marxist Theory, Chinese Political Transition, and Labor Politics. His work emphasizes interdisciplinary analysis of China's sociopolitical evolution and global relevance.

Education:

• B.S., Cornell University, 1969
• M.A., University of Chicago, 1972
• Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1978

Research interests:
Specializing in Chinese political economy, he examines labor dynamics, urban development, and the Communist Party’s evolving class policies. His work bridges Marxist theory and empirical studies of contemporary China’s sociopolitical challenges.

Publications:
Recent works include coauthored translations of Politics as a Science into Arabic (2025) and Spanish (2023), and Class and the Communist Party (2022), analyzing the Party’s historical and modern engagements with class structures. He frequently presents at international conferences like the Chinese Studies Association of Australia.

Teaching and Engagement:
Course topics include Asian politics, Marxist theory, and comparative politics. He leads study abroad programs in London and China, emphasizing experiential learning in sociopolitical contexts.