Last week, Professor Mertha gave an eye-opening talk about the nature of the Chinese bureaucracy by connecting it to his research in Cambodia. He also told a lovely anecdote about his issues with research being finally resolved by a helpful undergrad of his.
While I understand that the talk was last-minute, as he had not been the scheduled speaker, I wish he had gone more in depth about the flaws in the Chinese bureaucracy. During the presentation, he briefly showed a convoluted flow chart portraying the tangle that is the Chinese government, and I feel as though his argument that “the Chinese bureaucracy is a mess” could have been better supported if he had explained the chart rather than just saying, “take my word for it,” though I do understand it may have been too complicated to touch on all the key points in under an hour.
I agree with your point that it would have been nice or easier to understand had he gone into more depth about each variable affecting the inefficiency of the government. I haven’t checked, but it would be great to see a class offered teaching this complex relationship among others.