31829 - International Relations of East Asia

Learning outcomes

This course covers the history of East Asian countries since the end of colonialism to contemporary times. At the end of the course, each student will be familiar with the history of East Asian countries in the highlighted period and will have an understanding of their rising political and socio-economic role in international dynamics.

Course contents

This course covers the history of East Asian countries since the end of the Second World War to contemporary times. The course includes an introductory lecture and two macro-modules - "Theories and analytical approaches" and "Case studies" - structured as follows: 

A) Theories and analytical approaches

A1) Historical and political overview

A2) The structure of the Asian regional system

A3) The main patterns in the foreign policy of Asian powers

A4) Asia in the international system

A5) Nationalism and identity

 

B) Case studies

- FPA of the main Asian powers and regional blocs

B1) Foreign policy of Japan

B2) Japan-China bilateral relations

B3) Thailand

B4) Central Asia

- Cooperation / competition with extra-regional actors

B5) European Union

B6) Russia

B7) Australia

B8) Latin America

B9) Sub-Saharian Africa

- Thematic analysis

B10) Development of  regional and sub-regional cooperation

B11) The war on terror since 2001

B12) Comparative analysis of the 1997 and 2008 economic crises

- Conflict analysis

B13) North-South Korea relations

B14) Islam in South-East Asia

B15) Kashmir

B16) Mongolian minorities in China

 

Readings/Bibliography

Regular students ("frequentanti") are required to read the following 18 papers:

1) Barry Buzan - Ole Waever (2003), Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge International Press), pp. 93-100.

2) Aaron Friedberg (1993-4), “Ripe for Rivalry: Prospects for Peace in a Multipolar Asia”, International Security, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 5-33.

3) Robert Ross (2006), “Balance of Power Politics and the Rise of China: Accommodation and Balancing in East Asia”, Security Studies, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 355-95.

4) David Kang (2003), “Getting Asia Wrong: The Need for New Analytical Frameworks”, International Security, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 57-85.

5) Amitav Acharya (2003-4), “Will Asia's Past Be Its Future?”, International Security, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 149-64.

6) Evan S. Medeiros – M. Taylor Fravel (2003), “China's New Diplomacy”, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 82, pp. 22-35.

7) Michael Ng-Quinn (1983), “The Analytic Study of Chinese Foreign Policy”, International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 202-24.

8) Steve Chan (1979), “Rationality, Bureaucratic Politics and Belief System: Explaining the Chinese Policy Debate, 1964-66”, Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 333-47.

9) Chen Zhimin (2005), “Nationalism, Internationalism, and Chinese Foreign Policy”, Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 14, No. 42, pp. 35-53.

10) Samuel Kim (1998), “Chinese Foreign Policy in Theory and Practice”, in Samuel Kim (ed.), China and the World: Chinese Foreign Policy Faces the New Millennium (Boulder: Westview), pp. 3-33.

11) Alastair Johnston (2003), “Is China a Status Quo Power?”, International Security, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 5-56.

12) Aaron Friedberg (2005), “The Future of U.S.-China Relations: Is Conflict Inevitable?”, International Security, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 7-45.

13) Thomas Christensen (2006), “Fostering Stability or Creating a Monster? The Rise of China and U.S. Policy toward East Asia”, International Security, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 81-126.

14) James Watson (1993), “Rites of Beliefs? The Construction of a Unified Culture in Late Imperial China”, in L. Dittmer e S.S. Kim (eds.)., China's Quest for National Identity (Cornell UP), pp. 80-103.

15) Carl Lande (1999), “Ethnic Conflict, Ethnic Accommodation, and Nation-Building in Southeast Asia”, Studies in Comparative International Development, Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 89-117.

16) Gary Fuller et al. (2000), “Measuring Potential Ethnic Conflict in Southeast Asia”, Growth and Change, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 305-31.

17) Smita Sabhlok (2002), “Nationalism and Ethnicity and the Nation-State in South Asia”, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 24-42.

18) Ehsan Ahrari (2010), “Conclusion: Ethnic Separatism in Geopolitical Perspective”, in R. Wirsing e E. Ahrari (eds.), Fixing Fractured Nations: The Challenge of Ethnic Separatism in the Asia-Pacific (Palgrave), pp. 244-68.

NB: All these papers are available at the Ruffilli library or through the SFX / CIPE e-journal services. Copies of articles 10, 14, 16, 17 and 18 are available in the course folder at the library.

Students who do not qualify as "frequentanti" ("non-frequentanti") have to read  David Shambaugh and Michael Yahuda (eds.), International Relations of Asia, Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008 on the top of the "frequentanti" syllabus (the 18 papers listed above)

 

Teaching methods

The course consists of 6 lectures (macro-module A) and 16 seminars introduced by student presentations, usually delivered in pairs (macro-module B).

Assessment methods

REGULAR STUDENTS

Students must attend regularly the lectures in order to qualify as "frequentante" or regular student; students are allowed to miss two classes without justification.

The final grade is determined through:

- An assessed 2,500-word paper, which forms the basis for a presentation;

- A final written exam, which will be held in the last week of the course (31 May).

Regular students also have to act as discussants once in the term; acting as discussant at least once is compulsory but it will not contribute towards the final mark.

Details on the structure of the papers and presentations are provided in the first lecture.

OTHER STUDENTS

Students that do not qualify as "frequentante" are required to attend a final written exam in the regular exam sessions on an expanded syllabus (see above).

Teaching tools

Overhead projector, PC, videorecorder

Office hours

See the website of Marco Pinfari