34730 - Political And Social Development In Korea

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student would be able to analyze the concepts of political and social development with regards to some countries in the region of Northeast Asia, in particular Korea. In detail, the student will be able to: - put into a general framework the development of political processes of the countries taken into exam; - analyze the main topics regarding the political, social and economic development of asiatic countries; - understand the importance of some critical junctures like the democratization processes of some countries in the asiatic region or economic reforms pre and post 1997 crisis; - understand the importance of civil society in the political scenario of these countries; - discuss the most relevant problems regarding the political development of asiatic countries.

Course contents

The course is focused on the analysis of the foreign policy of Northeast Asian countries: in particular, main regional disputes (Korean peninsula, Taiwan strait, the South China Sea only to cite some of them) will be taken into account, examining also the role the United States in the "management" of these disputes.

Readings/Bibliography

Required Readings:
- M. Yahuda, The International Politics of Asia-Pacific, Routledge , 2011

Introduction to East Asian International Relations:

1. D. Shambaugh e M. Yahuda,International Relations of Asia, capp. 2-3,Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008

2. M. Yahuda,The International Politics of Asia-Pacific, Parte I, capp. 1-2-3,Routledge, 2011

Inter Korean Relations:

3. D. Drezner,The trouble with carrots: transaction costs, conflict expectations and economic inducements,in "Security Studies", Vol. 9, No. 1, 1999

4 J.L. Gaddis,Containment: its past and future,in "International Security", Vol. 5, No. 4, 1981

5. D. Kang e V. Cha,The Debate over North Korea,in "Political Science Quarterly", Vol. 119, No. 2, 2004

6. J. Choi e E. Lee,Sixty years of South Korean unification policies, time for a paradigm shift,in "Korea and World Affairs", Vo. 32, No. 3, 2008

7. C.I. Moon,The Sunshine Policy and the Korean summit: assessment and prospects, in "East Asian Review", Vol. 12, No. 4, 2000

8. D.H. Lee,The Korean Sunshine Policy: its light and shade, in "Pacific Focus", Vol. 18, No. 4, 2002

9. H.N. Kim,The Lee Myung-bak government's North Korea policy and the prospects for inter-korean relations, in "International Journal of Korean Studies", Vol. 12, No. 1, 2008

PRC-USA Relations and the new global and regional balance:

11. R. Sutter,US-Chinese relations: perilous past, pragmatic present, capp. 3-4-5,Rowman & Littlefield, 2012

12. A. Friedberg, The future of US-China relations, in "International Security", Vol. 30, No. 2, 2005

13. T. Christensen,Fostering stability or creating a monster? The rise of China and US policy toward East Asia, in "International Security", Vol. 31, No. 1, 2006

14. R. Sutter,The Obama administration and China: positive but fragile equilibrium, in "Asian Perspective", Vol. 33, No. 3, 2009

15. R. Sutter,The Obama administration and US Policy in Asia, in "Contemporary Southeast Asia", Vol. 31, No. 2, 2009

16. V. Cha,The Obama administration's policy toward East Asia,in "Korean Journal of Defense Analysis", Vol. 22, No. 1, 2010

Soft Powerand the new Chinese global role:

17. J. Nye,Soft Power, in "Foreign Policy", No. 80, 1990

18. M. Lee,China debates Soft Power, in "Chinese Journal of International Politics", Vol. 2, 2008

19. (edited by The Nixon Center),China's growing role in the Middle-East, "The Nixon Center", 2010

21. S. Zhao,China's global search for energy security, in "Journal of Contemporary China", Vol. 17, No. 55, 2007

22. H. Kreft,China's quest for energy, in "Hoover Center Policy Review" No. 139, 2006

23. M. Li,Security in the South China Sea: China's Balancing Act and New Regional Dynamics, Working Paper, S. Rajaratnam School of Intern.l Studies, Singapore, 2008

24. C.A. Thayer,Recent Developments in the South China Sea: Grounds for Cautious Optimism?, Working Paper,S. Rajaratnam School of Intern.l Studies, Singapore, 2010

25. R. Sutter, Taiwan's Future: Narrowing Straits, National Bureau of Asian Research Analysis, 2011

Japan in International Relations:

26. T. Berger &M. Mochizuki,Japan in International politics, cap. 1,Lynne Rienner, 2007

27. G. Hook,Japan's international relations, capp. 4-9,Routledge, 2011

Students who decide not to attend the course should add to the book by Yahuda and the 27 papers cited above the following book:

- M.K. Connors, R. Davison, J. Dosch(a cura di),The New Global Politics of the Asia Pacific, Routledge, 2011

Teaching methods

Lectures, seminars, discussions

Assessment methods

Oral test. The active participation of the studentsis pivotal in order to obtain good marks.

Teaching tools

Slides and short clips

Office hours

See the website of Antonio Fiori