96816 - INTERNATIONAL POLITICS OF EAST ASIA

Learning outcomes

This course explores the complex international relations of East Asia, with particular reference to Northeast Asia (Japan, China, the two Koreas, and the United States, which still plays a central role). Students will learn about these countries’ economic and political development, the processes of construction of their national identities, their foreign and security policies, and their role in the regional and global governance.

Course contents

The course will follow the Y structure. This means that classes will be divided into Lectures and Seminars.

Lectures: the entire class will attend at the same time. Lectures are identified with an L (L1, L2, L3). This is the lower part of the Y.

Each seminar will be held twice. Each student will attend it once (upper part of the Y). They are identified with an S (S1a, S1b, S2a, S2b).

The A group will be formed by the first half of the class in alphabetical order, the B group by the second half. All seminars and lectures will be held in presence.

Both for Lectures and for Seminars, students are required to read the materials in advance. Students can find the readings and the other materials on the Virtuale page of the course.

Lectures will resemble traditional frontal classes, even if questions and comments are more than welcome.

Seminars will be different from traditional classes. They will be based on active participation and debates among students. Students will be invited to discuss different ideas and arguments, often taking a position. The class will be further divided into subgroups that will be invited to support different sides of an argument on specific issues and topics.

Consequently, preparing the readings in advance will be essential for active attendance of the seminars.

At the end of the course, each student will attend 12 lectures and 8 seminars.

For each student, the total amount of hours is 34 hours of classroom activities. Since this amount is lower than the amount generally associated with an exam of 10 CFU (60 hours), the course requires a slightly higher number of pages to read and active participation during the seminars.

The evaluation will consist of the following: 30% of the grade, active participation in seminars; 40% of the grade, mid-term exams; 30% of the grade, final oral exam.

1. China from the Sino-centric system to the demise of the Qing dynasty. (L1)
2. Japan from the Meiji Era to World War Two. (L2)
3. World War Two in Asia and the Chinese Civil War (L3)
4. The Cold War in East Asia. (L4)
5. China during the Mao Era. (L5)
6. Deng Xiaoping and the Era of Reform and Opening. (L6)
7. China: collective memory during the reform era (L7)
8. China: Ideology during the Xi Era (S1)
9. The Belt and Road Initiative and Xi's blueprint for the regional order (S2)
10. China's military modernization and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. (S3)
11. Taiwan and Cross Strait Relations. (S4)
12. MID TERM EXAM
13. Japan: foreign and defence policies in the post-war era (L8)
14. Japan: foreign and defence policies in the Post-Cold War Era (L9)
15. Japan: collective memory and foreign policy (S5)
16. South Korea: domestic polarization and middle power diplomacy. (L10)
17. North Korea and the nuclear programme. (S6)
18. The US in East Asia: From the end of the Cold War to the Pivot to Asia (L11)
19. The US and the Great power competition in East Asia (S7)
20. South East Asia and ASEAN (L12)
21. Guest lecture 1
22. Guest lecture 2

Readings/Bibliography

1) China from the Sino-centric system to the demise of the Qing dynasty. (L1)

Kang, D.C. (2010) Asia before the West. Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute. New York: Columbia University Press. Ch. 1.

Westad, O.A. (2014). Restless Empire. China and the World since 1750. Basic Books. Ch. 2

2) Japan from the Meiji Era to World War Two. (L2)

Pyle, K.B. (2007) Japan Rising. The Resurgence of Japanese power and purpose. Public Affairs, ch. 3

Zarakol, A. (2011). After defeat: How the East learned to live with the West . Cambridge University Press (p. 161-174.)

3) World War Two in Asia and the Chinese Civil War (L3)

The Encyclopedia Britannica. The Pacific War.

Mitter, R. (2016). The War Years 1937-1949. In J.N. Wasserstrom, The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern China. Pp. 150-178

4) The Cold War in East Asia. (L4)

Hasegawa, T. (2011). Introduction: East Asia- The Second Significant Front of the Cold War. In Hasehawa, T. (ed.) The Cold War in East Asia 1945-1991. Stanford University Press.

5) China during the Mao Era. (L5)

Schell, O., & Delury, J. (2014). Wealth and power: China's long march to the twenty-first century. Random House Trade Paperbacks (Mao II)

6) Deng Xiaoping and the Era of Reform and Opening. (L6)

Schell, O., & Delury, J. (2014). Wealth and power: China's long march to the twenty-first century. Random House Trade Paperbacks. (Deng I)

Schell, O. (2020) The Death of Engagement. The Wire China (the Cold War years)

7) China: collective memory during the reform era (L7)

Dian, M. (2017). Contested Memories in Chinese and Japanese Foreign Policy. Oxford: Elsevier. Ch.1-5 (selected parts)

Dian M. (2021) The 100 th anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese Communist Party and China’s collective memory. Istituto Ricerche e Analisi Difesa.

8) China: Ideology during the Xi Era (S1)

Rolland, N. (2020) China’s vision of the World Order. National Bureau Asian Research (selected parts).

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2023). Proposal of the People's Republic of China on the Reform and Development of Global Governance-

9) The Belt and Road Initiative and Xi’s blueprint for the regional order (S2)

Dian, M. (2021) China, the United States and the renegotiation of the regional economic order (unpublished working paper).

McBride, J. & Chatzky, A. (2019) Is ‘Made in China 2025’ a Threat to Global Trade? A backgrounder Council on Foreign Relations.

10) China’s military modernization and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. (S3)

Dian, M. (2021) China, the United States and military competition. (Unpublished working paper).

Council on Foreign Relations (2022) China’s maritime disputes.

11) Taiwan and Cross Strait Relations. (S4)

Hass, R., Glaser, B., & Bush, R. (2023). US-Taiwan Relations: Will China's Challenge Lead to a Crisis?. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press (ch. 1-2 selected parts).

12) MID TERM EXAM

13) Japan: foreign and defence policies in the post war era (L8)

Pyle, K. (2009). Japan rising: The resurgence of Japanese power and purpose. Public Affairs. Ch. 7-8. (selected parts)

14) Japan: foreign and defence policies in the Post-Cold War Era (L9)

Hughes, C.H., Patalano, A & Ward, R. (2021) Japan’s Grand Strategy: The Abe Era and Its Aftermath, Survival, 63:1, 125-160

Japanese MOFA (2026) The Updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific

Maizland, L. (2024) The US-Japan Security Alliance. A backgrounder. Council of Foreign Relations.

15) Japan: collective memory and foreign policy (S5)

Dian, M. (2017). Contested Memories in Chinese and Japanese Foreign Policy. Elsevier. Ch. 2-3. Selected Parts.

16) South Korea: domestic polarization and middle power diplomacy. (L10)

Pacheco Pardo, R. (2023). South Korea's Grand Strategy: Making Its Own Destiny. Columbia University Press (ch. 5).

Congressional Research Service (2026) US-Korea Alliance. Report for Congress

17) North Korea and the nuclear programme. (S6)

Kang, D. C., & Cha, V. D. (2018). Is North Korea a problem not to be solved?. In Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies (pp. 186-214). Columbia University Press

Pacheco Pardo, R. (2022). The US and North Korea: The Nuclear Problem that Refuses to Go Away. In Turner, O., Nymalm, N., & Aslam, W. (Eds.). (2022). The Routledge Handbook of US Foreign Policy in the Indo-Pacific. Taylor & Francis, pp. 215-225.

Congressional Research Service (2024). US-North Korea Relations .

Congressional Research Service (2025). Russia-North Korea Relations

Mastro, O. S. (2026). Kim's Dangerous Liaisons: Russia, China, and the Growing North Korea Threat. Foreign Aff., 105, 114.

18) The US in East Asia: From the end of the Cold War to the Pivot to Asia (L11)

Green, M. J. (2017). By More Than Providence: Grand Strategy and American Power in the Asia Pacific Since 1783. Columbia University Press. Ch 1-8 (selected parts)

Schell, O. (2020) The Death of Engagement. The Wire China (post Cold War years)

19) The US and the Great power competition in East Asia (S7)

Walt, S. M. (2026). The predatory hegemon: the predatory hegemon: how trump wields American power. Foreign Affairs, 105(2), 8-23.

Cooper, Z. (2026). Asia after america: how u.s. strategy failed and ceded the advantage to china. Foreign Affairs, 105(2), 76-91.

Baldaro, E., & Dian, M. (2018). Trump’s grand strategy and the post-American world order. INTER-DISCIPLINARY POLITICAL STUDIES, 4(1), 17-45.

Foot, R. (2025) Convergence Amid Divergence: America, China, and the Emerging Minimalist World Order. The Diplomat. December 26, 2025

Doshi, R., Chen Weiss, Steinberg, J.B., Heer, P. J, Pottinger, M., Gallagher, M. (2024). “Roundtable: What does America Wan from China?”Foreign Affairs, July August 2024

20) South East Asia and ASEAN (L12)

Yoshimatsu, H. (2023). ASEAN and great power rivalry in regionalism: From East Asia to the Indo-Pacific. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 42(1), 25-44.

Council of Foreign Relations (2024). A backgrounder What is ASEAN?

21) Guest lecture 1

22) Guest lecture 2

23) Final exam

Teaching methods

Lectures; seminars with students active partecipation.

Assessment methods

For attending students:

2 written tests, class partecipation; oral exam.

Non attending students:

1 Written test; oral exam

Teaching tools

All the materials can be found on the Virtuale page of the course.

Readings, Power point presenations, Videos.

Office hours

See the website of Matteo Dian