Government 333-002 Government and Politics of Asia (Draft) George Mason University Instructor: Jihye Lim Fall 2017 Email: jlim18@gmu.edu PLANET 124 Office: TBA M, W 10:30 11:45 AM Office hours: TBA Course Description This course surveys the governments and politics of Asia, which is home to nearly two-thirds of the world s population and economically responsible for a third of the world s GDP. Although grouped together into a single continent, Asia is diverse in its membership with varying electoral systems, governing institutions, and cultures. Throughout the course, we will apply a comparative approach and international relation theories, and explore how historical and contemporary forces are shaping their politics and their resulting Governments in these countries. The course materials will be covered through a combination of lectures, discussions, and group work. At the end of the course, students should have acquired an in-depth understanding of the factors shaping the political trajectories of these countries. Course Requirements - Participation (10%): This is a seminar course. Students are expected to participate in class as it demonstrates students independent thoughts on the subject matter. Students must come to class prepared and be ready to discuss issues raised in the reading and lectures. I will give you credits based on your questions and discussions in class. - Pop-quiz (15%): There will be 3-5 unannounced closed-book quizzes at various intervals throughout this semester. Questions will be based on the readings for the day the quiz will be held. Each quiz will consist of 2 or 3 multiple questions and 2 or 3 short answers. There is no make-up quiz under any circumstances. - Midterm exams (30% - 15% each): There will be 2 closed-book midterm exams. Each exam will consist of approximately 10 short answers and a short essay. Students will not be able to reschedule the exam unless there are documented circumstances. Rescheduled exam will be harder than the original one. - Presentation (20%): This is a group work. Students will choose one of four conflicts between two Asian countries (such as a conflict between India-Pakistan), which will be distributed in the first class. Based on students preferences, I will assign each student to groups. In each group, there will be two different countries having conflicts. Students in 1
the group will also be assigned to one of the countries. Students will consider themselves as a representative of the assigned country and prepare a 20-minute presentation to present the conflict and to propose/find a resolution. After the presentations, each group will raise questions to the other group and debate the resolution. I will give extra credits to a group having more reasonable resolution. - Final paper (25%): This is an individual work. After above debates, each student should individually submit a final paper. The final paper will mainly discuss your opinion regarding the issue you ve discussed. I will give a guideline for the paper. The final paper is due at the end of the semester (13rd Dec. ) and should be no more than 1500 words. Grading Scales Grades will be calculated on a non-curved A-F scale. A (95-100) A- (90-94) B+ (87-89) B (83-86) B- (80-82) C+ (77-79) C (73-76) C- (70-72) D (60-69) F (less than 59) Class Policies - Readings: All required readings should be completed before class. If you have any problem to access required readings, please contact the instructor as soon as possible. - Absence: I will not take attendance, but absence will affect your pop-quizzes and participation credits. - Late Work Policy: Late work will never be accepted unless there is an extraordinary circumstance. Except in such cases, a penalty of a full letter grade may be assessed for each day the assignment is late. - Electronic Devices: I strongly encourage students to keep cellphones, tablets, and laptops, out of sight for the duration of the class. Required Textbook David Shambaugh and Michael Yahuda. 2014. International Relations of Asia, 2 nd Edition. Rowman & Littlefield. Recommended books Katzenstein, Peter J. 2005. A World of Regions. Cornell University Press. (Accessible at online through GMU Library) Cohen, Warren I. 2001. East Asia at the center: four thousand years of engagement with the world. Columbia University Press. (Accessible at online through GMU Library) 2
Rozman, Gilbert. 2014. The East Asian Region: Confucian Heritage and its Modern Adaption. Princeton University Press. Hayes, Louis D. 2009. Political Systems of East Asia: China, Korea, and Japan. New York: Routledge. Cohen, Stephen Philip. 2010. India: Emerging Power. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press (Accessible at online through GMU Library) Jaffrelot, Christophe. 2015. The Pakistan Paradox. Oxford University Press. Kingsbury, Damien. 2005. South-East Asia: a political profile. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Kingsbury, Damien. 2016. Politics in Contemporary Southeast Asia: authority, democracy, and political change. New York: Routledge. Students with disabilities or special needs If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through the DRC. Academic integrity Faculty in the Schar School have zero tolerance for academic dishonesty and will strictly enforce Mason s honor code. Course Schedule Aug. 28 Introduction Aug. 30 Asia s political system Chapter 2 The Evolving Asian System David C. Kang, Getting Asia Wrong: The Need for new Analytical Frameworks, International Security 27: 4 (Spring 2003) pp. 57-85. Sep. 04 Labor Day (No class) I. East Asia Sep. 06 China Susan V. Lawrence and Michael F. Martin. 2012. Understanding China s Political System. Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report. May 10: pp. 1-13, 16-26. Chapter 6 China s Role in Asia Sep. 11 Japan 3
TJ Pempel. 1992. Japanese Democracy and Political Culture: A Comparative Perspective, PS: Political Science and Politics 25 (1): 5-12. Chapter 8. Japan in Asia Sep. 13 South Korea David I. Steinberg and Myung Shin. 2006. Tensions in South Korean Political Parties in Transition: From Entourage to Ideology? Asian Survey 46(4):517-537 Chapter 12. The Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asian Stability Sep. 18 North Korea Hazel Smith. 2000. Bad, Mad, Sad, or Rational Actor? Why the Securitization Paradigm Makes for Poor Policy Analysis of North Korea. International Affairs 76(3): 593-617 Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland. 2013. Economic Crime and Punishment in North Korea, Political Science Quarterly 127(4): 659-683. Sep. 20 The East Asian Model of Economic Development Paul Krugman. 1994. The Myth of Asia s Miracle. Foreign Affairs 73(6): 62-78. Stephen Haggard. 1999. Governance and Growth: Lessons from the Asian Economic Crisis. Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. 12(2): 30-42 Sep. 25 Security Issues Chapter 15. Security Dynamics in East Asia Joerg Friedrichs, East Asian Regional Security: What the ASEAN Family Can (Not) Do, Asian Survey 52: 4 (July-August 2012), pp. 754-776 Sep. 27 Mid-term I II. South Asia Oct. 02 India Chapter 7. The Rise of India in Asia Banerjee & Iyer. 2005. "History, Institutions and Economic Performance: The Colonial Land Tenure System in India," American Economic Review. 95(4): 1190-1213. Oct. 04 Authoritarianism and Democracy in the Post-colonial States K. Adeney and A. Wyatt. 2004. Democracy in South Asia: Getting beyond the Structure-Agency Dichotomy Political Studies, 52(1):1-18. Sumit Ganguly & Brian Shoup. 2005. "Nepal: Between Dictatorship and Anarchy" Journal of Democracy. Oct. 10 (Columbus day recess) Religious and Ethnic Conflicts Saumitra Jha. 2013. Trade, Institutions and Ethnic Tolerance: Evidence from South Asia American Political Science Review. 4
Michael Hutt. 2005. "The Bhutanese Refugees: Between Verification, Repatriation and Royal Realpolitik" Peace and Democracy in South Asia. Bethany Lacina. 2013. "Nationalism and the Origins of Separatist Civil War in India" University of Rochester Working Paper. Oct. 11 Book Festival *TBA Oct. 16 Stability in South Asia Stephen Philip Cohen. 2010. India as a Nuclear Power in India: Emerging Power, Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press: 157-197. (Accessible at: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.mutex.gmu.edu/lib/gmu/detail.action?docid=3004342) Vipin Narang. 2010. "Posturing for Peace? Pakistan's Nuclear Postures and South Asian Stability" International Security 34(3): 38-78 Sumit Ganguly. 2014. Special Section: Nuclear Stability in South Asia. The Nonproliferation Review 21(3-4): 255-260. III. Southeast Asia Oct. 18 Indonesia, Philipine and Vietnam William Liddle and Saiful Mujani, Leadership, Party and Religion: Explaining Voting Behavior in Indonesia, Comparative Political Studies, 40, 7, 2007, pp. 832-857. Paul Hutchcroft and Joel Rocamora. Strong Demands and Weak Institutions: The Origins and Evolution of the Democratic Deficit in the Philippines." Journal of East Asian Studies. 3 (2) (May-August 2003): 259-292. Abuza, Zachary. 2002. The Lessons of Le Kha Phieu: Changing Rules in Vietnamese Politics. Contemporary Southeast Asia, 24.1 (April). Oct. 23 Thailand and Malaysia Duncan McCargo, Network Monarchy and Legitimacy Crises in Thailand, The Pacific Review, 18, 4, December 2005, pp. 499-519. Dan Slater, Iron Cage in an Iron Fist: Authoritarian Institutions and the Personalization of Power in Malaysia, Comparative Politics, 36, 1, October 2003, pp. 81-101. Oct. 25 Authoritarian/Democratic Equilibrium Benjamin Smith. 2005. Life of the Party: The Origins of Regime Breakdown and Persistence Under Single-Party Rule. World Politics. 57(3) Abrami, Regina, Edmund Malesky, and Yu Zheng. 2008. Accountability and Inequality in Single Party Regimes: A Comparative Analysis of Vietnam and China. Harvard Business School Working Papers 08-099. Jason Brownlee. 2008. Bound to Rule: Party Institutions and Regime Trajectories in Malaysia and the Philippines. Journal of East Asian Studies 8(1). 89-118. 5
Oct. 30 Regional Multilateralism Chapter 9. ASEAN and the New Regional Multilateralism Michael Vatikotis. 2006. Resolving Internal Conflicts in Southeast: Domestic Challenges and Regional Perspectives, Contemporary Southeast Asia 28(1): 27-47 Nov. 01 Mid term II IV. The United States in Asia Nov. 06 The United States and Asia I Chapter 4. The US in Asia Bruce Cumings, We look at it and see ourselves, London Review of Books (December 15, 2005, Accessible at: https://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n24/bruce-cumings/we-look-at-it-and-seeourselves). Nov. 08 The United States and Asia II Alexis Dudden, Dangerous Islands: Japan, Korea, and the United States, Japan Focus, August 11, 2008. (Accessible at: http://japanfocus.org/-alexis-dudden/2852) Victor D. Cha. 2009/10. Powerplay Origins of the U.S. Alliance System in Asia, International Security 34(3): 158-96. Nov. 13 Asian Views of US-Asia Relations Yuen Foong Khong. 2013. The American Tributary System, Chinese Journal of International Politics 6(1): 1-47. Evelyn Goh. 2008. Great Powers and Hierarchical Order in Southeast Asia: Analyzing Regional Security Strategies, International Security 32(3): 113-157. Nov. 15 Strategies in Asia Christopher Hemmer and Peter J. Katzenstein, Why is There No NATO in Asia? Collective Identity, Regionalism, and the Origins of Multilateralism, International Organization, Vol. 56, No. 3 (Summer 2002), pp. 575 607. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rebalancing the Rebalance. (Accessible at: http://www.foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/872692.pdf) Nov. 20 India vs. Pakistan Nov. 22 Thanksgiving (No Class) Nov. 27 China vs. Taiwan V. Conflicts in Asia Students Debates 6
Nov. 29 Korea vs. Japan Dec. 04 Spratly Islands Dispute: China vs. Philippines Dec. 06 Wrap-up Chapter 14. Globalization and International Politics in Asia Chapter 16. Looking Ahead: A New Asian Order? Dec. 11 Reading Day Dec. 13 Exam period - Final Paper Due 7