International Relations of East Asia - Fall 2008
POLITICAL SCIENCE 464

Class Meetings: Tuesday 6:00-8.30pm in S Sci 312
Instructor: Pamela Coonan
Email: coonan@email.arizona.edu
Office: 301 Social Sciences Building.

My office hours are Tuesday 4-5pm and Thursday 4.00-5:45pm, or otherwise by arrangement.

Index

Introduction
Course Description
Objectives
Assessments and Requirements
Reading List
Useful Resources
Schedule
Students with Disabilities
Academic and Personal Conduct

The global exchange of money, products, technologies and peoples has brought new and conflicting conditions and challenges to the nation-states of East Asia.  Japan led the way creating a new, Asian model of economic development that brought sustained economic growth to the region.  South Korea and Taiwan, two Asian tigers that followed in Japan’s economic footsteps, emerged as new democracies. However, this model has proven to be problematic and has created new difficulties.  The People’s Republic of China (PRC), the most populated nation on earth, has made major economic and political transitions to become the second largest economy in the world, an emerging regional hegemon and a potential challenge to United States superpower status. How will the countries in the region and the US respond to a potential East Asian bloc with China at the helm?

East Asia is a diverse cultural, economic, and political region that faces security challenges. North Korea’s engagement in diplomatic and military games of cat and mouse has created a security problem with regional and international implications. Their heavy investment in their military and nuclear programs has squeezed their citizenry, increasing the gap of economic prosperity and political freedom with their fellow brothers and sisters in the south and delaying what some believe is the inevitable reunification of North and South Korea. Cross-Straits tensions between Taiwan and the PRC over the status of the island continue to rear their head.  Memories of the Pacific War and Japanese imperialism still haunt the East and Southeast Asian countries, creating suspicions about Japan’s role in the region.

Many scholars of international relations are pessimistic about the region's economic and political future.  Others, however, believe East Asia will consolidate its regional power bloc and emerge as the core figure of a greater Asian-Pacific power bloc.  Will the region enter into war or will it maintain stability through greater economic and political cooperation?  What role will the United States play in this region?  

This course seeks to introduce students to international relations among the East Asian countries of Japan, the PRC, Taiwan, and the two Koreas and to interrogate the role the United States plays in the arena.  Since one cannot understand international political relationships among these countries without knowing something about their past and present domestic political climates, this course will examine how domestic politics, political culture, history and social changes in these countries shape and how they are shaped by international politics in the region. 

After a general introduction, we will begin by studying Japanese political history, and domestic politics. We will follow with an overview of Japan’s international relations within and outside of East Asia to establish a basis from which to examine several selected case studies.  Once we have covered Japan, we will similarly cover the PRC, ROC, and the Koreas.

Students will gain a general understanding of the nature and patterns in East Asian international relations and the ways in which the past and present impact international politics and power shifts in the region.  They will establish connections between domestic and international politics of the region and the role of international political institutions through close study of selected case studies. They will develop a critical perspective on classical and non-Western IR theories and concepts and their suitability to the regional context.    

Students will further develop their written and oral presentation skills by completing course assignments, participating in classroom and small group discussions and making presentations.

Since this class is an upper level political science course, the format will consist of both lectures and seminar discussions.  Therefore, your grade will depend upon your performance on the final, mid-term, and short papers as well as your classroom presentations and contributions to classroom discussions.

The normal University of Arizona letter grading scheme applies: A=90.0%+; B=80.0-89.9%; C=70.0-79.9%; D=60.0-69.9% and E=below 60.0%.

The midterm and final will carry the following format: multiple choice; short answers and longer essay responses. Exams will cover classroom lectures, discussions, presentations and the required readings. Makeup midterm and final exams will only be given with advance approval from the instructor or in the case of a legitimate unforeseen emergency documented by a third party. Outside of University approved absences, the instructor will determine if an absence is warranted. Documentation is required to arrange make-up exams. Students who fail to attend class on the day in which an exam is given will receive an E for the assessment unless I determine that there are legitimate extenuating circumstances. Plagiarism will result in a 0 for the exam and the course.

Six pop quizzes covering the reading will be given randomly throughout the course of the semester. The purpose of the pop quizzes is to ensure you have done the readings for the week. If all 6 quizzes are taken, the lowest score will be dropped. There will be NO make-ups given for pop quizzes.

Students will be required to submit 5 weekly reading response papers throughout the course of the semester. The purpose of these papers is to ensure students are doing their reading. Students may choose which weeks to submit response papers, but they must submit these response papers at the beginning of class for which the readings will be discussed. In other words, students cannot submit response papers on a weekly set of readings after we have discussed them in class nor can students submit multiple response papers for the same set of assigned weekly readings. Response papers not submitted on time will receive a grade of zero. Response papers are to be no more than two pages in length, double spaced. Students must respond coherently to key arguments in at least two of the assigned weekly readings. Plagiarism will result in a grade of 0 for the particular assignment and the course. All students will be required to create a TurnItIn.Com account and to submit their 10-page paper to TurnItIn.Com. Failure to do so will result in a delay in grading.

Students will also be required to attend a viewing of the documentary The Gates of Heavenly Peace outside of regular classroom meeting times. Two viewing times will be established in cooperation with the members of the class. Students unable to attend one of the two viewing times will be required to watch the video on reserve in the library.

The normal University of Arizona letter grading scheme applies: A=90.0%+; B=80.0-89.9%; C=70.0-79.9%; D=60.0-69.9% and E=below 60.0%.

The readings for this class will be drawn from the required texts and from book chapters, journal and newspaper articles.  Some readings will be on reserve in the library while others will be available electronically through course reserves or electronic library holdings.  To log on to course reserves, please go to the UA Library's services page and click on the course reserves link. You may access the reserves by instructor's name or by department. The course password will be provided on day one of class. You are expected to do all readings before class and come prepared to engage with these texts.

You will also be required to use the Internet to locate and make use of on-line sources.  I will maintain a POL 464 homepage to provide you with the weekly reading assignments in addition to some helpful hints, links, and info about the class.

Required Readings

Hook, Glenn D., Julie Gilson, Christopher W. Hughes, and Hugo Dobson. (2001) Japan’s International Relations: Politics, Economics and Security. New York: Routledge.

Ikenberry, John G. and Michael Mastanduno (eds.) (2003) International Relations Theory and the Asia-Pacific.   Ithaca: Columbia University Press.

Pempel, T.J. (ed.) (2005) Remapping East Asia: The Construction of a Region. New York: Cornell University Press.

Shambaugh, David (ed.) 2005 Power Shift: China and Asia’s New Dynamics. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Course reserves, journal and newspaper articles and book chapters as assigned.