1

IR 788/ GRS 789 International Relations in the Asian-Pacific Region:

Conflict or Cooperation?

Spring 2017

Thomas U. Berger

Office: 152 Bay State Rd., RM 331

Hours: Tues Thurs 2:00-3:15
Classroom: IRC 220
Phone: 3-5351
E-Mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 11-12, Wednesdays 11-12
And by appointment

This course provides an overview of international relations in the Asian-Pacific region. The
central issue thematic question is whether the Asian-Pacific region is heading towards greater
peace and cooperation, or war and conflict. There is plenty of evidence which could lead one to
draw either conclusion. On the one hand, intra-regional trade and investment remains at a highs.
There are multiple efforts to build new regional institutions, most notably the ASEAN + 3 (10 +
3) initiative and more recently the creation of an East Asian Community, as a well as a flurry of
Chinese institution building initiatives that may complement rather than supplant existing
arrangements. There has been a limited, but significant spread of democracy. In addition, for the
time being, the interests of the major powers seem to be in accord on many important issues.
While a long way off from Western Europe, an optimistic observer could point to much that
suggests that Asia will continue to grow and prosper in the decades to come.

On the other hand, there are many and growing signs of discord and potential for conflict. The
region is confronted with two major, long standing points of crises; one on the Korean peninsula,
the other in Taiwan straits, as well as a host of other lesser, but quite serious territorial disputes.
All of these disputes are increasing in intensity. Under the Xi Jinping regime the PRC there has
shifted to a clearly more nationalist and assertive foreign policy stance. Meanwhile, China’s
burgeoning economic power as well as politically motivated efforts to prop up its state owned
enterprises (SOEs) is placing new strains on the global trading regime, feeding protectionist
tendencies in Europe and the United States. The region as a whole remains vulnerable to a
systemic economic crisis of the sort that was seen during the Asian flu of 1997-1998. Under
Prime Minister Abe there has been an increased emphasis on nationalism and the military, even
as ordinary Japanese appear to be overwhelmingly preoccupied with domestic matters. In the
meanwhile, South Korea is suffering through a leadership crisis while the North continues to
steadily develop the capacity to hit the United States with nuclear weapons.

In the midst of all this, the chief ordering power in the region, the United States, has suddenly
 2

become a major source of potential instability with the election of President Donald Trump.
While much remains uncertain, the President elect appears to have set his sights on China,
accusing it of “raping” the United States with its economic policies, threatening to impose tariffs
of between 10 and 45% on its exports to United States and announcing that Washington might
reconsider its “one China” policy and move towards recognizing Taiwan. The head of the new
Council on Trade, Peter Navarro, is the author of a book entitled Death by China. The nominee
for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, hinted in his confirmation hearings that the US might block
Chinese access to the fortifications it built in the South China Seas. Even traditional US allies,
like Japan and South Korea, are unsettled by the protectionist rhetoric coming out of Washington
and concerned by an approach to foreign policy that is both nationalistic and transactional.

As former Secretary of State Madeline Albright put it recently, “the world is a mess.” And
nowhere is there a greater potential for the world to get really, really messy than in Asia (given
the size of the forces arrayed in the region, a military clash in Asia could easily far outstrip the
conflicts in the Middle East in destructiveness). The possibility that one, or a combination of
these factors, cited above could pull apart the fragile equilibrium that has kept the peace in the
region of nearly thirty years is terribly easy to imagine.

So which will it be, war or peace? To address this question this course aims to give the students
a bird’s eye view of the contours of international relations in the region and of some of the
central issues. The course begins by briefly reviewing the history of the region from the arrival of
the European powers in the 16th century to the end of the Cold War in the late 20th century. The
course then proceeds to examine various aspects of international relations in the Asia-pacific
space, including: the foreign policies of the three major powers in the region – China, Japan and
the United States, the situation in the Taiwan Straits and the Korean peninsula, military security
balance, ASEAN and the Construction of regional institutions, and trade.

Required Texts:

Alice Ba, (Re)negotiating East and South-East Asia (Stanford, CA: Stanford University
Press, 2009)

Victor Cha, The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future (New York: Harper
Collins, 2015)

Thomas Christensen, The China Challenge: Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power
(New York: W.W. Norton, 2016)

Warren I. Cohen, Asia at the Center (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001)

Richard J. Samuels, Securing Japan: Tokyo’s Grand Strategy and the Future of East Asia
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2008)
 3

In addition to the text books, there will be numerous reading assignments drawn from
journals, research reports and the media. For the most part, unless otherwise indicated, these will
be available on the internet, either through the supplied web address or Boston University’s
Mugar library under e-journals (go to http://www.bu.edu/library/index.shtml and use the search
function) Students are expected to have completed reading assignments before class in order to
participate in class discussions. Recommended readings marked with are recommended and may
be of use to students doing term papers on related topics.

Requirements

Two short, in-class exams will be given based on the lectures and the required readings - 50%
identify key terms, 50% short answer. In addition students will be required to write one 15 to 20
page term paper. The term paper is due on the last day of class. The Grade is based 50% on the
term paper and 50% on the tests. The term paper must be written in accordance with the
guidelines to be provided. In addition, adjustments will be made to the grade based upon class
participation.

Students are urged to make an appointment during the first half of the course to discuss
possible term paper topics. A brief written summary of the progress made on the term paper, with
tentative bibliography, is to be E-mailed to me by the end of the sixth week, just before Spring
Break (March 4th). I am willing to look over drafts of the term paper up to one week before they
are due and give general comments.

Students are required to hand in their own work. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students
are urged to familiarize themselves with the definition of plagiarism to be found in the
student handbook.

I. Course Introduction – January 19

Readings: start on Warren Cohen book – Skim chapters 1-5 (182 pages) – try to make sure you
know at least the names and dates of the major eras in Chinese, Japanese and Korean history

Recommended:
Suisheng Zhao, Power Competition in East Asia (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997)
Akira Iriye, China and Japan in the Global Setting (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1992)
Alastair I. Johnston, Cultural Realism: Strategic Culture and Grand Strategy in Chinese
History (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005)
David Kang, East Asia before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and tribute (New York:
Columbia University Press, 2010)
Ji-Young Lee, China’s Hegemony: 400 Years of Chinese Domination (Columbia
University Press, 2016
 4

Gerald Segal, Rethinking the Pacific (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990),
especially pp.19-84 (65)
Yan Xuetong and Daniel A. Bell, Ancient Chinese Thought, Modern Chinese Power
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013)

II. History Part I – The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Order – January 24 and 26

Readings: Cohen East Asia at the Center, chapter 7-11 (185 pages)

David C. Kang, “Hierachy, Balancing and Empirical Puzzles in East Asian International
Relations,” International Security 28:3 (Winter 2004), pp.57-85 (16)

Recommended:

Amitav Acharya, “Will Asia’s Past be its Future?” International Security 28:3 (Winter
2004), pp.149-164 (16)
Takeshi Hamashita, “The Intra-regional System in East Asia in Modern Times,” in
Katzenstein and Shiraishi, Network Power, pp.113-135 (21)
David C. Kang, “Getting Asia Wrong: The Need for new Analytical Frameworks”
International Security 27:4 (Spring 2003) pp.57-85 (20 pages)
Gerald Segal, Rethinking the Pacific (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990)
Tan
Suisheng Zhao, Power Competition in East Asia (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997)

III. History II - The Cold War in Asia, 1945 to 1989 – January 31, February 2

Cohen East Asia at the Center, chapters 11-14 plus closing thoughts (139 pages)

Recommended Readings:

Victor D. Cha, Powerplay: The Origins of the American alliance System in Asia
(Princeton, NJ: Pricneton University Press, 2016)
Thomas Christensen, Useful Adversaries: Grand Strategy, Domestic Mobilization and
Sino-Ameircan Conflict, 1947-1958 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996)
Manjari Chatterjee Miller, Wronged by Empire: Post-Imperial Ideology in India and
China (Stanford, CA; Standord University Press, 2013)
Roger C. Thompson, The Pacific Basin Since 1945 (Harlow, Essex: Longman, 1994)
Gerald Segal, Rethinking the Pacific (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990)
Michael Yahuda The International Politics of the Asia Pacific, (New York and London:
Routledge, 2011)
 5

IV. Structural Perspectives on the Asia Pacific Region – February 7 and 9

Familiarize with handouts on the size of the populations, GDP, GDP per capita, trade
flows, military spending and selected military indicators in East Asia

Thomas Berger, “Set for Stability? Prospects for Conflict and Cooperation in East Asia,”
Review of International Studies (Spring, 2000), pp.408-428 (20)

Ja Ian Chong and Todd Hall, “The Lessons of 1914 for Asia Today: Missing the Trees for
the Forest,” International Security Vol. 39, No. 1, Summer 2014, pp. 7-43

Avery Goldstein, “First Things First: The Pressing Danger of Crisis Instability in US-
China Relations,” International Security Vol. 37, No. 4, Spring 2013, pp. 49-89

John Ravenhill, Responding to Security Challenges in East Asia CIGI Working Paper,
No. 99 April 2016 https://www.cigionline.org/sites/default/files/cigi_paper_no.99web.pdf

Seongho Sheen, “Northeast Asia’s Aging Populations and Regional Security:

“Demographic Peace’?” Asian Survey Vol. 53, No.2, March/April 2013, pp. 292-313

Stephen J. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth, “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers in
the Twenty-first Century: China’s Rise and the Fate of America’s Global Position,”
International Security Vol. 40, No.3 Winter 2015/2016, pp. 7-53

Stephen Biddle, Ivan Oelrich, “Future Warfare in the Western Pacific: Chinease
Antiaccess/Area Denial, US Air Sea Battle, and Command of the Commons in East
Asia,” International Security Vol. 41, No. 1, Summer 2016, pp. 7-48 (41)

Charles L. Glaser, Steve Fetter, “Should the United States reject MAD? Damage
Limitation and U.S. Nuclear Strategy towards China,” International Security, Vol 41,
No.1, Summer 2016, pp. 49-98 (49)

Chung-in Moon and Chaesun Chun, “Sovereigny: The dominance of the Westphalian
concept and its implications for Regional Security,” in Muthiah Alagappa, The Asian
Security Order, 2003, pp.106-140 (30) – on reserve in the Mugar library reading room

Recommended:
Muthiah Alagappa, The Asian Security Order (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003)
Muthiah Alagappa, Asian Security Practice: Material and Ideational Influences (Stanford,
CA: Stanford University Press, 1998)
Richard Bitzinger and Barry Desker, “Why War is unlikely in East Asia,” Survival 50:6
(December 2008-January 2009), pp.105-128 (23)
 6

Asian Development Bank, Asian Economic Development Report 2016 (Asian

Development bank: Manila Philippines, 2016) available at
https://aric.adb.org/pdf/aeir/AEIR2016_complete.pdf
Eric Heginbotham, The US-China Military Scorecard (Santa Monica: RAND 2015)
James Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara, “History Rhymes: The German Precedent for
Chinese Seapower,” Orbis 54:1 (Winter 2010) p. 14-34 (20)
Hugh White, “Why War in Asia is Unthinkable,” Survival 50:6 (December 2008-January
2009), pp.85-104 (20)
Adam P. Liff and John Ikenberry, ‘Racing Towards Tragedy?: China’s Rise, Military
Competition in the Asia Pacific and the Security Dilemma,” International Security Vol.
39, No. 2, Spring 2014, pp. 52-91

V. The History Problem – February 14 and 16

2 Chapters plus conclusions by Thomas Berger, War Guilt and World Politics: The
Legacy of World War II in Europe and Asia (appx. 170 pages)

Jennifer Lind, “The perils of Apology: What Japan shouldn’t learn from Germany,”
Foreign Affairs 88:3 (May June 2009), pp.132-146 (14)

Jae Ho Chung, “China’s ‘Soft clash’ with South Korea: The History War and Beyond,”
Asian Survey 49:3 (May/June 2009), pp.468-483 (15)

Recommended:
Danield Chirot, Gi-Wook Shin and Daniel Sneider,
Alexis Dudden, Troubled Apologies (Columbia University Press, 2008)
Gerrit W. Gong, ed., Remembering and Forgetting: The Legacy of War and Peace in East
Asia (Washington DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1996),
Yinan He, Remembering and Forgetting (Cambrige Unviersity Press, 2009)
Jennifer Lind, Sorry States: Apologies in International Relations (Cornell University Press,
2008)
Tsuyoshi Hasegawa and Togo Kazuhiko, East Asia’s Haunted Past
Daiki Shibuich, “The Yasukuni Shrine Dispute and the Politics of Identity in Japan: What’s
the Fuss all about?” Asian Survey 45:2, pp.197-215 (18)
James Reilly, "China's History Activists and the War of Resistance against Japan: History in
the Making", Asian Survey 44: 2 (Mar./Apr. 2004): 276–294
Gilbert Rozman and Shin-Wha Lee, “Unraveling the Japan-South Korea ‘Virtual Alliance’:
Populism and Historicval revisionism in the Face of Conflicting regional Strategic,” Asian
Survey 46:5 (September/October 2006), pp.761-784 (23) available through BU libraries,
electronic resources
Peter Hays Gries, China’s New Nationalism: Pride, Politics and Diplomacy (Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press, 2004)
Gi-Wook Shin, Soon-Won Park and Daqing Yang, eds., Rethinking Historical Reconciliation
 7

in Northeast Asia: The Korean Experience (New York and London: Routledge, 2007)
Jane Yamazaki, Japanese Apologies for World War II (London and New York: Routledge,
2005)

VI. The Foreign Policy of the United States, Japan and allies – February 23, 28 and March 2

John Ikenberry, “America in East Asia: Power, Markets and Grand Strategy,” in Krauss
and Pempell, Beyond Bilateralism pp.37-55 (18)

Nina Silove, “The Pivot before the Pivot: U.S. Strategy to preserve the balance of Power
in Asia,” International Security Vol. 40, No.4, Spring 2016, pp. 45-88 (43)

John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, “The Case for Offshore balancing: A Superior
US Grand Strategy,” Foreign Affairs Vol. 95, Issue 4, July/August 2016, pp.70-83 (23)

Stephen G. Brooks, John Ikenberry and William C. Wohlforth,” Don’t Come Home
America: The Case against Retrenchment,” International Security Winter 2012/2013, Vol.
37, No.3, pp. 7-51 (44)

Richard Samuels, Securing Japan – whole book

Sebastian Maslow, “A Blueprint for a Strong japan? Abe Shinzo and Japan’s Evolving
Security System,” Asian Survey Vol 55, No. 4, July/August 2015, pp. 739-765 (26)

Min-Hyun Kim, “South Korea’s Strategy towards a Rising China, Security Dynamics in
East Asia and International Relations Theory,” Asian Survey Vol 56, No.4, July/August,
2016, pp. 707-730 (23)

Nick Bisley, “Australia and Asia’s Trilateral Dilemma: Between Beijing and
Washington,” Asian Survey Vol 54, No. 2 (March/April 2014), pp. 297-318 (special Issue
on Australian Foreign Policy)

Mira Rapp Hooper, “Uncharted Waters: Extended Deterrence and Maritime Disputes,”
The Washington Quarterly Vol. 38, No.1, 2015, pp. 127-146

David Santoro and John K. Warden, “Assuring Japan and South Korea in the Second
Nuclear Age,” The Washington Quarterly Vol. 38, No.1, 2015, pp. 147-165

Recommended:

Kurt M. Campbell, The Pivot: The Future of American Statecaft in Asia (New York and
Boston: Hachette, 2016
 8

Colin Dueck, “New Perspectives on American Grand Strategy,” International Security

28:4 (Spring 2004), pp.197-216 (19)
Petrice R. Flowers, Refugees, Women and Weapons: International Norm Adoption and
Compliance in Japan (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2009)
Michael J Green, By More than Providence: Grand Strategy and American Power in Asia
Pacific since 1783 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2017) – Would be a text if it
came out earlier
Christopher Hughes, Japan’s Reemergence as a “Normal” Military Power (London:
Routledge, 2013)
Christopher Hughes, Japan’s Foreign and Security Policy under the “Abe Doctrine”:
New Dynamism or Dead End? (Palgrave 2015)
Min-Hyun Kim, “South Korea’s Strategy towards a Rising China, Security Dynamics in
East Asia and International Relations Theory,” Asian Survey Vol 56, No.4, July/August,
2016, pp. 707-730
Samuel S. Kim, The International Relations of Northeast Asia chapters 4,5 and 10 (95
pages)
Darren J. Lim and Zack Cooper, “reassessing Hedging: The Logic of Alignment in East,
Asia,” Security Studies Volume 24, 2015 – Issue 4, pp. 696-727
Jennifer Lind, “Pacifism or Passing the Buck? Testing Theories of Japanese Security
Policy,” International Security 29:1 (Summer 2004), pp.92-121 (30)
Edward J. Lincoln, “Japan: Using Power Narrowly,” The Washington Quarterly 27:1
(Winter 2003-2004), pp. 111-127 (18)
Paul Midford, Rethinking Japanese Public Opinion and Security: From Pacifism to
Realism? (Stanford, CA; Stanford University Press, 2011)
Snyder, Scott. 2012. The US-South Korea alliance: meeting new security challenges
Boulder, Colo: Lynne Rienner Publishers
Robert G. Sutter, The United States in Asia (Rowman and Littlefield, 2008)
Gilbert Rozman, Asia’s alliance Triangle: US-Japan-South Korea Relations at
Tumultuous Times (New York: Palgrave, 2015)
Daniel Twining, “America’s Grand Design in Asia,” The Washington Quarterly 30:3
(Summer 2007), pp.79-94 (15)

Friday March 2 – Memo on Term papers dues

Spring Break

Midterm I – March 14

VII. The Foreign Policy of China and Russia March 16, 21 and 23
 9

Thomas Christensen, The China Challenge whole book

Alexander Korolev, Russia’s Reorientation to Asia: Causes and Strategic Implications’

Pacific affairs 89:1 (March 2016) pp.53-73

Ying Fu, “How China sees Russia: Beijing and Moscow are close but not Allies,” Foreign
Affairs Foreign Affairs 96, January/February 2016, pp.96-105

Recommended:

Jessica Chen Weiss, Powerful Patriots: Nationalist Protest in China’s Foreign Relations
(Oxford University Press, 2014)
Thomas J. Christensen, “Fostering Stability or Creating a Monster? The Rise of China
and U.S. Policy toward East Asia,” International Security, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Summer 2006),
pp. 81–126.
Thomas J. Christensen, “Posing Problems without Catching Up: China’s Rise and
Challenges for US Security Policy,” International Security 25:4 (Spring 2001), pp.5-40
Peter Ferdinand, “Sunset, Sunrise: China and Russia Construct a New Relationship,”
International Affairs 83: 5 (2007) 841–867
Peter Ferdinand, “ Russia and China: Converging Responses to Globalization,”
International Affairs 83: 4 (2007) 655–680
M. Taylor Fravel, Strong Borders Secure Nation: Cooperation and Conflict in China’s
Territorial Disputes (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008)
Taylor Fravel, “Power Shifts and Escalation: Explaining China's Use of Force in
Territorial Disputes ,” International Security 32:3 (Winter 2007/2008), pp.44-83
Aaron L. Friedberg, “The Future of U.S.-China Relations: Is Conflict Inevitable?”
International Security, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Fall 2005), pp. 7–45
Avery Goldstein, Rising to the Challenge: China’s Grand Strategy and Internatonal
Security (Stanford, CA; Stanford University press, 2005)
Peter Hays Gries, “The Role of Misperception in U.S.-China relations,” Orbis . 53:2
(Spring 2009) p. 220-32 (12)
Peter Hays Gries and Thomas Chrisetensen, “Correspondance: Power and Resolve in US-
China Policy, “ International Security 26:2 (Fall 2001), pp.155-165
Jonathan Holsag, “China’s Road to Influence,” Asian Survey 50:4 (August 2010),
pp.759-787
Alastair Ian Johnston, “How Assertive is China’s new Assertiveness?” International
Security Vol. 37, No. 4 Spring 2013, pp. 7-48
Alastair Ian Johnston, Social States: China in International Institutions, 1980-2000
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008)
Alastair Iain Johnston, “Is China a Status Quo Power?” International Security, Vol. 27,
No. 4 (Spring 2003), pp. 5–56
Willem con Kamenede, ”China versus the Western Campaign for Iran Sanctions,” The
Washington Quarterly 33:3 (July 2010) pp.99-114 (15)
 10

http://www.twq.com/10july/docs/10jul_vanKemenade.pdf
David Lampton, The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money and Minds (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2008)
Daniel Lynch, “Chinese Thinking on the Future of International Relations” Realism as Ti,
Rationalism as Yong?” China Quarterly 197 (2009), pp.187-2007
David M. Malone and Rophan Mukherjee, “India and China: Conflict and Cooperation,”
Survival 52:1 ((February-March 2010). Pp.137-158
Rajan Menon, “The Limits of Chinese-Russian Partnership,” Survival 51:3 (June-July
2009), pp.99-130
Robert S. Ross, “China’s Naval Nationalism: Sources, Prospects and the U.S. response,”
International Security 34:2 (Fall 2009), pp.46-81 (35)
Gilbert Rozman, The Sino-Russian Challenge to the World Order Stanford: Stanford
University Press, 2014)
Ming Wan, Sino-Japanese Relations: Interaction, Logic and Transformation (Stanford,
CA: Stanford University Press, 2006)

VIII. The Taiwan Straits – Identity, Interests and Crisis Management - March 28 and 30

Edward Friedman, “China’s Ambitions, American Interests, Taiwan’s Destiny and the
Asia’s Future,” Asian Survey Vol.53, No.2, March/April 2013, pp.225-244 (19)

Stephen L. Kastner, “Is the Taiwan Straits still a Flashpoint? Rethinking the Prospects for
Armed Conflict between China and Taiwan,” International Security Vol. 40, N0. 3,
Winter 2015/2016, pp. 54-92 (38)

Chin Hao Huang and Patrick James, “Blue, Green or Aquamarine?: Taiwan and the
Status Quo Preference in Cross-Strait Relations,” China Quarterly Volume 219,
September 2014, pp. 670-692 (22)

Shu Keng and Gunter Schubert, “Agents of Taiwan-China Reunification? The Roles of
Taiwanese Business People in the Process Cross-Strait Reunification,” Asian Survey 50:2
(2010), pp.287-310 (23)

Recommended:

Richard Bush, Untying the Knot: Making Peace in the Taiwan Straits (Washignton, DC:
The Brookings Institution, 2006)
Yun Han Chu, “Taiwan’s National Identity Politics and the Prospect of Cross-Strait
Relations,” Asian Survey XLIV:4 (July August 2004), pp.484-512 (28)
Michael A. Glosny, “Strangulation from the Sea: A PRC Submarine Blockade of
Taiwan,” International Security 28:4 (Spring 2004), pp.125-160 (35)
Lyle Goldstein and William Murray, “Undersea Dragons: China’s Maturing Submarine
 11

Force,” International Security 28:4 (Spring 2004), pp.161-197

Michael O’Hanlon, et.al, “Damn the Torpedo: Debating Possible US Navy Losses in a
Taiwan Scenario,” International Security 29:2 (Fall 2004 ), pp.202-206
Andrew Peterson, “Dangerous Games across the Taiwan Strait,” The Washington
Quarterly 27:2 (Spring 2004), pp. 23-41 (19)
Shelly Rigger, Taiwan’s Rising Rationalism: Generations, Politics and ‘Taiwanese
Nationalism East-West Center Policy Studies 26, (Washington DC: East-West Center
2006) available athttp://www.eastwestcenter.org/fileadmin/stored/pdfs/PS026.pdf
Robert Ross, “Navigating the Taiwan Straits: Deterrence, Escalation Dominance and
U.S.-China Relations,” International Security 27:2 (Fall 2002), pp.48-85 (36)
Dennis Roy, Taiwan: A Political History
Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, Strait Talk: U.S.-Taiwan Relations and the Crisis with China
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009)
Alan M. Wachman, Why Taiwan: Geostrategic Rationales for China’s Territorial
Integrity (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007)

IX. The North Korean Conundrum – April 4 and 6

Victor Cha, The Impossible State whole book

Recommended:
Victor Cha and David Kang, Nuclear North Korea
Jong Kun Choi, “The Perils of Strategic Patience with North Korea,” The Washington Quarterly
Vol. 38, No. 4, 2015, pp. 55-72
Sung-Ham Kin, “The Day after: ROK-US Cooperation for Korean Unification,” The Washington
Quarterly Vol. 38, No. 3, 2015, pp. 37-58
Michael B. Wallerstein, “The Price of Inattention: A Survivable North Korean Nuclear Threat?”
The Washington Quarterly Vol. 38, No. 3, 2015, pp. 21-35
Andrew H. Kydd, “Pulling the Plug: Can there be a Deal with China on Korean Unification?”
The Washington Quarterly Vol. 38, No. 2, 2015, pp. 63-77
Vipin Narang, “Nuclear Strategic of Emerging Powers: North Korea and Iran,” The Washington
Quarterly Vol. 38, No.1, 2015, pp. 73-91

X. South East Asia, ASEAN and Regional Institutions – April 11, 13, 18 and 20

Alice Ba, (Re)Negotiating South East Asia Whole Book

Recommended:
Amitav Acharya, Whose Ideas Matter? Agency and Power in Asian Rergionalism (Ithaca,
NY: Cornell University Press, 2009)
Shaun Breslin, “Understanding China’s Regional Rise: interpretations, identities and
 12

implications,” International Affairs 85: 4 (2009)817–835 (18)

Ellen Frost, Asia’s new Regionalism
Yul Sohn “Japan’s New Regionalism: China Shock, Values and the East Asian
Community,” Asian Survey 50:3 ( May/June 2010), pp.497-519 (22)
Evelyn Goh, “Great Powers and Hierarchical Order in Southeast Asia: Analyzing
Regional Security Strategies,” International Security 32:3 (Winter 2007/2008), pp.113-
157
Michael Green and Gates Bill, eds., Asia’s new Multilateralism: Cooperation,
Community and the Search for Community (New York: Columbia University Press,
2009)
William Grimes, Currency and Contest in East Asia: The Great Power Politis of Financial
Regulation (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2008)
Walter Hatch and Kozo Yamamura, Asia in Japan’s Embrace
Krauss and Pempell, eds., Beyond Bilateralism chapters 6-9, pp.133-220 (87)
Edward Lincoln, East Asian Economic Regionalism (Brookings
Richard C. Stubbs, “ASEAN +3: Emerging East Asian Regionalism?,” Asian Survey 42:3
(May/June 2002), pp.440-455
Barry Naughton, The China Circle: Economics and Technology In the PRC, Taiwan and
Hong Kong (Washington, DC: Brookings, 1997), especially chapters 4 and 11
T.J. Pempel, eds., Remapping East Asia: The COnstruciton of a Region ((Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press, 2005)
John Ravenhill, “Much to do about Nothing: East Asian Regionalism,” Review of
International Studies 35 (2009) 215–235
David Shambaugh, “China Engages Asia: Reshaping the Regional Order,” International
Security, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Winter 2004/05),pp. 64–99
Martina Timmerman and Jitsuo Tsuchiyama, eds., Institutionalizing Northeast Asia:
Regional Steps towards Global Governance (Tokyo and New York: United Nations
University Press, 2008)
Robert Wade and Frank Veneroso, “The East Asian Crash and the Wall Street-IMF
Complex,” New Left Review no.228 (March-April, 1998), pp.3-24 (21)
Ming Wan, “The Great Recession and China’s Policy toward Asian regionalism” Asian
Survey 50:3 (May/June 2010), pp.520-538 (28)

XI. The Politics of Trade and Investment – April 25 and 27

Vinod Aggarwal, “Introduction: The Rise of Mega-FTAs in the Asia-Pacific,” Asian Survey
Volume 56, No. 6 December 2016, pp. 105-116 (11)

Deborah Elms, “The Origins and Evolution of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Negotiations,”
Asian Survey Volume 56, No. 6 December 2016, pp. 1017-1039 (22)

John Ravenhill, “The Political Economy of an ‘Asian” Mega-FTA: The Regional Comprehensive
 13

Economic Partnership,” Asian Survey Volume 56, No. 6 December 2016, pp. 1077-1100 (23)

Plus TBA

Recommended:

Saori N. Katada and Mireya Solis, eds., Cross Regional Trade Agreements: Understanding
Permeated Regionalism in East Asia (Springer 2010)

XII. Course Conclusions – May 2

Term Papers due on the last day of class

Please submit by e-mail

Some Journals available in the Library and which you may wish to consult for your
papers:

Asian Survey
Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars
China Quarterly
Diplomat – relatively up to date and informative
The Economist (weekly)
Foreign Affairs (Flagship of the Council on Foreign Relations and the main stream American
Foreign Policy establishment)
International Security (The Premier
Journal of North East Asian Studies
The National Interest
Orbis
Survival (particularly good on security issues)
The Washington Quarterly

Others that alas are not available through BY

Current History (each issue focuses on different regions of the world)
Pacific Affairs
Pacific Review

Internet Sources:
http://www.apcss.org/Research/research_publications.html - Asia-Pacific Center for Security
Studies – Hawaii based think tank with strong ties to the US military
www.asiaobserver.com – a very useful portal with links to every country in the region
 14

http://www.chinaleadershipmonitor.org/ - excellent cite run out of Stanford Univeristy on various

aspects of Chinese politics
http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVL-AsianStudies.html - the very large, academic web site for
Asian studies maintained by he Australian National University
www.bu.edu/eas - our very own, Boston University site. Especially helpful on local sources, it
has a good and easy to use links section (although it needs to be updated)
http://www.mofa.go.jp – The Japanese ministry of foreign relations website. Includes press
bulletins and useful overviews, including copies of the official yearly
Japanese Bluebook on diplomacy going back to 1994. See also their U.S. mirror site,
http://www.infojapan.org/
http://www.nbr.org/ - The National Bureau of Asian Research – terrific website with forums,
downloads on a broad range of topics, etc.
www.newsonjapan.com – useful English translations of major articles on Japan appearing in
major newspapers.
www.newsonkorea.com. – ditto for South Korea
http://csis.org/pacfor/ - The CSIS Pacific forum – excellent quarterly reviews of various aspects
of East interstate relations written by leading experts

Some Possible Paper Topics:

1. Pretend you are a member of the policy planning staff in the the Foreign Ministry of a major
East Asian Power (for example the United States, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea or
Taiwan) and that you have been asked to write a long term policy planning paper regarding a
central policy issue (human rights, Korean reunification, trade, Tibet, regional economic
integration, nuclear nonproliferation, Hong Kong-Taiwan, foreign aid, relations to another
country, etc.). Divide your paper into four or more parts. In part one give an overview of the
history of the issue, identifying the salient trends and dilemmas. In part two identify what are the
interests that your country has at stake in this particular area. In part three describe a number of
different strategies (also known as policy options) that are available to your country. Give some
thought to the advantages and drawbacks of each policy option, referring back to the interests
that you defined in part two. Finally in part four recommend one of these strategies and explain
why you think it is the best option.
2. Discuss the possible implications of Korean reunification for the region. What would different
theoretical perspectives lead us to expect – in terms of the way in ccom reunification may occur
and the implications of reunification for the balance of power and/or the development of regional
institutions? What are the policy implications of your analysis?
3. Discuss the prospects for improvements in the human rights situation in the East Asian region.
Give an overview of the recent U.S. debate on this subject, identify the key analytical issues and
then discuss U.S./Western policy options. Some of the outstanding human rights issues that you
might want to touch on include: Self-determination (especially a problem in Tibet and East
Timor); freedom of speech and political rights (China, Singapore); forced labor (China); child
labor (China, India and other South and South East Asian countries); support for human rights
 15

(Japan); women’s rights (the entire region); children’s rights (china, India); cultural rights (Japan,
South East Asian countries). Consider the potential costs of an activist human rights policy, as
well as the benefits.
4. Will East Asia move towards a balance of power system, a bipolar system, or increased
regional integration?. Consider some of the forces which might push the region in one direction
or the other and identify some possible scenarios. Use IR theory (Realism, Interdependence-
Institutionalism, Ideational, Domestic level approaches) where appropriate.
5. Discuss the implications of Nuclear Proliferation in Asia – what are some of the key forces
driving the countries in the region to acquire weapons of mass destruction, what are some of the
factors that might discourage them. What should the United States and the World Community try
to do about it?
6. Discuss the pros and cons of the TMD and NMD initiatives. Should the United States and its
allies pursue this option? Why? What are some of the different possibilities that emerge?
6. What are the implications of Asian industrialization for the World Trade Regime? In what
ways is the current world trading system centered on WTO likely to change? What should the
United States and/or countries do to defend their economic interests?
7. Is Asia moving towards a system of regional integration? If so, what kind of system is likely to
emerge? Will it be an Asian common market? A Yen bloc led by Japan? A “Fortress Asia”? Or
something entirely different? Discuss and compare with economic integration in other regions,
i.e Western Europe, NAFTA, etc.
8. Discuss the geo-political position and foreign policy of a country that has not been covered in
the course, for example Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam or Australia. What are some of
the dilemmas that these countries face, what domestic political factors shape their decision
making, and how are they likely to influence the development of international relations in the
region?
9. How will countries in the Asia-Pacific respond to the emergence of a powerful China? Are
they more likely to seek to ccommodate to China (bandwagon) or are they more likely to
balance against it? Or will they succeed in integrating it into a system of mutual restraint? What
factors may affect the outcome?
10. Analyze some major developments in Asian history throught he lenses of international
relations theory. For instance was the Pacific war inevitable, given the rise in Japanese power?
Could a different set of institutional factors help prevent conflict? Was US intervention in
regional conflicts during the Cold War a nautral attempt to maintain the balance of power, a
thinly concealed bid for hegemony, an ideologically driven misunderstanding of regional
dynamics, or what?
11. What will be the likely long-term impact of the Asian financial crisis on interregional
relations in the region? Has it wrecked the prospects for cooperation? Alternatively, has it
increased the incentive of Asian countries to cooperate with the West? Has the crisis
strengthened the position of those like Mahatir who would create a separate East Asian Trade
bloc? Is the crisis likely to repeat itself, and if so, under what circumstances and with what
consequences? What are the practical implications of your