| CODE | IRL2064 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Asia-Pacific in the World | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | International Relations | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit offers a comprehensive insight into the dynamics of international relations of the Asia Pacific region. It examines the foreign policies of key actors, such as the United States, China, Japan and India as well key issues of conflict and cooperation.The role of regional institutions in the evolving regional order is also discussed. In particular this study-unit focuses on: The evolution of international relations in the region from post-World War II to the post-Cold War era; The role of the US, its military presence, bilateral alliances, the Asian pivot and the nature of the great power competition in the region; The rise of China and its consequences for regional and world order; Economic, security and political issues of cooperation and competition between China and the US and China and Japan; The role of India as an emerging Asia Pacific power; Processes of democratization and East Asian development models; A set of security challenges including the nuclear crisis in the Korean peninsula, the Taiwan case, the South China Sea dispute and the India-Pakistan conflict; Community building initiatives and projects and the development of regional institutions, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and the East Asia Summit (EAS) and, their impact on regional/world dynamics Study-Unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to provide a comprehensive overview and a critical understanding of the international relations of the Asia Pacific as well as of key political, economic and security issues surrounding the region. The study-unit is designed to examine the foreign policies of key actors, such as the United States, China, Japan and India. The role of regional institutions in the evolving regional order is also discussed. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Discuss the evolution of international relations in the Asia Pacific since World War II; - Identify the role and interactions of key state and non-state actors and their impact on the political, economic and security affairs of the Asia Pacific; - Identify the most pressing security challenges facing the region; - Describe key points of conflict and cooperation; - Describe how historical and cultural factors have shaped political and economic developments in the Asia Pacific; - Explain political and security implications related to the rise of China. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Critically discuss from a variety of points of view the role and impact of key state and non-state actors involved in political, economic and security developments of the region; - Critically discuss the political, economic and security processes of the Asia Pacific region; - Critically understand and assess a range of opinions about the foreign policy of major actors in the region; - Critically understand and assess a range of opinions about contemporary patterns of inter-state relations and the nature of principal security dynamics in the Asia Pacific. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - McDougall, D. (2016) Asia Pacific in World Politics, Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. - Yahuda, M. (2019) The International Politics of the Asia Pacific. New York: Routledge. Supplementary Readings: - Shambaugh, D. (2013), “Assessing the US "pivot" to Asia: SSQ”, Strategic Studies Quarterly, 7 (2), 10-19. - Zhao, X. (2018), “Why Obama’s Rebalance towards Asia-Pacific Was Unsuccessful?”, International Studies, 55 (2), 87–105. - Shambaugh, D. (2016) “The Complexities of a rising China” in Shambaugh (ed.) The China Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - Zhao, S. "Chinese Foreign Policy as a Rising Power to Find Its Rightful Place", Perceptions, 13, (1), 2013. - Zhang, Z. (2015) China's new foreign policy under Xi Jinping: towards ‘Peaceful Rise 2.0’?, Global Change, Peace & Security, 27 (1), 5-19. - Tekdal V. (2018), "China's Belt and Road Initiative: At the Crossroads of Challenges and Ambitions", The Pacific Review, 31 (3): 373-390. - He, K. (2016) "Explaining United States–China Relations: Neoclassical Realism and the Nexus of Threat–interest Perceptions." Pacific Review 30 (2) 133-51. - Wang, Z., Zeng, J. (2020) From Economic Cooperation to Strategic Competition: Understanding the US China Trade Disputes through the Transformed Relations. J OF CHIN POLIT SCI 25, 49–69. - Goh E. (2011), “How Japan matters in the evolving East Asian security order”, International Affairs, 87 (4): 887–902. - Envall, H.D.P (2020) “The ‘Abe Doctrine’: Japan’s new regional realism”, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific”, 20, (1): 31–59. - YANG, X. (2018). China’s clear and present conundrum on the Korean peninsula: stuck between the past and the future. International Affairs, 94(3), 595–611. - Blatt, T. (2020). Bulls in a China Shop? Big Man Politics and the Erosion of Taiwanese Asymmetric Deterrence. Harvard International Review, 41(2), 18–23. - Mo, K. (2016) "South Korea’s middle power diplomacy: A case of growing compatibility between regional and global roles," International Journal, vol. 71. - Baruah, D. (2020) India in the Indo-Pacific: New Delhi’s Theater of Opportunity, Carnegie Endowment of International Peace. - Rahul Roy-Chaudhury & Kate Sullivan de Estrada (2018). “India, the Indo-Pacific and the Quad”, Survival, 60 (3), 181-194. - Rajagopalan R. (2020), Evasive balancing: India's unviable Indo-Pacific strategy, International Affairs, 96, (1), January, 75–93. - Paul T. V. (2006) Why has the India-Pakistan Rivalry Been so Enduring? Power Asymmetry and an Intractable Conflict, Security Studies, 15:4, 600-630. |
||||||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Tutorial | ||||||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||||||||||||
| LECTURER/S | |||||||||||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||||||||||||