Case Studies in East Asian Politics and International Relations
Code: 101530 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2500244 East Asian Studies | OT | 4 |
Contact
- Name:
- Kei Matsushima
- Email:
- kei.matsushima@uab.cat
Teachers
- Just Castillo Iglesias
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
To take this subject, students must have passed the following subjects: "Introduction to Political Science and International Relations"; "East Asian Politics", and "International Relations of East Asia". Specifically, this subject requires prior knowledge of the conceptual and methodological tools of the disciplines of Political Science and International Relations.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The aim of this subject is to interpret and understand the main debates that shape East Asia’s domestic and international political realities. Making use of the conceptual and methodological tools of the Political Science and International Relations disciplines, students will learn to think critically about the region’s political reality.
Competences
- Comparing and critically assessing the different social environments in the field of East Asia.
- Designing and managing projects.
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Developing self-learning strategies.
- Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
- Following the characteristic code of ethics of the professional practice.
- Know and understand politics and international relations in East Asia.
- Knowing and using the information and communication technology resources (ICT) in order to collect, produce, analyse and present information related to the East Asian Studies.
- Knowing the history, values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia in order to understand and critically assess social issues, phenomena, and processes related with that region.
- Producing innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Solving problems of intercultural communication.
- Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
- Working in interdisciplinary and intercultural groups.
- Working in teams in an international, multilingual and multicultural context.
Learning Outcomes
- Assessing the obtained results in the search information process in order to update the knowledge about political sciences, economy and sociology.
- Comparing and critically assessing the different social environments in the field of East Asia.
- Designing and managing projects.
- Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
- Developing self-learning strategies.
- Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
- Following the characteristic code of ethics of the professional practice.
- Know and understand politics and international relations in East Asia.
- Knowing the history, values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia in order to understand and critically assess social issues, phenomena, and processes related with that region.
- Producing innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
- Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
- Solving problems of intercultural communication.
- Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
- Using different tools for specific purposes in the fields of political sciences, economy and sociology.
- Using the specific terminology of political sciences, economy and sociology.
- Working in interdisciplinary and intercultural groups.
- Working in teams in an international, multilingual and multicultural context.
Content
The subject is structured around several case studies on East Asian politics and international relations. The topics will deal with the domestic and foreign policy of Japan, China and South Korea, focusing on projects related to the key concepts of international relations such as public diplomacy, hard power, soft power, nation branding, among others. Some of the specific cases to be analyzed will be: the public diplomacy programs implemented by the diplomatic missions of Japan, China and South Korea; the systemic rivalry between the US and China: political, economic and security implications for the Asia-Pacific region; Mongolia's foreign policy and its "Third Neighbor" policy.
*Teaching staff might change due to ongoing hiring processes.
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Participation in discussions about the suggested topics | 35 | 1.4 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Presentations | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Critical comment on readings | 20 | 0.8 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 |
| Reading assignments | 30 | 1.2 | 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15 |
The various case studies will be addressed through suggested readings and active discussions. The teaching team will indicate the theoretical and methodological lines to be followed in each case study. Students will be expected to participate actively.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group presentation | 30% | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
| Individual written assignment | 40% | 25 | 1 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
| Short-answer test | 30% | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 |
Continuous assessment
Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing various tasks and tests. These activities are detailed in the table at the end of this section of the Study Guide.
Review
When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.
Missed/failed assessment activities
Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5.
Classification as "not assessable"
In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.
Misconduct in assessment activities
Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the student involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. Assessment activities in which irregularities have occurred (e.g. plagiarism, copying, impersonation) are excluded from recovery.
Single assessment
This subject may be assessed under the single assessment system in accordance with the terms established in the academic regulations of the UAB and the assessment criteria of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.
Students must make anonline request within the period established by the faculty and send a copy to the teacher responsible for the subject, for the record.
Single assessment will be carried out in person on one day during week 16 or 17 of the semester. The Academic Management Office will publish the exact date and time on the faculty website.
On the day of the single assessment, teaching staff will ask the student for identification, which should be presented as a valid identification document with a recent photograph (student card, DNI/NIE or passport).
Single assessment activities
The final grade for the subject will be calculated according to the following percentages:
-Short-answer test: 30%
-Developmental test: 30%
-Individual written assignment: 40%
Grade revision and resit procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this study guide.
Bibliography
Basic bibliography
Acharya, Amitav & Buzan, Barry (Eds.). Non-Western International Relations Theory. Perspectives on and Beyond Asia. New York, London: Routledge, 2010.
Breslin, S. (2010). Handbook of China's international relations. London: Routledge.
Chang-Liao, N.-C. (2019). From Engagement to Competition? The Logic of the US China Policy Debate. Global Policy, 10(2), 250-257. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12667
Connors, M. K., Davison, R., & Dosch, J. (2018). The New Global Politics of the Asia-Pacific. London: Routledge.
Cull, N. J. (2019). Public Diplomacy: Foundations for Global Engagement in the Digital Age. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Gantulga, T., & Radchenko, S. (2023). Mongolia’s Search for a Third Way: What America Can Offer a Country Stuck Between China and Russia. Foreign Affairs, 6 October. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/mongolia/mongolias-search-third-way
Glaser, B. S., & Lin, B. (2024). The Looming Crisis in the Taiwan Strait. Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2024. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/taiwan/looming-crisis-taiwan-strait
Jang, J., & Kim, K. (2024). Mongolia becoming a permanent neutral nation? Focusing on the debate and challenges of the permanent neutral nation policy. The Pacific Review, 37(3), 504-532. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2023.2184853
Kawashima, N., y Hye-Kyung L. Asian Cultural Flows. Springer, 2018.
Kim, Y. (Ed.). (2019). South Korean Popular Culture and North Korea. Routledge.
Kotler, P. (1998). El marketing de las naciones. Barcelona:Paidos.
Lim, S. (Ed.). (2022). South Korean Popular Culture in the Global Context: Beyond the Fandom. Routledge.
Lim, S. (Ed.). (2022). South Korean Popular Culture in the Global Context: Beyond the Fandom. Routledge.
Melgar, L. (2010). Diplomacia pública: la gestión de la imagen-país. El modelo español, Madrid: MAEC.
Mertha, A. (2024). The BRI Under Xi Jinping. Fragmented Authoritarianism Beyond Water's Edge. In D. Lynch & S. Rosen (Eds.), Chinese Politics: The Xi Jinping Difference. Routledge.
Nye, J. S. (2005). Soft Power: The Means To Success In World Politics. New York: Public Affairs.
Nye, J. S. (2012). The Future of Power. New York: Public Affairs.
Yan, X. (2020). Bipolar Rivalry in the Early Digital Age. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 13(3), 313-341. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjip/poaa007
Software
No specific software will be used.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Spanish | second semester | morning-mixed |