As the 20th Century will go down in history as one of American hegemony and primacy, many today have few doubts that the next century will tell the story of the rise of East Asia, and China in particular. Beginning with the end of the Cold War, East Asia’s rise to the center of global politics has been unparalleled, and the theme of this class is to explore how the politics of the region have developed and shaped external relations with the US & Russia, two of the largest stakeholders in the past. The course will focus on contemporary recent history, politics and the economics of selected countries in the region. The aim the course is to provide an overview of East ASIA sufficient to prepare someone who might need to work or visit there, and serve as an adequate basis for further study at the MA level. A few theoretical aspects, such as political culture, modernization, civil society, power structure and external factors are discussed to help shed light on political democratization and to help analyze the changes in East Asia’s political systems.
