Politics, Elites and Governance in Asia

2020/2021

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

4

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Institute of Asian and African Studies

Course type:

Compulsory course

When:

1 year, 3, 4 module

Instructors

Ковш Андрей Владимирович

Soboleva, Elena

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course will discuss formation and evolution of the political regimes, processes of state- and nation-building in these regions. Lecturers will introduce the most important political actors in selected countries (China, Japan, ROK, DPRK, Vietnam): major state institution, as well as political parties, political elites, church and civil society. Moreover, the course will focus on forms and drivers of social movements and protests in the above mentioned regions. Finally, students will also learn about several selected policy areas – ethnic and socio-economic policies.

Learning Objectives

• The course aims at familiarizing students with the specifics of the political development and governance in Asian countries with a special focus on states in Northeast and Southeast Asia.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Able to work with information: find, evaluate, systematize and use information necessary for solving scientific and professional problems from various sources, (on the basis of a systematic approach).
• Able to communicate in English on professional topics.
• Able to prepare scientific and analytical reports, reviews, presentations, information briefs and explanatory notes in their professional field.
• Able to take into account the cultural specificity characteristic of the countries of the studied region in their practical and research activities.
• Able to use the conceptual apparatus of scientific research, critically analyse the information.
• Able to understand and analyse socially and personally significant problems and processes occurring in society.

Course Contents

• Online course
  The discipline is taught in a blended format. Students have to self-study online course “Chinese Politics Part 1 – China and Political Science” in English language on the Coursera Platform [coursera.org] https://www.coursera.org/learn/chinesepolitics1. The course developer is the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
• Part 1. Democratic states in Northeast Asia: ROK and Japan
  Lecture 1. Japanese Empire rise and fall. Japan political development after WWII (Andrey Kovsh). Development of The Empire of Japan from the Meiji Restoration (1868) to the enactment of the 1947 Constitution of modern Japan. Political development after the WWII. The first postwar elections in 1948. Lecture 2. State building process in the ROK (Andrey Kovsh). South Korea as a three miracle state – the miracles of security, economy, and democratization. Re-building of the war-torn, poverty-stricken country into a modern state in a single generation under the most trying circumstances including continual confrontation with the Communist North. Seminar 1. Development of civil society in Japan (Andrey Kovsh). Presentation topics: 1. NGOs in Japan 2. Religion and civil society in Japan Seminar 2. Development of civil society in the ROK (Andrey Kovsh). Presentation topics: 1. Church and society in the ROK: problems and contradictions 2. Park Geun-hye impeachement and its consequences Seminar 3. Current socio-economic problems in the ROK and Japan (Andrey Kovsh). Presentation topics: 1. Cooling down of economy and China’s regional hegemony: challenge or opportunity? 2. Ageing population and low birth rate: restructurization of society?
• Part 2: Political development in Southeast Asia
  Seminar 4. Political development in Southeast Asia (Andrey Kovsh). Presentation topics: 1. Failure of democracy in post-colonial era in SEA 2. Role of monarchies in SEA countries in post-colonial era
• Part 3. Socialist states in Northeast and Southeast Asia: China, Vietnam and the DPRK
  Lecture 3. State building process in the DPRK (Andrey Kovsh). The northern part of the Korean Peninsula after liberation from Japanese colonial rule. National movements and leaders against Communist influence of the USSR and China. Kim Il Sung rise. Lecture 4. Evolution of Political Regimes in China and Vietnam (Elena Soboleva). Evolution of political regimes China and Vietnam after the World War II. Economic liberalization and political changes. Drivers and obstacles to democratization. Authoritarian resilience. Role of ideology. Lecture 5: Major State Political Institutions in China and Vietnam (Elena Soboleva). Organization of political systems in China and Vietnam according to their respective constitutions and their latest revisions. National People's Congress, President, State Council and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference: their composition, functions, role in China's political system, etc. National assembly, President and Government of Vietnam: composition, functions, role. Seminar 5. Communist Parties in China and Vietnam (Elena Soboleva). Presentation topics: 1. Evolution, types and role of political elite within the Chinese Comminist Party 2. The Communist Party of Vietnam: history, structure and resilience Lecture 6: Provincial, municipal and local governance in the PRC (Elena Soboleva). Provincial- and municipal-level governments. Regional administrative organization. Regional special interests. Informal federalism. Local governments at the county, township, and village levels. The functions of local government. Village self-governance and village. Decentralized economic policies and regional disparities. Rural development policies. Seminar 6: Taiwan and Hong Kong (Elena Soboleva). Presentation topics: 1. Crisis of “One country, Two Systems” in Hong Kong 2. The Evoloving Party System in Taiwan Lecture 7: Civil Society in the PRC (Elena Soboleva). Evolution of civil society in China from 1978 till today. Laws governing civil society in China. Different types of NGOs in China and their role. Civic activism, dissidents and protests. Seminar 7: Governing China’s Society (Elena Soboleva). Presentation topics: 1. Social credit system. 2. Government Criticism and Censorship in Chinese Media Lecture 8: Ethnic policy in the PRC (Elena Soboleva). Evolution of ethnic policy in China from imperial times till today. Legislative framework of the ethnic policy. Three pillars of the Chinese ethnic policy. Major results of the ethnic policy and existing challenges. Seminar 8: Socio-economic problems and government policies in the PRC (Elena Soboleva). Presentation topics: 1. Corruption in the PRC: reasons, effects and anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping 2. Income and rural-urban inequality in China: reasons, effects and government’s response

Assessment Elements

• Presentation
  Depending on the number of students, presentations can be either individual or prepared in groups by 2-3 students. The time limit for presentation is 20 minutes and should not be exceeded. Students are expected to read literature recommended in the syllabus, as well as to search for extra sources, especially in order to get most up-to-date information on the topic of their presentation. If a student is not able to be present at the seminar due to illness or any other legitimate reason (relevant document should be provided), he/she should approach lecturers to be assigned with alternative task.
• In-class participation (oral)
  Lecturers evaluate students progress, including assigned readings comprehension and contribution to discussions. The component is calculated as an average grade achieved on all seminars. Accumulative marks (min – 0, max – 10) for the participation in class discussions are released at the end of the course (before the final assessment takes place). If a student is not able to attend the seminar due to illness or any other legitimate reason (relevant document should be provided), he/she is not graded for that seminar. In all other cases students are graded with 0 for the seminar they have missed.
• Online course
  Students have to self-study an online course at the Coursera platform: Chinese Politics Part 1 – China and Political Science https://www.coursera.org/learn/chinesepolitics1. In order to get grade for the online course students have to take tests based on the online-lecture material and fulfill two peer-reviewed assignments. The grade for the online course is calculated by the Coursera platform in %.
• Exam (Test)
  The exam is a written test with 20 questions of different types: multiple choice, questions with open answer, etc. The test covers the materials from lectures and seminars. The test duration is 1 hour. The final exam will be held online in Microsoft.Teams and Microsoft.Forms. The student must have access to the Microsoft.Forms using his (her) own student email, and have a camera and a microphone. The students should log in to Microsoft.Teams 5 minutes before the start of the exam, switch on the camera. Then the students receive a link to the test they must complete within 1 hour. The students should keep their cameras on during the entire examination. The short-term disconnection is 3 minutes, the long-term disconnection is 4 minutes and more. In case of long-term the student may not continue the examination

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (4 module)
  0.4 * Exam (Test) + 0.1 * In-class participation (oral) + 0.2 * Online course + 0.3 * Presentation

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Diamond, L., & Shin, G.-W. (2014). New Challenges for Maturing Democracies in Korea and Taiwan. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=713462
• Li, C. (2016). Chinese Politics in the Xi Jinping Era : Reassessing Collective Leadership. Washington: Brookings Institution Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1001080
• Lieberthal, K., Li, C., & Yu, K. (2014). China’s Political Development : Chinese and American Perspectives. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=749054

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• ELFSTROM, M., & KURUVILLA, S. (2014). The Changing Nature of Labor Unrest in China. ILR Review, 67(2), 453–480. https://doi.org/10.1177/001979391406700207
• Nguyen, H. H. aut. (2016). Resilience of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s authoritarian regime since Doi Moi Hai Hong Nguyen. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.488427886
• Tai, J. W. (2014). Building Civil Society in Authoritarian China : Importance of Leadership Connections for Establishing Effective Nongovernmental Organizations in a Non-Democracy. Cham: Springer. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=838736