POLS 3530 - Peace and Conflict in Asia

This course seeks to provide an overview of regional cooperation and competition among Northeast Asian states with a focus on Korea. As East Asian economies become increasingly integrated, the linkages between these societies are deepening and broadening. However, this region faces considerable challenges as well. Security issues are dominant, examples being North Korean nuclear weapons and territorial disputes around the Korean peninsula. Issues concerning nationalism and unresolved historical debates provide other key challenges. How can we understand these challenges and how do we evaluate the responses of South Korea and its neighbor states? This course will begin by outlining prominent theories of global politics, which will then become the tools we use to analyze the important issues and challenges facing East Asian countries and the U.S. We will select from a number of case studies in contemporary East Asia and investigate them from the perspective of Korea’s international relations. Students are expected to become familiar with historical and current affairs in the East Asian region and to exercise their understanding of basic theories of international relations for the analysis of events occurring there. The course will end with a discussion of identity and globalization and their relation to peace and trust in Asia.