This course will explore international relations in East Asia, focusing mostly on Northeast Asia.
The course will provide some background on the evolution of international politics in the region
over the past several decades, and will examine several contemporary issues—including the
North Korean nuclear issue, the relationship across the Taiwan Strait, and the maritime
disputes in the East and South China Seas—in depth. The last several weeks of the course will
use insights from international relations theory to examine a series of topics pertaining to the
region, including: prospects for a security dilemma in contemporary East Asia; the risks of
military conflict in the region; the effect of nationalism and audience costs on the foreign policy
of countries in the region; the role of history and historical memory in regional interstate
relations; etc.