COMPARATIVE POLITICS : ASIA POL3114 A ALEX PAYETTE Winter 2015
Class schedule : Tuesday 14:30 - 16:00 ; Friday 16:00 - 17:30 Location : SCS E218 Office : FSS7012 Office hours : Friday 13h30 - 16h00 Email :
[email protected] (Pol3114 in subject line)
Questions sent by email will be answered within two days or the following class if it takes place 48h after the email was sent. Please note that the Professor reserves the right not to answer an email if the level of language used is inadequate.
OFFICIAL COURSE DESCRITPION Comparative study of development processes and institutions in different countries of Asia. Examination of the relationship between politics, culture and society. Analysis of the regional dimensions of Asian politics. DETAILED DESCRIPTION This course is an introduction to Asia's multiple political systems put in a comparative perspective. It is divided in four sections : 1) Introduction and the legacy of colonialism in Asia ; 2) State structures, political systems and transformation; 3) Identity related questions and 4) political economy and welfare provision. 1) The first section will be a general introduction to Asia (e.g. what is Asia? East/South-East/NorthEast/Sinic Asia/Confucian Asia, etc.), its colonial legacy's influence in socio-political structures formation; 2) The second section will focus on political structures (e.g. unitary, federal), regime types (democracy and authoritarianism), and questions regarding democratization, authoritarian resilience and regime transformation; 3) The third section will address different identity-related problematic in Asia, such as the ''Asian Values'' debate, religious revival and management, issues of race and ethnicity and nationalism; 4) The last section will provide an overview of debates related to development (e.g. the developmental State) and tackle the issue of ''welfare'' and social policy in Asia. COURSE OBJECTIVES By the end of this course, the students should be able to:
Understand key issues facing Asian States; Develop more in-depth knowledge of the region's country; Be able to position the Asian experience in the broader field of Comparative Politics.
ASSESSMENT METHODS 1) Mini-exam (February 13th), 20% Halfway through the semester, students will be presented a short exam including 3 questions of which they each will have to choose 1. There will also be 5 short questions (i.e. requiring a few words to a sentence). 2) Research Paper (hand-in on April 10th): 40 % Students will have to write a 14-16 pages research paper, not including bibliography nor notes, that will either assess one of the thematic seen in class or a different pre-approved subject. Papers will be evaluated on five points, namely 1) understanding the presentation of the issue/thematic ; 2) clear and organized text; 3) arguments; 4) use of relevant sources and 5) grammar, syntax and spelling. The research paper is divided in 2 sections : 1) Topic selection and plan (February 24th), 10% (should not exceed 1200 words). The latter must include the following :
Enunciation of a problematic inside the broader selected thematic; Its importance and relevance; The selection of regions (provinces, cities, etc.) - if it applies - and historical periods related and relevant to your problematic and topic. A working hypothesis and research question Context and problematic A primary bibliography with a minimum of 10 (non-internet) academic sources (e.g. book chapters, peer-reviewed articles) A brief description of at least 10 sources (relevance for your project)
2) Final paper (April 10th), 30% of the final mark. The latter must include the following:
Introduction (Research question, context, importance and relevance of topic and selection of regions - if applicable and short hypothesis statement); Problematic and hypothesis and work division; Presentation of arguments and other relevant empirical considerations ; Refutation/confirmation of the working hypothesis; Conclusion (summary of discussed elements and opening on broader perspectives); Bibliography (min. of 10 scientific sources).
The main objective of this paper is for the student to (1) give an in-depth look of one country or specific issue related to Asian domestic politics and (2) to independently formulate a research question in the context of Asian politics. Complementary information for research papers :
Times New Roman 12; Double spaced; Justify; Use of subtitles (if necessary); Use only one coherent citation format (e.g. the use of (Author, Date) and of the Harvard bibliographic style); Cover page with your name and student number; Page number on bottom-right corner;
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Avoid quotations exceeding 50 words; Asian characters in '' DFKAI-SB'' font *Those are easy steps leading to free presentation points*
3) Final exam (Apr. 15 - 28), 30% The Final exam will include content from lecture notes and assigned readings. It will assess the students' understanding of issues seen in class and reflect the overall objectives previously outlined The exam will be divided in 3 sections each including 2 questions. Students will have to select 1 question in each section. As such, students will have to answer a total of 3 questions in order to complete the exam. Answers will have to include debates/notions presented during lectures and will have to follow the introduction/arguments/conclusion format. There are no words limit for the exam. However, each question should be more or less 1000 words. N.B. Notes and any other supporting materials will not be allowed during the exam. Questions will be given in class prior to the exam if schedule allows it. 4) Participation, 10% Points will be given according to: (1) participation and (2) attendance. Class-wide discussion will be held on Fridays on the week's content. CALENDAR Dates Jan. 13 Jan. 16 Jan. 20 - 23 Jan. 27 - 30 Feb. 3 - 6 Feb. 10 - 13 Feb. 17 - 20 Feb. 24 - 27 Mar. 3 - 6 Mar. 10 - 13 Mar. 17 - 20 Mar. 24 - 27 Mar. 31 - Apr. 3 Apr. 7 - 10
Content Assessment(s) Introduction Asia in a Comparative perspective Colonialism's Legacy in Asia State structures: Unitary, Federal, de facto federalism, hybrid regimes Democracy in Asia Authoritarian Regimes Mini-Exam (20%) READING WEEK Transformation and resilience of regimes Topic selection (10%) The ''Asian Values'' and Cultural Asia Religion and Secularism in Asia Politics of Ethnicity in Asia Economic Development: The Developmental State? Chinese-Style development, gradualism and socialism in South-East Asia Welfare provision and ''Care'' in Asia Final Paper (30%) Final exam (30%) EXAM WEEK Apr.15 - 28
READINGS Mandatory reading must be done before each classes. Furthermore, students should use for their papers texts other than the ones listed. They are no course pack for this class. All the reading can be downloaded via Dropbox (link provided in class). https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7a6tz13puoyv4ym/AAADCNQVC4Yzt6MCwWWnvJnAa?dl=0
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N.B. Mandatory readings are identified as such (*). That being said, I strongly advise that you briefly browse some of the additional readings as they may be useful when writing your research paper.
Section 1: Introduction and Colonial legacy in Asia Week 1 January 13 - 16 Asia in a Comparative perspective *James Scott. 2009. Concentrating Manpower and Grain Slavery and Irrigated Rice. In: The Art of Not Being Governed. An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp.64-73 B.D. Taylor and R. Botea. 2008. “Tilly Tally: War-Making and State-Making in the Contemporary Third World.” International Studies Review 10(1): 27–56
Section 2: State, institutions and regimes Week 2 January 20 - 23 Colonial Legacy: State/Identity/Economy *Gavin Rand .2006. ‘Martial Races’ and ‘Imperial Subjects’: Violence and Governance in Colonial India, 1857–1914, European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire, 13(1): 1-20 *Mike Davis. 2000. The Origin of the Third World. Antipode 32(1): 48-89 Nicholas B. Dirks. 1989. The Invention of Caste: Civil society in Colonial India. Social Analysis 25: 45-52
Week 3 January 27 - 30 State Structures: Unitary, Federal, Mixed, Hybrid *Zheng Yongnian. 2007. China's De Facto Federalism. In: Federalism in Asia, E.E Publishing Limited. pp.213-241 *William Case. 2007. Semi-democracy and minimalist federalism in Malaysia. In: Federalism in Asia, E.E Publishing Limited. pp.124-143 Week 4 February 3 - 6 Democracy in Asia *Gregory W. Noble. 2010. The Decline of Particularism in Japanese Politics. Journal of East Asian Studies 10: 239-273 *Yu-tzung Chang, Yun-han Chu, and Min-hua Huang. 2006. The Uneven Growth of Democratic Legitimacy in East-Asia. International Journal of Public Opinion Research 18(2): 246-255 Yu-tzung Chang, Yun-han Chu, and Chong-Min Park. 2007. Authoritarian Nostalgia in Asia. Journal of Democracy 18(3): 66-80 Week 5 February 10 - 13 Authoritarianism in Asia *Martin Gainsborough. 2012. Elites vs. Reform in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Journal of Democracy 23(2): 34-46 *Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir and Bryan S. Turner. 2013. Governing as gardening: reflections on soft authoritarianism in Singapore. Citizenship studies 17(3): 339-352 Jean-Pierre Cabestan. 2004. Is China Moving towards ''Enlightened'' but plutocratic authoritarianism? China Perspectives 55: 10p.
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Week 6 February 17 - 20 READING WEEK Week 7 February 24 - 27 Transformation and resilience of regimes *William Case. 2009. Low-quality democracy and varied authoritarianism: elites and regimes in Southeast Asia today . The Pacific Review 22(3): 255-269 *Minxin Pei. 2012. Is CCP Rule Fragile or Resilient? Journal of Democracy 23(1): 27-41 Morten B. Pedersen. 2011. The Politics of Burma's ''Democratic'' Transition. Critical Asian Studies 43(1): 49-68 Andrei Lankov. Staying Alive: Why North Korea will not change. Foreign Affairs 87(2): 9-16
Section 3: Identity in Asia Week 8 March 3 - 6 Asian Values and Cultural Asia *So Young Kim. 2010. Do Asian Values Exist? Empirical Tests of the Four Dimensions of Asian Values. Journal of East Asian Studies 10: 315-344 *Chong-Min Park and Doh Chull Shin. 2006. Do Asian Values Deter Popular Support for Democracy in South Korea? Asian Survey 46(3): 341-361
Week 9 March 10 - 13 Religion and Secularism in Asia *Laliberté, André. 2011. «Contemporary Issues in State-Religion Relations». In: David Palmer, Glenn Shive, Philip L. Wicker. eds. Chinese religious life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp.191-208 *Rajeev Bhargava. (2010). The distinctiveness of Indian Secularism. In: Indian Political Thought: A Reader. 42p. Week 10 March 17 - 20 Politics of Ethnicity *Ma Rong. 2013. A Han vs. Minorities Dual structure of Chinese society. China: An International Journal 11(2): 7-24 *Pinkaew Laungaramsri. Ethnicity and the politics of ethnic classification in Thailand. In: Ethnicity in Asia, New York: Routledge. pp.157-173
Section 4: Political Economy Week 11 March 24 - 27 Economic development in Asia *Aseema Sinha. 2003. “Rethinking the Developmental State Model: Divided Leviathan and Subnational Comparisons in India,” Comparative Politics 35(4): 459-476. *Linda Weiss, “Developmental states in transition: adapting, dismantling, innovating, not 'normalizing,” Pacific Review 13.1 (2000): 21-55 Joseph Wong. 2004. The Adaptive Developmental State in East Asia. Journal of East Asian Studies 4: 345362 Week 12 March 31 - April 3rd Chinese-style development, gradualism and socialism in South-East Asia
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*Zheng Yongnian. 2010. The Chinese model of development: An international perspective. Social Sciences in China 31(4): 44-59 *Baek, Seung-Wook (2005) 'Does China follow “the East Asian development model”?', Journal of Contemporary Asia 35(4): 485-498 Week 13 April 7 - 10 Welfare provision and ''Care'' *Ruby C.M. Chau and Wai Kam Yu. Is Welfare unAsian? In: East Asian Welfare regimes in transition: From Confucianism to Globalisation. Bristol: Policy Press. pp.21-45 *Wonik Kim. 2009. Rethinking Colonialism and the Origins of the Developmental State in East Asia. Journal of Contemporary Asia 39(3): 382-399 Language Policy The University of Ottawa is a bilingual institution. Students can therefore submit their work either in French or English. However, you will be judged on your writing abilities. It is recommended to take the appropriate measures to avoid mistakes. Penalties can go up to 10% of the final mark at the Professor's discretion.
Attendance and late submissions Class attendance is necessary to successfully complete this course Late submissions are not tolerated, unless cleared at least one week in advance by the professor. Exceptions are made only for illness or other serious situations deemed as such by the professor. There will be a penalty for late submissions. Each day of late submission results in a penalty of 5% (weekends not excluded). University regulations require all absences from exams and all late submissions due to illness to be supported by a medical certificate. The Faculty reserves the right to accept or reject the reason put forth if it is not medical. Reasons such as travel, work and errors made while reading the schedule are usually not accepted. We advise you to notify your professor as soon as possible if a religious holiday or event forces your absence during an evaluation Resources for you Mentoring Centre - http://www.socialsciences.uottawa.ca/mentor/eng/index.asp The goal of the Mentoring Centre is to help students with their academic and social well being during their time at the University of Ottawa. Regardless of where a student stands academically, or how far along they are in completing their degree, the mentoring centre is there to help students continue on their path to success. A student may choose to visit the mentoring centre for very different reasons. Younger students may wish to talk to their older peers to gain insight into programs and services offered by the University, while older student may simply want to brush up on study and time management skills or learn about programs and services for students nearing the end of their degree. In all, the Mentoring Centre offers a place for students to talk about concerns and problems that they might have in any facet of their lives. While students are able to voice their concerns and problems without fear
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of judgment, mentors can garner further insight in issues unique to students and find a more practical solution to better improve the services that the Faculty of Social Sciences offers, as well as the services offered by the University of Ottawa. Academic Writing Help Centre - http://www.sass.uottawa.ca/writing/ At the AWHC you will learn how to identify, correct and ultimately avoid errors in your writing and become an autonomous writer. In working with our Writing Advisors, you will be able to acquire the abilities, strategies and writing tools that will enable you to: Master the written language of your choice Exp and your critical thinking abilities Develop your argumentation skills Learn what the expectations are for academic writing
Beware of Academic Fraud Academic fraud is an act committed by a student to distort the marking of assignments, tests, examinations, and other forms of academic evaluation. Academic fraud is neither accepted nor tolerated by the University. Anyone found guilty of academic fraud is liable to severe academic sanctions. Here are a few examples of academic fraud: •engaging in any form of plagiarism or cheating; •presenting falsified research data; •handing in an assignment that was not authored, in whole or in part, by the student; •submitting the same assignment in more than one course, without the written consent of the professors concerned. In recent years, the development of the Internet has made it much easier to identify academic plagiarism. The tools available to your professors allow them to trace the exact origin of a text on the Web, using just a few words. In cases where students are unsure whether they are at fault, it is their responsibility to consult the Academic Integrity website, http://web5.uottawa.ca/mcs-smc/academicintegrity. Persons who have committed or attempted to commit (or have been accomplices to) academic fraud will be penalized. Here are some examples of the academic sanctions, which can be imposed: •a grade of « F » for the assignment or course in question; •an additional program requirement of between 3 and 30 credits; •suspension or expulsion from the Faculty.
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