POIR 650, Fall 2014
Comparative Politics of East and Southeast Asia
Dr. Daniel C. Lynch
Associate Professor
School of International Relations
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0043
Tel:
E-mail:
Office:
Hours:
213-740-0773
dlynch@usc.edu
VKC 326-B
Wed 1:30-3 pm
Thurs 4:30-6 pm
DRAFT ONLY; SYLLABUS TO BE FLESHED OUT/REVISED
IN MAY-JUNE 2014
Introduction
POIR XYZ is the primary course in the Political Science and International Relations
(POIR) Ph.D. Program for preparing graduate students to conduct advanced research
in the comparative politics of East and Southeast Asia—and/or to teach such issues at
the undergraduate level. There are no formal prerequisites for POIR XYZ, but it would
be highly desirable for students to have taken the POIR program’s initial gateway
seminar on comparative politics and to be cultivating specialization in a particular East
or Southeast Asian country or countries. Students who have not yet met these
requirements are still welcomed to take POIR XYZ, but they may wish to consider
supplementary reading or taking other appropriate courses simultaneously.
The structure of POIR XYZ is straightforward: Each week we will read up to 300 pages
(mostly in the form of highly influential books) and then discuss the works in a lively
seminar setting. Throughout, the focus of our endeavors will be to compare political
phenomena across countries for the ultimate purpose of theory-building, and compare
countries across political phenomena for the same purpose. At the beginning of each
seminar session, two students will deliver a succinct, punchy, and incisive PowerPoint
presentation of no more than 45 minutes in length: a presentation which highlights
the major themes and outstanding questions derived from that week’s assigned
readings. All seminar participants must prepare the readings in advance of the
seminar sessions and offer thoughtful, analytical observations (not simply “opinions”).
Three times during the term, students will turn in a “thought piece” of 4-6 pages,
developing an original insight or inspired observation from the previous four weeks of
reading and discussion, which might become an embryonic research proposal. At the
end of the term, students will write either a take-home final exam of 14-16 pages or
an original research paper of 20-25 pages (the paper being longer partly because it
will need to include a mini-literature review and a more detailed Bibliography and
footnotes).
The overall goal of the course is to achieve four primary objectives: (1) familiarize
students with the core theoretical issues under debate in the comparative politics of
East and Southeast Asia; (2) introduce students to the books, articles, and ideas most
frequently discussed in a serious way by leading specialists on East and Southeast
Asian comparative politics, whether the specialists are working in academia,
government, the think-tank world, journalism, law, or something else; (3) deeply
cultivate and develop theoretical and conceptual understandings of the comparative
politics of East and Southeast Asia, while at the same time familiarizing students with
the key “facts” concerning most of the major countries of this huge region; and (4)
provoke students to think analytically and critically about comparative politics debates
rather than simply reflect received wisdom—in other words, help them to begin
developing their own carefully-considered viewpoints.
Final course grades will be calculated as follows:
1st thought piece (due Thursday, September 25th):
2nd thought piece (due Thursday, October 23rd):
3rd thought piece (due Thursday, November 20th):
1st presentation:
2nd presentation:
Other participation:
Final paper (due Wednesday, December 10th):
10
10
10
10
10
25
25
percent
percent
percent
percent
percent
percent
percent
Books can be ordered online or (often, but not always) read at the library. An effort
will be made to put assigned books on reserve—but this hasn’t always worked in the
past. Most articles on the syllabus will be uploaded to Blackboard.
PLEASE DON’T GO ONLINE TO CHECK EMAIL, ETC., DURING CLASS! It would be very
damaging to your participation grade.
USC Statement on Disabilities: Students requesting academic accommodations based
on disability are required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each
semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from
DSP when adequate documentation is filed. Please be sure the letter is delivered to
us as early as possible. DSP is in STU 301; the phone number is 213-740-0776.
Schedule
25 August (M): Introduction (1)
a.
Assignment of weekly PowerPoint presentations; agree on objectives for
what big questions we hope to answer during the course.
1 September (M): NO CLASS (Labor Day)
2
8 September (M): Concepts and Methods in Comparative Political Analysis (2)
a.
Paul Pierson, Politics in Time: History, Institutions, and Social
Analysis (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004). [READ:
the Introduction (“Placing Politics in Time”); Chapter 1 (“Positive
Feedback and Path Dependence”); Chapter 2 (“Timing and Sequence”);
Chapter 3 (“Long-Term Processes”); Chapter 4 (“The Limits of
Institutional Design”), Chapter 5 (“Institutional Development”); and the
Conclusion (“Temporal Context in Social Science Inquiry”)]. (BOOK)
b.
Mark Irving Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman, eds., Comparative
Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure, 2nd ed. (Cambridge
and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009). [READ: Chapter
1 (“Paradigms and pragmatism: comparative politics during the past
decade”); Chapter 2 (“Thinking and working: discovery, explanation, and
evidence in comparative politics”); Chapter 3 (“Advancing explanation in
comparative politics: social mechanisms, endogenous processes, and
empirical rigor”); Chapter 4 (“Strong theory, complex history: structure
and configuration in comparative politics”); Chapter 5 (“Reconsiderations
of rational choice in comparative and historical analysis”); Chapter 6
(“Culture in comparative political analysis”); Chapter 7 (“Researching the
state”); Chapter 8 (“Political economy”); Chapter 9 (“The global context
of comparative politics”); Chapter 10 (“Comparative perspectives on
contentious politics”); and Chapter 12 (“Macropolitics and microbehavior
in comparative politics”).] (BOOK)
(NOTE: Two books, yes, but two whole weeks in which to read them!)
15 September (M): Southeast Asia in the Political Science Discipline (3)
a.
Erik Kuhonta, Dan Slater, and Tuong Vu, eds., Southeast Asia in
Political Science: Theory, Region, and Qualitative Analysis
(Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2008).
[READ: the
Introduction (“The contributions of Southeast Asian political studies”);
Chapter 1 (“Studying states in Southeast Asia”); Chapter 2 (“Structural
sources of political regimes in Southeast Asia”); Chapter 3 (“Developing
democracies in Southeast Asia”); Chapter 4 (“Contentious mass politics
in Southeast Asia”); Chapter 5 (“In-depth research and knowledge
accumulation about agrarian politics in Southeast Asia”); Chapter 6
(“Civil society and close approximations thereof”); Chapter 7 (“Religion
and politics in Southeast Asia”); Chapter 8 (“The study of political
ethnicity in Southeast Asia”); Chapter 9 (“Southeast Asia and the political
economy of development”); Chapter 11 (“Southeast Asia and
globalization”); and Chapter 12 (“Southeast Asia in political science:
terms of enlistment”).] (BOOK)
3
22 September (M): SE Asian Institutions and the Politics of Development (4)
a.
Erik Martinez Kuhonta, The Institutional Imperative: The Politics
of Equitable Development in Southeast Asia (Stanford, CA:
Stanford University Press, 2011). [READ: Chapter 1 (“Introduction
and Theory”); Chapter 2 (“Institutions and Social Reform”); Chapter 3
(“From Colonialism to Independence in Malaysia: A Festering Crisis”);
Chapter 4 (“Reforming State, Party, and Economy in Malaysia”); Chapter
5 (“The Bureaucratic Party Ascendant in Thailand and the Failure of
Reform”); Chapter 6 (“Growth without Equity in Thailand”); Chapter 7
(“Extending the Theoretical Argument: The Philippines and Vietnam”);
and Chapter 8 (“Conclusion”).] (BOOK)
25 September (Th): THOUGHT PIECE #1 DUE
29 September (M): Moral Ideologies and SE Asian State Accountability (5)
a.
Garry Rodan ad Caroline Hughes, The Politics of Accountability in
Southeast Asia: The Dominance of Moral Ideologies (Oxford and
New York: Oxford University Press, 2013). [READ: Chapter 1
(“Contrasting ideological rationales for accountability”); Chapter 2
(“Accountability coalitions in the Southeast Asian context”); Chapter 3
(“Political crisis and human rights accountability in Singapore and
Malaysia”); Chapter 4 (“Decentralization and accountability in postsocialist Cambodia and Vietnam”); Chapter 5 (“Social accountability in
the Philippines and Cambodia”); Chapter 6 (“State-based anti-corruption
agencies in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand”); and the
Conclusion.] (BOOK)
6 October (M): Indonesian Democratization (6)
a.
Donald L. Horowitz, Constitutional Change and Democracy in
Indonesia (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press,
2013).
[READ: Chapter 1 (“A distinctive path”); Chapter 2
(“Democratizing before renovation”); Chapter 3 (“Creeping reform:
reconfiguring the political infrastructure”); Chapter 4 (“A game of
inches”); Chapter 5 (“Anomalies, ironies, regularities, and surprises”);
Chapter 6 (“The shape of the new system”); Chapter 7 (“Low-quality
democracy and its discontents”); and Chapter 8 (“Causes, consequences,
and the consequences of consequences”).] (BOOK)
13 October (M): Taiwanese Democratization (7)
4
a.
Dafydd Fell, Government and Politics in Taiwan (London and New
York: Routledge, 2012).
[READ: Chapter 1 (“Introduction to
government and politics in Taiwan”); Chapter 2 (“Authoritarian rule: the
politics of martial law”); Chapter 3 (“Transition to democracy and
democratic consolidation”); Chapter 4 (“Taiwan’s government and
constitutional structure”); Chapter 5 (“Electoral politics: Milestones,
electoral systems, and political communication”); Chapter 6 (“Party
politics in Taiwan”); Chapter 7 (“Local and factional politics”); Chapter 8
(“Competing national identities”); Chapter 9 (“Taiwan’s external
relations”); Chapter 10 (“From Leninist corporate state to vibrant civil
society: the emergence and role of social movements”); Chapter 11 (“Is
democracy working in Taiwan? Social welfare and political corruption”);
Chapter 12 (“Taiwan after 2000: Changes of ruling parties, critical
elections, and lessons of defeat”); and Chapter 13 (“A multitude of
political miracles and future challenges”).] (BOOK)
20 October (M): China: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy (8)
a.
Minxin Pei, China’s Trapped Transition: The Limits of
Developmental Autocracy (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 2008). [READ: the Introduction; Chapter 1 (“Why Transitions
Get Trapped: A Theoretical Framework”); Chapter 2 (“Democratizing
China?”); Chapter 3 (“Rent Protection and Dissipation: The Dark Side of
Gradualism”); Chapter 4 (“Transforming the State: From Developmental
to Predatory”); Chapter 5 (“China’s Mounting Government Deficits”); and
the Conclusion.] (BOOK)
23 October (Th): THOUGHT PIECE #2 DUE
27 October (M): Turbulent Chinese Society (9)
a.
Elizabeth Perry and Mark Selden, eds., Chinese Society: Change,
Conflict, and Resistance, 3rd. ed. (London and New York:
Routledge, 2010) [READ: the Introduction (“Reform and Resistance in
Contemporary China”); Chapter 1 (“Rights and Resistance: The Changing
Context of the Dissident Movement”); Chapter 2 (“The Revolution of
Resistance”); Chapter 3 (“Pathways of Labor Activism”); Chapter 4
(“Contesting Rural Spaces: Land Disputes, Customary Tenure, and the
State”); Chapter 5 (“Conflict, Resistance, and the Reform of the Hukou
System”); Chapter 6 (“The Externalities of Development: Can New
Political Institutions Manage Rural Conflict”); Chapter 7 (“Gender, Family,
and
Resistance”);
Chapter
8
(“Domination,
Resistance,
and
Accommodation in China’s One-Child Campaign”); Chapter 9 (“Village
Governance, Taxation, and Resistance”); Chapter 10 (“Environmental
Policies in Rural China”); Chapter 11 (“Alter/Native Mongolian Identity:
From Nationality to Ethnic Group”); Chapter 12 (“The New Cybersects:
5
Popular Religion, Repression, and Resistance”); and Chapter
(“Chinese Christianity: Indigenization and Conflict”).] (BOOK)
13
3 November (M): North Korea in Transition—But to What? (10)
a.
Kyung-Ae Park and Scott Snyder, eds., North Korea in Transition:
Politics, Economy, and Society (Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield, 2012). [READ: Chapter 1 (“The Role and Influence of
Ideology”); Chapter 2 (“The Role and Influence of the Party Apparatus”);
Chapter 3 (“The Role and Influence of the Military”); Chapter 4 (“The
Kims’ Three Bodies: Toward Understanding Dynastic Succession”);
Chapter 5 (“North Korea after Kim Jong Il”); Chapter 6 (“Western Aid:
The Missing Link for Economic Revival?”); Chapter 7 (“Future Strategies
for Global Economic Integration”); Chapter 8 (“The Emergence of a New
Merchant-Entrepreneurial Class After the Famine”); Chapter 9 (“’Cultural
Pollution’ from the South?”); Chapter 10 (“Changes and Continuities in
Pyongyang’s China Policy”); Chapter 11 (“Changes and Continuities in
Inter-Korean Relations); Chapter 12 (“North Korea’s Relations with the
United States and the Rest of the World”); and Chapter 13 (“North Korea
in Transition: Evolution or Revolution?”).] (BOOK)
10 November (M): South Korea’s Transformation under Park Chung Hee (11)
a.
Byung Kook Kim and Ezra F. Vogel, eds., The Park Chung Hee Era:
The Transformation of South Korea (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 2013). [READ: Chapter 2 (“Taming and Tamed by
the United States”); Chapter 3 (“State Building: The Military Junta’s Path
to
Modernity
through
Administrative
Reforms”);
Chapter
4
(“Modernization Strategy: Ideas and Influences”); Chapter 5 (“The
Labyrinth of Solitude: Park and the Exercise of Presidential Power”);
Chapter 6 (“The Armed Forces”); Chapter 7 (“The Leviathan: Economic
Bureaucracy under Park”); Chapter 8 (“The Origins of the Yushin Regime:
Machiavelli Unveiled”); Chapter 9 (“The Chaebol”); Chapter 12 (“The
Countryside”); Chapter 16 (“The Security, Political, and Human Rights
Conundrum, 1974-1979”); Chapter 21 (“Industrial Policy in Key
Developmental Sectors: South Korea versus Japan and Taiwan”); and the
Conclusion (“The Post-Park Era”).] (BOOK)
17 November (M): Japan I—Building Democracy (12)
a.
Mary Alice Haddad, Building Democracy in Japan (Cambridge and
New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012). [READ: Chapter 1
(“Making democracy real”); Chapter 2 (“The ‘tipping point’ model of
generational change”); Chapter 3 (“Building the institutions of democracy:
1853-1990”); Chapter 4 (“Power to the people: democratization to the
government”); Chapter 5 (“From state to society: democratization of
6
traditional, community-based organizations”); Chapter 6 (“Inclusive
diversity: new-style civil-society organizations and Japanese democracy”);
Chapter 7 (“More access but less power? Women in Japanese politics”);
and Chapter 8 (“Where do we go from here?”).] (BOOK)
20 November (Th): THOUGHT PIECE #3 DUE
24 November (M): Japan II—The Post-1993 Political-Economic Order (13)
a.
Francis McCall Rosenbluth and Michael F. Thies, Japan
Transformed: Political Change and Economic Restructuring
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010). [READ: Chapter
1 (“Why Study Japanese Political Economy?”); Chapter 2 (“Japanese
History and Culture”); Chapter 3 (“Japan’s Political Experiments”);
Chapter 4 (“The Old Japanese Politics, 1955-1993”); Chapter 5 (“Japan’s
Postwar Political Economy”); Chapter 6 (“Japan’s New Politics”); Chapter
7 (“Japan’s New Political Economy”); Chapter 8 (“Japan’s Place in the
World”); and Chapter 9 (“Conclusions”).] (BOOK)
1 December (M): 21st Century East and Southeast Asian Democracy (14)
a.
Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner, and Yun-han Chu, eds.,
Democracy in East Asia: A New Century (Baltimore, MD: The
Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. [READ: Chapter 1 (“The
Pattern of History”); Chapter 2 (“Parties, electoral systems, and
governance”); Chapter 3 (“From developmental states to welfare states”);
Chapter 4 (“Regime performance and democratic legitimacy”); Chapter 5
(“Is CCP rule fragile or resilient?”); Chapter 6 (“China and the Taiwan
factor”); Chapter 7 (“The two turnovers in South Korea and Taiwan”);
Chapter 8 (“The irony of success in Indonesia”); Chapter 9 (“Reviving
reformism in the Philippines”); Chapter 10 (“Thailand’s uneasy passage”);
Chapter 11 (“Strong-state democratization in Malaysia and Singapore”);
Chapter 12 (“Elites vs. reform in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam”);
Chapter 13 (“Burma: the Democrats’ opportunity”); Chapter 14 (“Minding
the gap between democracy and governance”); and Chapter 15 (“The
shadow of China”).] (BOOK)
11 December (Th): Final paper due in hard copy form only by 2 pm
7