Political Science
355/International Studies 355
Asian Governments and
Politics
Spring 2023
Tuesday/Thursday 2-3:15
Hibbs 428
Bill Newmann, Department
of Political Science
Office Hours: 318 Founders
Hall. Tuesday 12:30-1:30, Thursday 3:30-5:00, and by appointment.
E-mail: wnewmann@vcu.edu; Dept. Phone:
828-2076
Newmann's home page: www.people.vcu.edu/~wnewmann
with links to other Newmann syllabi and other fun stuff.
POLI 355. Asian
Governments and Politics. 3 Hours.
Semester course;
3 lecture hours. 3 credits. A comparative analysis of the politics and
governments of major Asian states, with a focus on Japan, China and India. Crosslisted as: INTL 355.
Structure of the Class
This class is designated as
face-to-face. That means we’ll run the class in the traditional manner: we’re
all in one room on campus. The COVID-19
pandemic has not disappeared, however, and I realize that there may be expected
and unexpected challenges for all of us.
For that reason, I will also be recording lectures and posting them to
the Canvas page Media Gallery. They should be available within 24 hours of the
class. They will also be linked to the class syllabus online; that may take
some extra time. I will always notify everyone when the recordings are
available. The point of making the
recordings available is not to encourage you to skip class, but as a back-up
system in case people are ill or think they might be ill. All quizzes and exams will be in-class.
Introduction
Over the
past 50-60 years or so, Asia has been transformed is sweeping and significant
ways. Many scholars even argue that the world is entering a new millennium:
European/American dominance of the world is ending, and we are entering the
Pacific Age. Asia was one of the poorest regions of the world only 60
years ago; now it is an economic powerhouse. Asia accounted for about 17% of
world wealth in 1970, about 39% in 2021, and is expected to reach over 50% of
world wealth by 2050. Of course, China is the big engine of regional growth and
perhaps the next leader of the world, economically, politically, militarily,
and culturally. Then again, India may have something to say about that. Though we can’t cover every nation in Asia
during the semester, we’ll try to hit on all the key themes, in particular, the
relationships between economic growth or decline and political stability; the
relationships between tradition and modernity; the differences between
authoritarian and democratic systems; and the vast spectrum of ways governments
allow their nations to integrate and stay protected from foreign influences
(cultural, political, and economic).
This course will focus specifically on China, Japan, India, and also Indonesia if we have time.
In discussions of China, we’ll look at the various
era in Chinese history. After a look at the Dynastic era (2205 BC to 1911) and
the era of instability (1911-1949), we’ll look at the three eras of Communist
rule: Mao Zedong’s totalitarian rule (1949-1976); Deng Xiaoping’s reform era
(1978-2012); and Xi Jinping’s renewed authoritarianism (2012--). China has evolved significantly from one era
to the other. Under Mao China was a strict totalitarian state, where millions
were murdered if they were suspected of not being loyal enough, additional
millions died when experiments in economic collectivization failed horribly,
and where Mao brutalized the other leaders as he built and maintained his cult
of personality. When Mao died in 1976, Deng Xiaoping consolidated power and
began to reform China, opening it up to the rest of the world economically,
building a state capitalist model where wealth generation was the goal of the
Communist Party, and institutionalizing collective leadership (consensus
decision making) and even allowing debate within the senior levels of the
Party. Of course, the Party’s rule over the nation could not be challenged.
Reform had clear political limits. China
transitioned from an economically backward and politically marginal nation into
the fastest growing large economy in the world and the next candidate for
global hegemon during this era. Deng’s
successors Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao maintained Deng’s belief in collective
leadership. In 2012, however, Xi Jinping ascended to the top post and has
rolled back the clock in some respects: tightening up prohibitions against
freedom of speech and freedom of the press; granting the Part greater control
over the economy; building a new cult of personality around himself; and ending
many aspects of collective leadership in favor of Xi’s firm grip on the reins
of power. Where this takes China is
still unclear.
In Japan
the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has dominated the post-war era, fighting off
challenges in the 1990s from fledgling opposition parties, reform from within
during the leadership of LDP Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro (2001-2006), and
a serious, but short-lived rival in the form of the Democratic Party of Japan
(2009-2012). The success of Abe Shinzo in elevating the Prime Minister’s office
and Japan’s role in East Asia solidified the LDP’s to prominence. Japan is an excellent case study of how one
party seems to maintain its hold on power election after election in a fully
free democratic system.
India may
be the most fascinating nation of all right now. The political issues are
fundamental: will India retain the ideology of Congress party and its birth – a
secular democracy committed to rooting out discrimination based on caste and
religion that gave significant power to state governments – or move toward the
ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – a Hindu nationalism, which has
been accused of granting privilege to the Hindu religion, has empowered the
Prime Minister in ways not seen since the 1970s, and has caused many to
question the character of India democracy.
While the Modi government has many critics outside and inside India, it
is dominating Indian politics in ways that Congress Party had dominated in the
1950s and 1960s.
Indonesia
is the largest nation in Southeast Asia.
Its ability to transform into a stable democracy in a short period of
time is one of the great accomplishments of the early 21st
century. How religion (Islam) has been
the key to its stability, but perhaps a political challenge for the future is
one of the important questions about the future of Indonesia.
Learning Outcomes
1. Students will be able to differentiate between and evaluate various economic development strategies used in Asia
2.
Students will be
able to differentiate between and evaluate the political evolution of both
democratic, authoritarian, and totalitarian systems in Asia
3.
Students
will be able to analyze the causes of political and economic change within the
nations of Asia
4.
Students
will be able to analyze the pre-modern legacy and political and economic
evolution of modern China
5. Students will be able to analyze the
pre-modern legacy and political and economic evolution of modern Japan
6. Students will be able to analyze the
pre-modern legacy and political and economic evolution of modern India
7. Students will be able to analyze the pre-modern legacy and political and economic evolution of modern Indonesia
8.
Students will
demonstrate the ability to research and write a comparative politics paper for
political science
Texts
You need to read them; you
don't need to buy them. The books are available at the Virginia Book Company
(intersection of Shafer and Franklin), the VCU Bookstore, and Bookholders. They
are also available on reserve at the Cabell Library in Room 301. If anyone has
problems getting access to the texts, for any reason, let me know as soon as
possible so you don't get too far behind in the reading. These books will also
be on reserve at Cabell Library (but probably not until the first week of
classes).
·
David Shambaugh. China’s
Leaders: From Mao to Now (Medford, MA: Polity Press, 2021) 978-1509546510 (I have placed a copy on
reserve. It’s mine, so please be nice to it).
·
Elizabeth Economy. The Third
Revolution (Oxford University Press, 2018) (Available online
through the VCU Library system: https://proxy.library.vcu.edu/
·
David Pilling. Bending
Adversity (New York: Penguin Books, 2015) 978-0143126959 (I will be placing a copy of mine on reserve
at Cabell Library).
·
Ramachandra Guha. India After Gandhi (New York: Ecco,
2019) 978-0062978066 (2007 edition will be on reserve: DS480.84 .G74 2007) (we are not reading
this entire book; it’s huge, but a fantastic reference you can use forever).
Grades
|
January 26 |
5% of grade |
|
|
Exam I |
February 23 |
25% of grade |
|
Exam II |
April 4 |
20% of grade |
|
Initial Draft Due Date: March 16 Final Due Date: April 18 |
5% of the grade |
|
|
Topic Due February 2 Optional rough draft deadline
April 18 Final Paper Due in Hard
copy at the beginning of class April
27 |
20% of grade |
|
|
Exam III |
May 4:
12:30-3:20 Note the time change (same classroom) |
25% of grade |
How to calculate your
grade: Use the percentages from the above table. So, if you received the
following grades, you would calculate your grades in the following manner:
I give you this very
detailed formula for a number of reasons. You should never be unaware of what
your class average is. You can calculate it at any point in the semester. If
your grade is not what you'd like it to be, you should know, and you should
come see me about it. Please do not come to me after Exam 3 and say that you're
having trouble in the class. It's too late at that point. But any time in the
semester that you feel you are having trouble, or not doing as well as you feel
you should, come talk to me. During my office hours and by appointment I am
happy to talk to you about the class.
Grading scale: I use a
typical scale: A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 55-69. Borderline grades
are considered in the following manner.
1. If your grade is 69.5, 79.5, or 89.5 or higher, then
you may be a candidate for a round up to the higher grade (Notice those numbers
in the sentence; do not ask for a higher grade if your average is a 68 or 78 or
88 or lower; those are not borderline averages).
2. You may become a candidate if your grades are
borderline and if your grades have been going up during the semester.
3. That means that if you are borderline, but your last
exam is lower than the previous exams (you are between a B and C, but your
third exam is a C for example), you will probably get the lower grade.
4. If you are borderline, and your last exam is higher
than the previous exams (you are between a B and C, but your third exam is a
B), you will probably get the higher grade.
5. Another factor I consider is the typical grade you
receive. Let’s say we have four grades for the class and three are grades of B
and one is a C (bad day) and your average is a 79.6, you are a candidate for
receiving a B
6. There is no extra credit for this class. Please do not ask.
And speaking of grades:
The withdrawal date this semester is March 24
Also, the last date to
choose the pass/fail
option for a class is March 24
Map Quiz: Click on the link to get the instructions
EXAMS: The exams
will be short answer and essay. One week before the exam I will place a
review sheet on line, linked to this syllabus, below this paragraph. This
review sheet should be used as your study guide for the exam. The review sheet
will include some terms that are from the readings only, so that you can go
back and review those items from the readings. Once you have the review sheet,
feel free to ask me questions about the terms. This is the best way to study
for the exam. If you understand the terms on the review sheet, you can define
each one and see how each one relates to the larger concepts and issues we've
discussed in class, you should do just fine on the exam. The final exam is not-cumulative.
I will explain this the first day of class and you can
follow this link to get the detailed instructions. The first draft of this is due March 16. This is a super easy assignment, but it will
give you some research skills that will be essential to writing research papers
in upper level classes like this one. The basic idea is this: you will write a
basic paragraph that is designed to help you practice citing material and
writing a bibliography. March 15 is the
initial due date for it. If you do it right, you’re
done, and you get a 100% on the grade. If you do it
wrong, you’ll be asked to do it again based on my comments. You’ll keep working
on it until you’ve got it right. There
is, however, a final deadline (April 19). If you haven’t done it right by then
(and this can only happen if you don’t even try), you’ll get a zero. For the initial due date this assignment is
due at the beginning of class in hard copy.
There is a ten point penalty for each day it is
late with a maximum of a 50% penalty. If
it is not completed correctly by the final due date, the grade is a zero (and
nobody wants that; I’ll be sad; you’ll be sad). The benefit of this is that you’ll learn to
do citations correctly before the paper is due. That means you’ll do the
citations correctly on the paper. Hooray.
That’s very good because the main reason students get grades of C or D
on a paper is because they didn’t do their citations correctly.
Research
Paper Follow this link to the instructions for the paper. Read them.
Read them now. Read them
later. Please read them. In other words, maybe I think it is important
that you read them.
Paper
topics are due on the date identified above and below. Your paper topic should be a one paragraph
description of the topic. See the paper
instructions on the appropriate topics. Please email the paper topic to me by
midnight on the date listed above (in the table on grades) and below (in the course
schedule).
The paper
due date is listed above (in the table on grades) and below (in the course
schedule). Please email the paper to me.
Optional
rough drafts can be turned in up until one week before the assignment is due
(see the schedule below). Rough drafts are not required; I’m giving you the
option of turning in a rough draft or outline or introductory paragraph so I
can review it and return it to you with comments. I have a deadline here only because I need to
get my comments back to you in time for you to make the changes you’d like to
make.
Use VCU
Libraries to find and access library resources, spaces, technology
and services that support and enhance all learning opportunities at the
university.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1: January
16-20
Introduction to the Class and China I:
Dynastic China
·
Read: Newmann, "The
Comparative Method."
·
Shambaugh,
Chapter 1
·
Lecture
One January 17 Intro
·
Lecture
Two January 19 China 1
Week 2: January
23-27 China II: Mao’s China
·
Map Quiz: January 26
·
Shambaugh,
Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, pp. 95-126.
·
Party
and Government Structure and Decision Making
·
Lecture
Three January 24 China 2
·
Lecture
Four January 26 China 3
Week 3: January
30-February 3 China III:
Economics and Politics of the Deng Era
·
Paper Topics Due: February 2
·
Shambaugh, Chapter 3, 126-157, and Chapter 6, 255-287.
·
Lecture
Five January 31 China 4
·
Lecture
Six February 2 China 5
Week 4: February
6-10 China IV: Chinese Politics
and Economics in the Next Generations
·
Shambaugh,
Chapter 6, pp. 287-317
·
Economy,
Introduction, Chapter1 and 2.
·
Lecture
Seven February 7 China 6
·
Lecture
Eight February 9 China 7
Week 5: February 13-17 China V: The Future of China
·
Economy, Chapters
3-5.
·
Lecture
Nine February 14 China 8
·
Lecture
10 February 16 China 9
Week 6:
February 20-24 China VI
·
Economy, Chapter
6. (These readings are on the first exam)
·
Lecture
11 February 21 China 10
·
Lecture
12 February 23 China 11; Japan 1
Week 7:
February 27- March 3 Japan I: The Paradoxes of Japanese Political Culture
and the Birth of Modern Japan
·
Exam 1: February 28
·
Pilling, Chapters
1-5 (These are not on the first exam; Read them after the exam and/or over
spring break)
Week 8: March 13-17 Japan II: The 1955 System
·
Citation
Assignment Draft One Due: March 16
·
Pilling, Chapters
6-9
·
Post-War
Japanese Government
·
LDP
PMs
Week 9: March 20-24 Japan III: The
“Collapse” of the 19955 System?
·
Pilling, Chapters
10-14
·
Lecture
17 March 23/24 Japan 6
Withdrawal Date:
March 24
Final Date for
Requesting Pass/Fail
Grade Option: March 24
Week 10: March 27-31 Japan IV: Abe and the LDP Resurgence
·
Pilling, Chapters
15-16 and Afterward (These readings are on the second exam)
Week 11: April 3-7 and India I: Paradoxes of Indian Politics
·
Exam 2: April 4
·
Guha, Prologue,
Chapters 1, 2, 6, and 7
Week 12: April 10-14 India II:
The Congress Era
·
Guha, Chapters
26-28.
Week 13: April 17-21 India III: Economic Reform and Party Competition
·
Last day for turning in the citation assignment: April
18
·
Last day for turning in optional rough drafts of the
paper: April 18
·
Guha, Chapters
29-30.
Week 14: April 24-28: India IV: The BJP and the
Future of India (and Maybe Indonesia I)
·
Paper due April 27 at the beginning of class
·
Guha, Epilogue
·
The New
Era in Indian Politics
Week 15: May 2: Continue India
·
No Readings
Exam 3: May
4: 12:30-3:20 (Note the time change; Usual Room)
Other Important VCU Stuff
University
Counseling Services
Where can you find information on Asia?
This is
the questions students always ask me: “Where do I find good information on
Asia. I’m looking for something unbiased and something that doesn’t always look
at the world through American eyes (as in how do these developments affect the
Here’s the short answer: For day by day coverage of events
in the world:
On a weekly
basis:
The Economist: www.economist.com.
This is a Britain-based weekly which covers world politics and world
business. There really is nothing else
like it in the comprehensive nature of its coverage. You can also buy it on the newsstand, but the
web is free. It covers world politics
very well.
Long Term Views
of Crisis and Conflict:
International
Crisis Group: www.crisisweb.org. This is the International Crisis Group, a
non-profit organization that studies, analyzes, and makes recommendations about
how to resolve various crises in the world.
There is nothing better for the in-depth examination of current world
events and the dilemmas of problem solving and peace making. It has reports (30-50 pages), briefings
(10-30), and a weekly briefing (Crisis Watch), which you can get on the web
site or sign up for e-mail delivery.
The best academic
journal on Asia is Asian Survey. VCU gets it in the library. The January/February issue every year gives
an overview of developments in ever Asian country from the past year. Other great journals are listed on the
research paper site.