GraSPP
Strategic Evolution of the East Eurasia-Western Pacific Arena
Faculty
OSHIMA, Shotaro
Credit / Semester / Schedule / Language
2 Credits / Winter / Friday Period: 5 / English
Objectives/Overview
This course will look at Japan’s strategic environment, taking a historic perspective.
While it is important to go back in time and start from the opening of Japan and the ensuing Meiji Restoration period if at all possible, we will nevertheless be realistic and begin from the end of the World War Two and will follow various wars in the East Eurasia – Western Pacific region in the past decades, including the Cold War and its manifestations in the region, all of which affected the strategic environment of Japan.
The course will be conducted as a seminar and active participation by students is expected. The class will engage in a mock multilateral “negotiation” in the two penultimate sessions, which will be tentatively called “12 Party Conference on Ending Conflicts in the Region.”
Students will be assigned to one of the 12 countries/parties in the East Eurasia / Western Pacific region, and will study the respective strategic perspectives of these countries/parties leading up to the mock negotiation. They will be asked to give oral reports in sessions dealing with strategic turning points in the past decades when their governments had significant roles to play.
“12 Parties” which will be represented are the following: PRC (CCP), ROC (KMT), ROK, DPRK, Japan, Soviet Union / Russian Federation, US, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, UK & British colonies in SEA / Australia (for the first 7 sessions, UK & British colonies, then Australia from session 8).
Keywords
Japan’s diplomacy, constitution, security policy, Okinawa, ODA, United Nations, English
Schedule
The following is a more detailed explanation and the outline of this course:
(Oral reports should normally take about 10 minutes unless it is designated as “brief.”)
Session 1 Introduction
(Students need to indicate his/her preference of the countries/parties from the list of 12.)
Session 2 Brief oral reports on strategic perspectives and national security structure of the governments of assignment
Session 3 WW II: End of hostilities
(reports from Japan, US, and Soviet Union)
Session 4 Onset of the Cold War and the Chinese Civil War
(reports from PRC and ROC)
Session 5 Korean War
(reports from the two Koreas)
Session 6 WW II: San Francisco Peace Conference and the peace treaties
(reports from Japan, US, Soviet Union, and ROC)
Session 7 French Indochina War and other conflicts between colonial powers and national liberation forces; Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia
(reports from Viet Nam, Indonesia, Philippines, UK)
Session 8 American Viet Nam War
(reports from Viet Nam, Thailand, US)
Session 9 Sino Soviet conflict and the Cambodian conflict
(reports from PRC, Soviet Union, Viet Nam and Thailand)
Session 10 Collapse of the Soviet Union and its impact on the region
(brief reports from US, Russia, PRC, ROC, two Koreas, Japan)
Session 11 9/11 and its impact on the region
(US, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Japan)
Session 12
Preparation for the mock negotiations: agenda setting.
(Chairperson will first be selected, who will guide the agenda setting.)
Sessions 13 & 14
Mock 12 Party Conference on Ending Conflicts in the Region
Session 15 Post Mortem
Teaching Methods
Strategic environment of East Eurasia – Western Pacific region in the context of global power balance; World War Two and the peace settlements (pl)); Between the Cold War and Cold Peace in North East Asia; Emerging global strategic landscape - challenge to the post WW II system or the post-9/11 challenges.
Grading
1) term paper 70 %
2) participation in class discussions including oral reports 20%
3) overall focus and commitment to learning 10%
Required Text
1) Samuel P. Huntington: The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order: Simon and Schuster
2) G. John Ikenberry: After Victory: Princeton University Press
3) Yutaka Kawashima: Japanese Foreign Policy at the Crossroads: Brookings Institution Press
Reference Books
1) Paul Kennedy: The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Random House
2) Herbert Feis: Contest Over Japan: W.W. Norton & Company
Notes on Taking the Course
(This course is essentially the same as the course offered for the 2010 Second Semester under the title “Modern Japanese Diplomacy” by the same instructor.)