Asian Dictators

Catalog description

This course will examine and discuss the political dynamics and policy behaviors of two authoritarian communist regimes in East Asia: China and North Korea. What are the natures of Chinese and North Korean societies? What are the guiding principles and norms in their political systems? What are the historical as well as contemporary implications of their economic systems? To this end, this course will explore the intricacies of the cultural, historical, and psychological contexts in which behavioral and policy motivations could be explained. Along with the comparative analysis of each country (political system, political economy, state-society relations, and foreign relations), major contemporary issues and challenges will be also examined. Can Chinese Communist Party keep its authoritarian grip on its people forever? Will China ever be democratized? Has China's long economic boom ended? What are the mechanisms behind North Korea's tight and cruel control of its citizens and their devotion to the Kim dynasty? Can North Korea enter and survive the global economy? More fundamentally, where is China heading? What does North Korea want?