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The Power Elite of East Asia

2019/2020
Учебный год
ENG
Обучение ведется на английском языке
3
Кредиты
Статус:
Курс по выбору
Когда читается:
2-й курс, 1 модуль

Преподаватель


Новикова Анна Андреевна

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course concerns the power elite of China, Japan, and Korea. We will discuss the historic aspect and the modern ruling class formation, its typical family and social background, education, career, way of life and world view. We will compare the roots of the modern Chinese, Japanese, South and North Korean elite, the sources of their power and the internal interaction mechanisms, as well as the influence on foreign policy. We will speak of the three major groups of the Japanese elite: politicians, bureaucrats, and business elite, the balance of power between them and its recent changes. We will cover the political elite in more details: fractions within the ruling LDP and their struggle since the 1960s to the present day. Informal connections such as ‘academic cliques’ make up another important topic. We will discuss the five generations of Chinese communist rulers, the centers of power within and outside the Communist Party, the role of the People Liberation Army and the Youth League; the interaction of central and local power, and the struggle between the representatives of different regions; the conflicts between different clans of the communist elite, their economic, ideological, and foreign orientation motives. We shall also discuss the legitimacy of South Korea political elite, major political parties and their structure, main ways of political struggle. We’ll touch upon the problem of political corruption. Due to lack of objective information we cannot cover the topics on North Korean power elite as thoroughly as the other countries of the region, still we will outline the main points.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The main goal of the course is to introduce to students the power elite of East Asia.
  • I will try to give students a systematic picture of the history, structure and main features of the power elites of China, Japan, Korea and other countries in the region.
  • We will discuss the main characteristics of these elites: recruitment methods and features of the vertical mobility, rotation of elites, conflicts within elite groups, the availability of alternatives for elites of these countries.
  • We will consider concrete examples of mechanisms of mobility (vertical and horizontal), mechanisms for the development of conflicts and other cases related to the power elite.
  • We will try to compare the elites of different countries of East Asia among themselves. This will help us in better understanding both of the elites and of the international relations in the region and the world.
  • We will talk about various elite theories and how relevant they are to study of the power elites of East Asian countries.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • 1. Shows understanding of the theme of the course. 2. Manifest, in seminar discussions and short written assignments ability to interpret correctly the information on power elite acquired through reading mass-media messages, official statements and research books. 3. Present an essay in which they should freely reveal any topic discussed during the course.
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • The background of the East Asia power elites. Elite theories.
  • The power elite of China and Taiwan
  • The power elite of Japan
  • The power elite of Vietnam. Comparison of power elites of the region
  • The power elite of China and Taiwan
  • The power elite of Japan
  • The power elite of South and North Korea
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking Class work
  • non-blocking Group discussion and readings
  • non-blocking Written essay or presentation
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (1 module)
    0.2 * Class work + 0.4 * Group discussion and readings + 0.4 * Written essay or presentation
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Bo, Z. (2007). China’s Elite Politics: Political Transition And Power Balancing. Hackensack, N.J.: World Scientific. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=203887
  • Bottomore, T. B. (1993). Elites and Society (Vol. 2nd ed). London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=169443
  • Burks, A. W. (2018). Japan : A Postindustrial Power——third Edition, Revised And Updated (Vol. Third edition, revised and updated). London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2084633
  • Najita, T. (2018). Japan : The Intellectual Foundations of Modern Japanese Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2095668
  • Избранное. Образ общества, Вебер, М., 1994

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Belanger, C. (2019). South Korea. Our World: South Korea (p. 1). Great Neck Publishing. https://doi.org/10.3331/our_world_481_250225
  • Goscha, C. E. (2016). Vietnam : A New History. New York: Basic Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1467532