Type of Credit: Partially Required
Credit(s)
Number of Students
The challenges to our “troubled” world are manifest in a continuing number of immediate crises and threats as well as more long-range challenges. Some examples, among others, include:
-- The ongoing Russian war against Ukraine and resulting global shortages of food and fuel;
-- Increasing PRC threats of war and ongoing acts of aggression against Taiwan;
-- The PRC’s militarization of the South China Sea and its continuing territorial claims against ASEAN countries, Japan, and India; and its increasing confrontations with U.S. military aircraft and naval vessels in international waters and airspace;
-- Strategic, military, and economic competition between the United States and both the PRC and Russia;
-- North Korean, Pakistani -- and soon likely Iranian -- nuclear weapons and missiles;
-- Ongoing ethnic and religious conflicts in the Middle East and South Asia, and widespread violence in Africa;
-- Authoritarian crackdowns on demands for democracy in Belarus, Russia, Hong Kong, Myanmar, and elsewhere;
-- The continuing devastation of COVID-19 and the threat of more global pandemics;
-- Climate change and the resulting increase in weather disasters such as droughts, fires, floods, and hurricanes around the world;
-- The challenge of reducing reliance on fossil fuels and producing more clean energy;
-- Declining populations in the developed world and unemployment in the developing world;
-- Worldwide income inequality;
-- Increasing protectionist and populist policies dividing the world;
-- The continuing threat of religious extremism;
-- Increasing government-sponsored cyber-attacks and information warfare; and
-- Racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination almost everywhere.
能力項目說明
This course aims to help students broadly understand the geographic, strategic, political, economic, and social origins of such problems. We will also introduce perspectives on how these challenges can be analyzed and addressed. The ultimate goal is to help students think independently and formulate their own views on critical world affairs, and to see inter-relationships among the challenges all countries face.
| 教學週次Course Week | 彈性補充教學週次Flexible Supplemental Instruction Week | 彈性補充教學類別Flexible Supplemental Instruction Type |
|---|---|---|
Week 1: February 22, 2024:
Introductory Lecture: Lessons Learned as a U.S. Diplomat: 1978 – 2012
Week 2: February 29, 2024:
Geo-Strategic Theories and Geopolitical Analyses: Countries Competing for Power and Influence
Required Reading:
Mearsheimer, John J., The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (New York: W.W. Norton, rev. ed. 2014, Introduction, offensive realism, pp. 42-50. 可參考中譯版《大國政治的悲劇》導論。
Suggested Reading:
Mearsheimer, John J., The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (New York: W.W. Norton, rev. ed. 2014, Introduction, Chapter 10: “Can China Rise Peacefully?”
Bremmer, Ian and Mustafa Suleyman, “The AI Power Paradox: Can States Learn to Govern Artificial Intelligence—Before It’s Too Late?” September/October 2023 (Published on August 16, 2023) https://www.foreignaffairs.com/world/artificial-intelligence-power-paradox
Bekkevold, Jo Inge, “Cold War II Is All About Geopolitics: A new book overplays the domestic roots of Sino-U.S. confrontation and underestimates its geopolitical logic,” Foreign Policy, June 3, 2023, https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/03/cold-peace-michael-doyle-book-review-war-china-geopolitics-international-relations/
Scoblic, J. Peter and Philip E. Tetlock, “Fumbling the Crystal Ball: Policymakers Can’t Afford to Spurn the Science of Prediction,” , Foreign Affairs, December 16, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/12/16/fumbling-the-crystal-ball/content.html
Haass, Richard, “Ten Lessons from the Return of History,” Project Syndicate, Dec. 13, 2022, https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ten-international-relations-lessons-of-2022-by-richard-haass-2022-12
Poast, Paul, “A World of Power and Fear: What Critics of Realism Get Wrong,” Foreign Affairs, June 15, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/ukraine/2022-06-15/world-power-and-fear
Leonard, Mark, “The Real End of Pax Americana: Germany and Japan Are Changing—and So Is the Postwar Order,” Foreign Affairs, June 13, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/japan/2022-06-13/real-end-pax-americana
Mason, Betsy, “Why your mental map of the world is (probably) wrong,” National Geographic, Nov. 16, 2018 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/all-over-the-map-mental-mapping-misconceptions
Suggested Video:
Week 3: March 7, 2024:
Africa and Latin America: Geographic Limitations and Destructive Colonial Legacies
Required Reading:
Marshall, Tim, Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World (New York: Scribner, 2015) Chapter 5: “Africa”; Chapter 9: “Latin America”. 可參考中譯版《用十張地圖看懂全球政經局勢》，第五章及第九章。
Suggested Reading:
Adetayo, Ope, “Season of Putsch: Why have Coups become Popular in Africa?” Aljazeera, September 1, 2023,
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/9/1/season-of-putsch-why-have-coups-become-popular-in-africa
AJLabs, “Mapping Africa’s Military Coups,” Aljazeera, August 30, 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/30/mapping-africas-coups-detat-across-the-years
Goldstone, Jack A. and John F. May, “The Global Economy’s Future Depends on Africa: As Others Slow, a Youthful Continent Can Drive Growth,” Foreign Affairs, May 18, 2023, https://foreignaffairs.com/2023/05/18/the -global-economys-future-depends-on-africa/conten.html
Guzman, Julio Armando, “China’s Latin American Power Play,” Foreign Affairs, January 16, 2023, https://reader.foreign affairs.com/2023/01/16/chinas-latin-american-power-play/content.html
Freeman, Will, “Is Latin America Stuck? - Why the Region Could Face a New Lost Decade,” Foreign Affairs, November 25, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/11/25/is-latin-america-stuck/content.html
Ibrahim, Mo, “Africa’s Past Is Not Its Future: How the Continent Can Chart Its Own Course,” Foreign Affairs, November 1, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/11/01/africas-past-is-not-its-future/content.html
Stearns, Jason K., “Rebels Without a Cause: The New Face of African Warfare,” Foreign Affairs, May /June, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/africa/2022-04-19/rebels-without-cause
Castaneda, Jorge G. and Forrest D. Colburn, “Latin America Needs a New Social Contract: The Region Can’t Go Back to the Grim Pre-COVID Status Quo,” Foreign Affairs, October 1, 2021. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/central-america-caribbean/2021-10-01/latin-america-needs-new-social-contract'
Oluwatosin Adeshokan, “China is the Biggest Winner from Africa’s New Free Trade Bloc,” Foreign Policy, August 19, 2021, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/08/19/africa-china-afcfta-free-trade-economy-investment-infrastructure-competition/
Oliver Stuenkel, “Latin American Governments are Caught in the Middle of the U.S.-China Tech War,” Foreign Policy, February 26, 2021, https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/26/latin-america-united-states-china-5g-technology-war/
Week 4: March 14, 2024:
The Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan/India: More Geographic Limitations and Destructive Colonial Legacies
Required Reading:
Marshall, Tim, Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World (New York: Scribner, 2015) Chapter 6: “The Middle East”; Chapter 7: “India and Pakistan.” 可參考中譯版《用十張地圖看懂全球政經局勢》，第六章、第七章。
Suggested Reading:
Singh Sushant, “Why Modi Can’t Make India a Great Power: Government-Backed Intolerance Is Tearing the Country Apart,” Foreign Affairs, September 4, 2023, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/india/why-modi-cant-make-india-great-power
Oren, Michael, et al., “Can the Two-State Solution Be Saved? Debating Israel’s One-State Reality,” Foreign Affairs,June 20, 2023, https://reader. foreign affairs.com/2023/06/20/can-the-two-state-solution-be-saved-2/content.html
Iyengar, Rishi, “Why India and the U.S. Are Closer Than Ever: Defense deals and tech ties underpin Modi’s visit to Washington,” Foreign Policy, June 15, 2023, https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/15/india-united-states-tech-ties-biden-modi-visit-washington/
Roger, Cohen, “Russia’s War Could Make It India’s World,” The New York Times, December 31, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/31/world/asia/india-ukraine-russia.html
Subramanian, Arvind and Felman, John, “Why India Can’t Replace China: The Barriers to New Delhi’s Next Boom,” Foreign Affairs, December 9, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/12/09/why-india-cant-replace-china/content.html
Hirsch, Michael, “America’s Iran Follies: How two decades of misjudgment by Washington helped lead Tehran to the nuclear brink,” Foreign Policy, June 9, 2022, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/09/iran-nuclear-deal-jcpoa-biden-trump-khamenei/
Haqqani, Husain, “Pakistan Reaps What It Sowed: How the Country’s Support for the Taliban Backfired,” Foreign Affairs, May 23, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/afghanistan/2022-05-23/pakistan-reaps-what-it-sowed
Tharoor, Shashi, “Modi’s Big Mistake: How Neutrality on Ukraine Weakens India,” Foreign Affairs, April 27, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/india/2022-04-27/modis-big-mistake
Gause III, F. Gregory, “The Price of Order: Settling for Less in the Middle East,” Foreign Affairs, April 4, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/04/04/the-price-of-order/content.html
Lynch, Marc, “The End of the Middle East: How an Old Map Distorts a New Reality,” Foreign Affairs, March/April, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/africa/2022-02-22/end-middle-east
Suggested Video:
WION, “Gravitas: India-China relations hit an all-time low. Here's why,” YouTube, June 14, 2023, https://youtu.be/DVPE2LIJN6E
Week 5: March 21, 2024:
The United States: Enormous Geo-Strategic Advantages and Daunting Challenges
Required Reading:
Zeihan, Peter, The Accidental Superpower: The Next Generation of American Preeminence and the Coming Global Disorder (New York: Twelve/Hatchette Book Group, 2014), Chapter 4: “Enter the Accidental Superpower” pp. 46-77.
Marshall, Tim, Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World (New York: Scribner, 2015), Chapter 3: “United States.” 可參考中譯版《用十張地圖看懂全球政經局勢》，第三章。
Suggested Reading:
Beckley, Michael, Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower, Cornell University Press, 2018.
Zeihan, Peter, The End of the World is Just Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization, Harper Collins 2022.
Beckley, Michael, “Delusions of Détente: Why America and China Will Be Enduring Rivals,” Sept/Oct 2023, Foreign Affairs (Aug. 22, 2023) https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/china-delusions-detente-rivals
Boot, Max, “What the Neocons Got Wrong: And How the Iraq War Taught Me About the Limits of American Power,” Foreign Affairs, March 10, 2023, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2023/03/10/what-the-neocons-got-wrong-2/content.html
Bednar, Jenna and Mariano Florentino Cuellar, “The Fractured Superpower: Federalism is Remaking U.S. Democracy and Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs, October 26, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/10/26/the-fractured-superpower/content.html
Rhodes, Ben, “Them and Us: How America Lets Its Enemies Hijack Its Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs, September /October 2021, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-08-24/foreign-policy-them-and-us
Rapley, John, “America Is an Empire in Decline. That Doesn’t Mean It Has to Fall,” New York Times, September 4, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/04/opinion/america-rome-empire.html
Week 6: March 28, 2024:
China: Ambitions and Challenges
Required Reading:
Marshall, Tim, Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World (New York: Scribner, 2015) Chapter 2: “China.” 可參考中譯版《用十張地圖看懂全球政經局勢》，第二章。
Suggested Reading:
Martínez, Luis R., “How to Spot an Autocrat’s Economic Lies: In China and Elsewhere, Forget the Numbers—Look at the Lights,” Foreign Affairs, May 10, 2023, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2023/05/10/how-to-spot-an-autocrats-economic-lies/content.html
Pomfret, John and Pottinger, Matt. “Xi Jinping Says He Is Preparing China for War: The World Should Take Him Seriously,” Foreign Affairs, March 29, 2023, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2023/03/29/xi-jinping-says-he-is-preparing-china-for-war/content.html
China Power Team, "Unpacking China’s GDP, " China Power, December 20, 2022. Updated January 12, 2023. Accessed June 14, 2023, https://chinapower.csis.org/tracker/china-gdp/
Rudd, Kevin, “The World According to Xi Jinping,” Foreign Affairs, November 01, 2022,
https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/11/01/the-world-according-to-xi-jinping-2/content.html
Rogers, Benedict, “Michelle Bachelet’s Failed Xinjiang Trip Has Tainted Her Whole Legacy: The U.N. human rights commissioner ended up whitewashing China’s atrocities,” Foreign Policy, June 13, 2022, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/25/us-china-indo-pacific-military-strategy/
Singleton, Craig, “China’s Crisis of Confidence: What if, instead of being a competitor, China can no longer afford to compete at all?” Foreign Policy, June 12, 2022, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/13/china-xi-jinping-economy-downturn-slowdown-decline-geopolitics-competition-united-states/
Ran Mitter and Elsbeth Johnson, “What the West Gets Wrong about China,” Harvard Business Review, May-June 2021, https://hbr.org/2021/05/what-the-west-gets-wrong-about-china
Nathan, Andrew J., “What exactly is America’s China Policy? : The United States needs to right-size the China threat to know how to counter it,” Foreign Policy, April 14, 2022 https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/04/14/us-china-biden-strategy-geopolitics/
Suggested Video:
WION, “Gravitas Plus: China is drilling the world's deepest hole: Here's why,” YouTube, June 3, 2023, https://youtu.be/cTrfUgc7d0k
Week 7: April 4, 2024: NO CLASS
Week 8: April 11, 2024:
The South China Sea and Its Threat to East Asian Stability and Prosperity
Required Reading:
Kaplan, Robert D., Asia’s Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific, (New York: Random House, 2014) Chapter 8: “The State of Nature,” pp. 164-183.
Suggested Reading:
Kaplan, Robert D., Asia’s Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific. New York: Random House, 2014. Chapter 1: “The Humanist Dilemma,” pp. 5-31; and the rest of Chapter 8.
Poling, Gregory, “Beijing’s Upper Hand in the South China Sea: Why Time is Running Out to Secure U.S. Interests,” Foreign Affairs, August 18, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/beijing-upper-hand-south-china-sea
Gray, Alexander B., “The Pacific Shouldn’t be a ‘Strategic Surprise’: Why aren’t Beijing’s ambitions in the region obvious to Washington?”, Foreign Policy, January 25, 2022, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/25/us-china-indo-pacific-military-strategy/
Glaser, Bonnie S. and Gregory Poling, “China’s Power Grab in the South China Sea: How to Build a Coalition to Confront Beijing,” Foreign Affairs, August 20, 2021, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2021-08-20/chinas-power-grab-south-china-sea
Heydarian, Richard Javad, “Will the South China Sea Spark the Next Global Conflict?” The Diplomat, Issue 79, June 2021, https://thediplomat.com/2021/05/will-the-south-china-sea-spark-the-next-global-conflict/
Week 9: April 18, 2024: Mid-Term Exam
Week 10: April 25, 2024:
Korea and Japan: Leading Economies, Threatened Nations, Historical Foes, U.S. Allies
Required Reading:
Marshall, Tim, Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World (New York: Scribner, 2015) Chapter 8: “Korea and Japan.” 可參考中譯版《用十張地圖看懂全球政經局勢》，第八章。
Suggested Reading:
Stent, Dylan, “South Korea’s Political Bifurcation Will Stifle Any Trilateral Agreement: The whole point of the Camp David Summit was to institutionalize Japan-South Korea-U.S. cooperation. But no one should expect South Korea’s left to keep to the same path,” The Diplomat, September 7, 2023, https://thediplomat.com/2023/09/south-koreas-political-bifurcation-will-stifle-any-trilateral-agreement/
“The Camp David U.S.-Japan- Korea Trilateral Summit: An Exchange among CSIS Japan and Korea Chairs,” Aug. 23, 2023 https://www.csis.org/analysis/camp-david-us-japan-korea-trilateral-summit-exchange-among-csis-japan-and-korea-chairs
Eun A Jo, “Japan and South Korea Are Still Haunted by the Past: Confronting a Legacy of Forced—and Failed—Reconciliation,” Foreign Affairs, Nov. 23, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/11/23/japan-and-south-korea-are-still-haunted-by-the-past/content.html
Govella, Kristi, and Bonnie Glaser, “How to Mend the Rift Between Japan and South Korea: Finding Common Ground on the China Threat and the War in Ukraine,” Foreign Affairs, May 17, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/japan/2022-05-17/how-mend-rift-between-japan-and-south-korea
Week 11: May 2, 2024:
Russia: Fighting to Reclaim its “Rightful” Place
Required Reading:
Marshall, Tim, Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World (New York: Scribner, 2015) Chapter 1: “Russia” 可參考中譯版《用十張地圖看懂全球政經局勢》，第一章。
Zeihan, Peter, The Absent Superpower: The Shale Revolution and a World without America (New York: Twelve/Hatchette Book Group, 2016), Chapter 6: “The Twilight War.”
Suggested Reading:
Samorukov, Maxim, “Why Putin Will Never Agree to De-escalate: Regardless of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, Russia is bracing for a long war,” Foreign Policy, June 23, 2023, https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/13/ukraine-counteroffensive-russia-putin-war-negotiation-ceasefire-successor/
Gessen, Keith, “How Russia Went from Ally to Adversary: The Cold War ended. The United States declared victory. Then things took a turn,” The New Yorker, June 12, 2023, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/06/19/how-the-west-lost-the-peace-philipp-ther-book-review
Hill, Fiona and Angela Stent, “The World Putin Wants: How Distortions About the Past Feed Delusions about the Future,” Foreign Affairs, October 26, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/10/26/the-world-putin-wants-2/content.html
Snyder, Timothy, “Ukraine Holds the Future: The War Between Democracy and Nihilism,” Foreign Affairs, October 26, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/10/26/ukraine-holds-the-future/content.html
Maull, Hanns W, “Why China Isn’t Backing Away from Alignment with Russia: The question is not whether China will continue to hang on to its strategic partnership with Russia, but how it will manage it,” The Diplomat, April 15, 2022 https://thediplomat.com/2022/04/why-china-isnt-backing-away-from-alignment-with-russia/
Week 12: May 9, 2024:
A Divided and Increasingly Troubled Europe
Required Reading:
Marshall, Tim, Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World (New York: Scribner, 2015) Chapter 4: “Western Europe.” 可參考中譯版《用十張地圖看懂全球政經局勢》，第四章。
Zeihan, Peter, The Accidental Superpower: The Next Generation of American Preeminence and the Coming Global Disorder (New York: Twelve/Hatchette Book Group, 2014) Chapter 11: “History Returns to Europe,” pp. 222-247.
Suggested Reading:
Ian Johnson, “Has China Lost Europe? How Beijing’s Economic Missteps and Support for Russia Soured European Leaders,” Foreign Affairs, June 10, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2022-06-10/has-china-lost-europe
Haass, Richard, “A Ukraine Strategy for the Long Haul--The West Needs a Policy to Manage a War That Will Go On,” Foreign Affairs, June 10, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/russian-federation/2022-06-10/ukraine-strategy-long-haul
McInnis, Kathleen J. and Daniel Fata, “2 Percent Defense Spending Is a Bad Target for NATO: Focusing on military budgets alone hurts the alliance’s relevance,” Foreign Policy, June 10. 2022, https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/10/2-percent-defense-spending-nato-budget-bad-target/
Michael Hirsh, “Will the United States and Europe Break Up Over China,” Foreign Policy, July 14, 2021. https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/14/us-germany-europe-china-russia-france-merkel-biden-macron/
Week 13: May 16, 2024:
Trade: Shared Interests and Cause of Conflicts
Required Reading:
Foroohar, Rana, “After Neoliberalism: All Economics Is Local,” Foreign Affairs, November 1, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/11/01/after-neoliberalism/content.html
Mattjijs, Matthias and Sophie Meunier, “Europe’s Geoeconomic Revolution: How the EU Learned to Wield its Real Power,” September/October 2023, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2023/08/24/europes-geoeconomic-revolution-2/content.htm
Okonjo-Iweala, Ngozi, “Why the World Still Needs Trade: The Case for Reimagining – Not Abandoning—Globalization,” Foreign Affairs, July-August 2023, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/guest-pass/redeem/MQHf8MY-BNw
Lamy, Pascal, and Nicholas Kohler-Suzuki, “Deglobalization Is Not Inevitable: How the World Trade Organization Can Shore Up the Global Economic Order,” Foreign Affairs, June 9, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2022-06-09/deglobalization-not-inevitable
Suggested Reading:
Capretta, James C., “The New Washington Consensus on Trade Is Wrong: Protectionism will drag everyone down in the end,” Foreign Policy, June 12, 2023, https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/06/12/free-trade-new-washington-consensus-biden-protectionism-trump/
Mohan, C. Raja, “For Japan, ‘Ukraine is the Future of Asia,’” Foreign Policy, April 13, 2023, https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/04/13/japan-china-russia-kishida-xi-putin-europe-geopolitics-strategy/
Hufbauer, Gary, Megan Hogan, and Yilin Wang, “How Free Trade Can Fight Inflation: More Competition Means Lower Prices,” Foreign Affairs, June 14, 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2022-06-14/how-free-trade-can-fight-inflation
Felicia Wong, “The New Economics: How the U.S. and Its Allies Are Rewriting the Rules on Spending and Trade,” Foreign Affairs, November 16, 2021, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2021-11-16/new-economics
Stanton, William, “The time is ripe for a U.S.-Taiwan free trade agreement,” [Original title: “Why the U.S. Needs a Free Trade Agreement with Taiwan,”] Taiwan News, June 28, 2019, https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3734133
Week 14: May 23, 2024:
Taiwan: Achievements, Geopolitical Challenges, and Its Future
Required Reading:
Stanton, William, “Learning to Appreciate a Modern Miracle: Taiwan,” Taiwan News, 19/02/2019, https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3640792
Rigger, Shelly, Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2011) Chapter 9: “Why Taiwan Matters to America and the World,” pp. 187-197.
Suggested Reading:
Brands, Hal, “Deterrence in Taiwan is Failing: The United States is committed to keeping the peace but isn’t doing enough to stop the war,” Foreign Policy, September 8, 2023, https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/09/08/us-military-deterrence-china-taiwan-war-east-asia/
Birgbauer, Peter, “China and Taiwan: The Geopolitical Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight,” The Diplomat, October 21, 2022, https://thediplomat.com/2022/10/china-and-taiwan-the-geopolitical-crisis-hiding-in-plain-sight/
Green, Brendan Rittenhouse, and Caitlin Talmadge, “The Consequences of Conquest: Why Indo-Pacific Power Hinges on Taiwan,” Foreign Affairs, July/August 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2022-06-16/consequences-conquest-taiwan-indo-pacific
Gitter, David, “Can the US Deter a Taiwan Invasion?” The Diplomat, May 2022, Issue 90. https://thediplomat.com/2022/04/can-the-us-deter-a-taiwan-invasion/
Gallagher, Mike, “Taiwan Can't Wait: What America Must Do To Prevent a Successful Chinese Invasion,” Foreign Affairs, February 1, 2022, https://reader.foreignaffairs.com/2022/02/01/taiwan-cant-wait/content.html
Bolton, John and Derik R. Zitelman, “Why Taiwan Matters to the United States: Washington has strategic, economic, and normative reasons for safeguarding the island from Chinese coercion,” The Diplomat, August 23, 2021, https://thediplomat.com/2021/08/why-taiwan-matters-to-the-united-states/
Week 15: May 30, 2024: Group Presentations
Week 16: June 6, 2024: Group Presentations
Week 17: June 13, 2024: Group Presentations
Week 18: June 20, 2024: Final Exam
1. Class lectures, discussions, and student presentations are all in English.
2. Active Participation: Each class will be divided into three parts:
-- The instructor will deliver a PowerPoint presentation lasting some 90 minutes or more on the key issues of that day’s class. The Power Point presentation will also be posted the same day on the class website for review.
-- Students will then be invited to offer comments and to ask questions.
-- The third portion of the class will be devoted to class discussion. In advance of each class, the instructor will provide on the course website at least four questions for students to discuss. Students will be divided into groups, the size of which will be determined by the overall class size. Each group will choose a question to discuss and then offer brief presentations on each group’s conclusions.
Assigned reading is relatively minimal and a small portion of it is available in Chinese. Therefore, each student is asked to complete all the required reading each week, and to contribute to the class discussions on the basis of the assigned reading and the lecture. For most classes, the instructor will also recommend further reading for students who are interested.
Keep the following questions in mind as you read articles and book chapters listed in the syllabus:
-- What are the central issues?
-- How are these issues similar to or related to issues in other countries and regions?
-- What are the major arguments of the works being studied?
-- How valuable and viable is the argument or idea that each puts forth?
-- How would you make your own argument?
3. A Final Presentation: Class groups will each make a 20- to 30-minute PowerPoint presentation to the class in the course’s final weeks. This presentation should include both your analysis of the issue chosen by your group and a proposed solution based on your group’s discussion.
4. A Mid-Term (Week 9) and Final Exam (Week 18)
5. GRADING
• Class Participation (30%): Please note that class attendance will usually be taken.
• Mid-term (20%): Brief essays in answer to one or two questions that will be provided in advance.
• Final Group Presentation (20%)
• Final (30%): As in the mid-term exam.
Please note that half of the final grade will depend on your class participation and group presentations.
EXAMPLES OF POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR GROUP PRESENTATIONS (If in doubt, please ask!)
-- In Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (1997), Jared Diamond wrote: “Because diseases have been the biggest killers of people, they have also been decisive shapers of history. Until World War II, more victims of war died of war-borne microbes than of battle wounds. All those military histories glorifying great generals over-simplify the ego-deflating truth: the winners of past wars were not always the armies with the best generals and weapons, but were often those bearing the nastiest germs to transit to their enemies.” Prepare a presentation on a key example Diamond cites: the European conquests of the Americas beginning with Columbus’s voyage in 1493. Or choose another example from history where disease has played a decisive role in determining the future of human societies.
-- Faced with the outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus, the PRC and others appear to have been slow to react and prevent its spread. Why have some countries, like Taiwan, been more successful in countering this disease than others? What should the international community do to address more effectively the next outbreak of a new and deadly disease?
-- During the course we have considered a number of threats to the security and stability of our world. Prepare a presentation on what you see as the greatest threat to world peace, explain why it is so dangerous, and offer suggestions on what we can do to counter this threat without war.
-- We have also discussed a number of global economic and social problems, such as unequal distributions of wealth, persistent poverty in some countries and regions, protectionism, unfair trade practices, and demographic changes. Prepare a presentation on your assessment of the one or more of the greatest economic or social challenges and propose ideas for how best to address them.
-- Prepare a presentation on what specific policies you would adopt if you were the President of Taiwan to try to improve the cross-Strait relationship short of capitulating to a PRC demand for unification? Please also address how you would handle the so-called '92 consensus and the “One Country-Two Systems” formula for reunification.
-- The Freedom in the World 2022 report found that “Global freedom faces a dire threat. Around the world, the enemies of liberal democracy—a form of self-government in which human rights are recognized and every individual is entitled to equal treatment under law—are accelerating their attacks…. The present threat to democracy is the product of 16 consecutive years of decline in global freedom. A total of 60 countries suffered declines over the past year, while only 25 improved. As of today, some 38 percent of the global population live in Not Free countries, the highest proportion since 1997. Only about 20 percent now live in Free countries.”
Prepare a presentation on this anti-democratic trend, the reasons for it, and what – if anything – can be done to reverse it.
As suggested in course schedule.
If you are interested, you can find the following commentaries by Bill Stanton published in Taiwan News on current issues related to Taiwan, the PRC, and the U.S.: 07/10/22: “A PRC in decline: A multitude of difficult challenges” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4593099 06/03/22 "US President’s Policy on Taiwan Has Confused Some but It’s Actually Clear" https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4558218 05/03/22: “What Does Ukraine Mean for Taiwan” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4524888 03/27/22: “Taiwan is clearly worthy of diplomatic recognition” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4487100 01/13/22: “Giving Thanks for the Past Year in Taiwan and Best Wishes for the New Year” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4408467 11/18/21 “The Biden-Xi Summit: There is Really No Point Talking to the PRC” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4348857 10/22/21 "US needs to take more concrete steps to defend Taiwan" https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4321091 09/06/21 "The fall of Kabul is not the main event; the PRC threat is" https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4281700 07/26/21 “My reflections on visiting San Francisco: Former AIT director” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4258457 05/25/21 “In a time of danger, US should help its family and friends first,” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4209788 04/10/21 “US leaders have often best served China's interests,” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4172775 04/09/21 “Agents of influence acting on behalf of China,” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4170721 02/19/21 “Personal Reflections on the Secretary of State I Admire Most” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4130925 01/27/21 “Initial Biden steps give Taiwan reason for optimism” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4113028 12/29/20 “A New Year’s Taiwan wish list for President Biden” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4089278 11/28/2020 “How to stop China winning without war,” A review of Political Warfare: Strategies for Combating China’s Plan to ‘Win Without Fighting” by Kerry K. Kershaneck https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4063024 07/07/2020 1. “The Trump conundrum — A Taiwan-centric perspective” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3961812 07/08/2020 2. “Trump and Biden's mixed records on China and Taiwan" https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3961798 05/05/2020. “Wuhan virus finally alters global perceptions of the PRC” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3928245 04/01/2020 “US relations with PRC and Taiwan in a time of 'plague'” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3908597 2/24/20 “Continuing PRC Efforts to Intimidate Taiwan and Its Friends,” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3880658 01/11/20: “The 2020 Taiwan Presidential Elections: A Laowai’s Perspective” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3855260 12/31/19: “’Island Nation’: Then and Now: Reflections on the Story of Taiwan’s Success” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3847967 10/13/19 “Arrival of Flagship in Taiwan Significant for US-Taiwan Relations” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3794865 9/10/2019: “Why China’s Wealthy Elite are Losing Faith In their Country’s Future” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3773424 7/27/2019: “Only China Can Untie Its Own Knot in US Relations” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3752724 06/28/19: The Time Is Ripe for a U.S-Taiwan Free Trade Agreement” (Original Title: “The U.S. Needs a Free Trade Agreement with Taiwan”) https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3734133 05/28/19: “Time to Bury AIT Washington” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3712467 04/29/19: “Time for Washington to Change How It Talks about Taiwan https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3690579 02/19/19 “Learning to Appreciate a Modern Miracle” https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3640792