International Relations Of Northeast Asia

AY2025/2026 Semester 1

This course aims to unpack the complexity of Northeast Asia's international relations. This sub-region has two of the world's largest economies (China and Japan), the largest US military deployment in Asia (namely in Japan and South Korea), rising nationalism in China, Japan and South Korea, and a range of security challenges (China's strategic rise, unpredictability of North Korea and several territorial disputes) - all critical factors that could determine the peace and stability of East Asia or the Indo-Pacific region. The course covers the importance of Northeast Asia from the historical and theoretical perspectives, and introduces seven key issues that are crucial to the understanding of Northeast Asian international relations - (1) history/memory; (2) multilateralism and regionalism; (3) American (declining?) leadership; (4) China's strategic rise; (5) Japan's normalization/remilitarization; (6) nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; and (7) Russia's resurgence. The course is for anyone who is interested in expanding or deepening their understanding the most dynamic part of East Asia. The theoretical and empirical knowledge gained from this course would be valuable for anyone keen on pursuing a career in research, government and the private focusing on the geopolitics and geostrategy of the East Asia/Northeast Asia/the Indo-Pacific affairs.