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Department of International Relations · ANU College of Asia and the Pacific
The East Asian region is commonly conceived of as driven by power politics and constituted of strong states with weak societies. The political volatility that characterizes the region is accordingly often conceptualised along state-centric lines. This course challenges these conventional understandings by examining a range of diplomatic issues and processes in which non-state actors, broadly defined, have exerted decisive influence and at times, been the source of inter-state friction. Through surveying a variety of non-state actors across a range of diplomatic arenas, the course illuminates the conditions under which such actors emerge, the means by which they derive resources and influence, and the extent of their leverage over diplomatic interactions in East Asia.
Policy Brief
Learning outcomes 1, 2
Op-Ed (response to a state-centric Commentary Piece)
Learning outcomes 4, 5
Research Essay
Learning outcomes 3, 5, 6
This course comprises some 130 hours of activity over 12 weeks, both interactive/seminar based and independent research. The course comprises a maximum of 6k words of assessment or the equivalent.
None listed Preliminary Reading iona McConnell, Terri Moreau, Jason Dittmer, “Mimicking State Diplomacy: the Legitimizing Strategies of Unofficial Diplomacies,” Geoforum, Vol. 43, No. 4, 2012, pp. 804-814. Teresa La Porte, “The Impact of ‘Intermestic’ Non-State Actors on the Conceptual Framework of Public Diplomacy,” The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 441-458. Andrew Yeo, “Not in Anyone’s Backyard: The Emergence and Identity of a Transnational Anti-Base Network,” International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 53, No. 3, 2009, pp. 571-594. Richard Samuels, “Kidnapping Politics in East Asia” Journal of East Asian Studies, Vol. 10, No. 3, 2010, pp. 363-395. Hazel Smith, “‘Opening Up’ by Default: North Korea, the humanitarian community and the crisis,” The Pacific Review, Vol. 12, No. 3, 1999, pp. 453- 478. Chien-Peng Chung & Jeongwon Bourdais Park, “Sub- and Trans-national Actors in South Korea’s Island Disputes: The Cases of Dokdo and Iodo,” Asian Affairs: An American Review, Vol. 44, No. 1, 2017, pp. 9-29.