Course Description

Asia is by far the world’s most economically dynamic region, but its security outlook has attracted much debate. Realists offer a pessimistic outlook that post-Cold War Asia seems “ripe for rivalry”, with major conflict looming between China and the US and drawing in other regional powers and states. Other perspectives, especially from liberal and constructivist scholars, challenge this pessimism. Liberal perspectives point to the region’s growing market-driven economic interdependence and democratic transitions as key forces for stability and order. Constructivists identify shared norms and regional institutions as positive elements in the emerging regional order. The course, thus, aims to introduce students to alternative ways of looking at Asia’s emerging security order using different theories and perspectives on international relations and to ascertain the extent to which they contribute to order and disorder in this vital region of the world.To this end, the course focuses on the key drivers of Asian security (including the balance of power, economic interdependence, regional institutions, domestic politics,and national identity etc.) and uses these drivers to capture and analyze the main, if not all, issues and challenges in Asian security, such as those raised by the rise of China,the role of the United States and other major players, territorial disputes, arms race,digital transformation and the changing security architecture in Asia.

课程简介

亚洲是全球经济最具活力的地区，但其安全秩序的未来则存在诸多争论。现实主义者态度悲观，认为中美竞争已逐步浮现并波及到了其他亚洲国家。其他理论流派，特别是自由主义和建构主义，并不认同现实主义的悲观判断。自由主义学者指出市场驱动的经济相互依赖日益加深以及民主转型正成为塑造亚洲地区稳定的主要力量。建构主义学者则认为共享规范和地区制度/组织将成为塑造地区秩序的积极因素。因此，我们的课程力图通过不同的国际关系理论和视角向同学们介绍寻求秩序的不同路径以及相关因素如何塑造了亚洲地区的稳定或引发了地区动荡，期间重点关注塑造亚洲安全的关键因素（包括地区均势、经济相互依赖、地区制度/组织、国内政治、国家认同等）并将借助这些关键因素分析亚洲安全中的主要问题和挑战，如中国崛起、美国以及其他地区大国的作用、领土纠纷、军备竞赛、数字技术变迁以及地区安全框架转型等因素对地区安全的影响。