Security system in the Asia-Pacific Region 2104-ERASMUS-SSIA

1. Introduction and history of regional systems in Asia
Regions as geographic and social constructs; Hettne's qualities of regionness; concepts of Asia (Asia-Pacific, ASEAN+5, Indo-Pacific); IR theories of regional systems; regional security complex theory (Buzan & Waever); Mandala and Tianxia; colonialism, Cold War hub-and-spokes, post-Cold War institutions

2. Hierarchy and stability in the region
Kang's hierarchical model; heterarchy; direct and soft balancing, hedging, bandwagoning, institutional balancing; hybrid US-China-institutional order

3. Competing world views of the regional system in East Asia
Kang (hierarchy), Acharya (multiplex, plural orders), Ikenberry (liberal international order under strain)

4. Economic interdependence and trade
Complex interdependence (Keohane & Nye); institutional balancing (Kai He); Factory Asia and intra-Asian trade; FDI; regional trade agreements, AFTA, RCEP, CPTPP; development gaps, supply-chain risk, decoupling

5. Multilateral institutions in the region
Institutional explosion after 1990; spaghetti bowl effect; ASEAN, ARF, EAS, APT, SCO, SAARC; norm localisation and diffusion; omni-enmeshment; talk-shop critique

6. US system of alliances and its impact
From hub-and-spoke to spiderweb; Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Taiwan; Quad, AUKUS, trilaterals; alliances and US-China competition

7. Role of China in the regional system
Tributary system and Tianxia; zhoubian diplomacy; tributary logic today; BRI as economic statecraft; responses from Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Mongolia; South and East China Seas

8. ASEAN and the ASEAN-based system
Origins (1967), expansion to ASEAN-10, ASEAN Way, Charter and Community; ASEAN-led forums; broker and buffer role; limits and Indo-Pacific pressures

9. Rivalries in the region
Typologies of rivalry; web of rivalries; US-China, China-India, China-Japan, Korean Peninsula, India-Pakistan, China-Taiwan, South China Sea claimants; Russia's role

10. Strategic alliances and alignments
Alliance vs. alignment (Walt, Wilkins); alliance security dilemma (Snyder); strategic partnerships (Thayer); Quad; minilateral and trilateral alignments

11. Conflicts and security issues as destabilizing factors in the regional system
Boundary disputes (Fravel); great power competition; regime instability (Myanmar, Central Asia); non-traditional threats; economic fragmentation; disinformation; nuclear proliferation

W cyklu 2025Z:

1. Introduction. Concept of Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific.
2-3. The Asia-Pacific region – a description. The borders and territory of the Asia-Pacific region. The economic and cultural diversity of the Asia-Pacific region. The role of cultural and civilizational factors in the Asia-Pacific region. Democratization and human rights in Asia.
4. The security sub-system in South Asia. Main security threats in the South Asia region. The policy of India in the region after 1989. The Indian-Pakistani conflict. The nuclear threat. The role of the US in the South Asia region. Maritime conflicts in East and South-East Asia.
5. Economic models of development in Asia-Pacific. Economic cooperation in Asia-Pacific, role of regional powers. Ecological challenges in Asia-Pacific (pollution, climate change). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – role of China, India.
6. The Division of China (problem of Taiwan). Taiwan and China – the historical dimension. The status of Taiwan in international law. Trade relations between China and Taiwan. China’s policy towards Taiwan at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The importance of internal factors in Taiwan for China-Taiwan relations. The Division of Korea. Origins of the division. Internal and external factors after the end of the Cold War regarding Korea. Dilemmas of national security of North and South Korea. Foreign powers and the Korean issue. The Korean problem – assessment and prospects for the future.
7. The role of India in the Asia-Pacific region. India in the South Asia and South-East Asia regions - towards partnership. The policy of Russia, Japan and India in the Asia-Pacific region during the Cold War. International and internal factors following the Cold War in the policy of India, Japan and Russia in the region. The Regional Strategy of China. Internal, regional and international factors in the foreign and security policy of China in the Asia-Pacific region after 1989. Determinants of China’s major-power status. The role and position of China in the Asia-Pacific region.
8. US Regional Strategy. The activity of the US in the Asia-Pacific region – circumstances and factors. The new US approach to the region since 1989. US reaction to conflicts in Asia. The strategy of engagement. Economic activity of US. The role of the US in the region – an assessment.
9. Classification and systematization of security threats in the region. Security factors in the Asia-Pacific region. The modernization of military forces in the region. The Arms Race in the region. International arms control regimes in the region. Territorial disputes. Divisions of states. The economic dimension of security. Terrorism and security in the region. Economic Security in the region. Sea Lines of communications and energy security.
10. The Importance of the Asia-Pacific Region in International Relations at the Turn of the 21st Century. International relations in the region – assessment and prospects for the future. Rivalry between powers in the region. Asia and globalization. The identity of Asian powers.

Koordynatorzy przedmiotu

Tomasz Łukaszuk

Rodzaj przedmiotu

nieobowiązkowe

Tryb prowadzenia

w sali

Założenia (opisowo)

Asia and the Pacific Region became the center of world politics in the 21st century with the biggest number of emerging superpowers like China and India, and the fastest political and economic regional fora and organisations - ASEAN Community, SCO, RCEP. At the same time security systemin the region is extremely fragmented and the rivalry between regional and extra-regional powers is growing. The longest wars in Afghanistan, Korean Peninsula or between Russia and Japan have not ended yet. The conflict in the South China Sea has the biggest number of actors, involving the USA and the EU. The main aim of the course would be to explain the roots of existing situation and its key determinants.

Efekty uczenia się

By the end of the course, students will be able to:
1. Define regions and regional systems and compare competing concepts of Asia (Asia-Pacific, East Asia, Indo-Pacific).
2. Apply realist, liberal, constructivist, non-Western and RSCT approaches to Asian regional order.
3. Explain how historical orders (Mandala, Tianxia, the tributary system) shape contemporary behaviour.
4. Distinguish balancing, hedging and bandwagoning, and identify them in state practice.
5. Evaluate the role of economic interdependence, trade agreements and multilateral institutions in regional stability.
6. Analyse the US alliance system, China's regional strategy and ASEAN centrality as competing organising principles.
7. Assess major rivalries and destabilising factors, and formulate policy positions in simulated negotiations.

Kryteria oceniania

- final exam - open ended questions based on readings and lectures - 60points
- active class participation - 40 points (attendance only counts for 1 point per class)
Grades:

100-90 - 5
89-80 - 4+
79-70 - 4
69-60 - 3+
59-51 - 3

Literatura

1. Introduction and history of regional systems
◦ Katzenstein, P. (2005). A World of Regions: Asia and Europe in the American Imperium.
◦ Acharya, A. “International Relations Theory and the Rise of Asia”, in Oxford Handbook of International Relations in Asia.
◦ Buzan, B. & Wæver, O. (2003). Regions and Powers, ch. 5–6.
2. Hierarchy and stability
◦ Kang, D. “Hierarchy and Stability in Asian International Relations”, in International Relations Theory and the Asia-Pacific.
◦ Ikenberry, G. J. (2004). American hegemony and East Asian order. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 58(3), 353–367.
◦ Liu, F. & Liu, R. (2019). China, the United States, and order transition in East Asia: An economy-security nexus approach. The Pacific Review, 32(6).
3. Competing visions of order
◦ Kang, D. (2003). Getting Asia Wrong: The Need for New Analytical Frameworks. International Security, 27(4), 57–85.
◦ Acharya, A. (2003/04). Will Asia’s Past Be Its Future? International Security, 28(3), 149–164.
◦ Ikenberry, G. J. (2018). The end of liberal international order? International Affairs, 94(1).
4. Economic interdependence and trade
◦ He, K. (2008). Institutional Balancing and International Relations Theory. European Journal of International Relations, 14(3), 489–518.
◦ Wróbel, A. “Trade Liberalization in the Indo-Pacific”, in Handbook of Indo-Pacific Studies.
◦ Yoshimatsu, H. “Economic-Security Linkages in Asia”, in Oxford Handbook of International Relations in Asia.
5. Multilateral institutions
◦ Ba, A. D. “Asia’s Regional Security Institutions”, in Oxford Handbook of International Relations in Asia.
◦ Stubbs, R. & Mustapha, J. “Ideas and Institutionalization in Asia”, in Oxford Handbook of International Relations in Asia.
◦ He, K. (2019). Constructing dynamic security governance: institutional peace through multilateralism in the Asia Pacific. Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies, 8(2).
6. The US alliance system
◦ Hemmings, J. (2019). The Evolution of the U.S. Alliance System in the Indo-Pacific Since the Cold War’s End. APCSS.
◦ Cha, V. D. (2016). US-Led Alliances and the Contemporary International Security Disorder. Korean Journal of Defense Analysis.
◦ Cha, V. D. “American Alliances and Asia’s Regional Architecture”, in Oxford Handbook of International Relations in Asia.
7. China in the regional system
◦ Shambaugh, D. (2013). China Goes Global: The Partial Power.
◦ Jones, C. & Ogden, C. “Chinese Conceptions of the Indo-Pacific”, in Handbook of Indo-Pacific Studies.
8. ASEAN and ASEAN centrality
◦ Acharya, A. (1997). Ideas, identity, and institution-building: From the ‘ASEAN way’ to the ‘Asia-Pacific way’? The Pacific Review, 10(3).
◦ Acharya, A. (2017). The Myth of ASEAN Centrality? Contemporary Southeast Asia, 39(2), 273–279.
◦ Hoang Thi Ha (2024). Re-ordering the World: China’s Global South Focus versus the Ally-Centric Approach of the US. ISEAS Perspective 2024/90.
9. Rivalries in Asia
◦ Chadha, A. “Strategic Rivalries in the Indo-Pacific”, in Handbook of Indo-Pacific Studies.
◦ Camroux, D. & Gippner, O. (2023). Great Power Rivalry and Southeast Asian Agency. The Pacific Review.
10. Strategic alliances and alignments
◦ Kratiuk, B. “Strategic Alliances and Alignments in the Indo-Pacific”, in Handbook of Indo-Pacific Studies.
◦ Green, M. J. “Strategic Asian Triangles”, in Oxford Handbook of International Relations in Asia.
11. Current issues: destabilising factors
◦ Goh, E. “Southeast Asia’s Evolving Security Relations and Strategies”, in Oxford Handbook of International Relations in Asia.
◦ Fravel, M. T. “Territorial and Maritime Boundary Disputes in Asia”, in Oxford Handbook of International Relations in Asia.

W cyklu 2025Z:

1. H.E.S. Nesadura (ed), Globalisation and Economic Security in East Asia: Governance and Institutions, London and New York 2006
2. M. Alagappa (ed), Asian Security Practise, Stanford 1998
3. G.J. Ikenberry, M. Mastanduno (eds), International Relations Theory and the Asia-Pacific, New York 2003
4. Jakub Zajączkowski, India’s Position in International Relations at the Turn of the Century, „Acta Asiatica Varsoviensia”, Warszawa 2005, PAN, p. 105-122
5. S.S. Tan, A. Acharya (eds.), Asia-Pacific Security Cooperation: National Interests and Regional Order, New York 2004
6. D.W. Lovell, Asia-Pacific Security: Policy Challenges, 2003
7. Baldev Raj Nayar, T.V. Paul, India in the World Order. Searching for Major-Power Status, Cambridge 2003
8. M. Beeson (ed), Bush and Asia: America’s Evolving Relations with East Asia, London and New York 2006
9. O. Russel, China’s Security Interests in the 21st Century, London and New York 2007
10. B. Williams, A. Newman (eds.), Japan, Australia and Asia-Pacific Security, London and New York 2006
11. Amit Gupta, The U.S.–India Strategic Relationship: Strategic Partnership or Complementary Interests?, February 2005, URL – www.carlise.army.mil
12. Selected articles from: ‘Washington Quarterly’, ‘International Relations of Asia-Pacific’, ‘Foreign Affairs'
13. B. Kratiuk, J. Van den Bosch, A. Jaskólska, Y. Sato (red.) "Handbook of Indo-Pacific Studies", Routledge India, 2023 (free access in internet)