DPI-454 Sprig 2017
DPI 454: The Asia-Pacific in Transition
(DRAFT, Subject to Change)
Spring 2017
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10:15-11:30am (Littauer 332)
Instructor: Jeeyang Rhee Baum
Littauer Rm. 203
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: To be announced on Canvas
Faculty Assistant: Kathleen Schnaidt
Littauer Rm. 207
[email protected]
Course Description:
This course provides a comparative analysis of the politics, political economy, and policy
challenges of East Asia. While the focus is on the dynamics of democracy and the policy
challenges associated with democratic transition in South Korea and Taiwan, we will also
consider the corresponding transitions in Thailand and the Philippines. Additional
sessions will focus on North Korea, as well as the role of the state in economic
development and stability and the political and policy vulnerabilities of a dominant party
state. The course is divided into three parts. Part I examines the political-economic
miracles in East Asia and the democratization processes in these rapid-growth regions.
Part II focuses on the institutions and groups that shape politics and policy-making in
these countries. We will analyze how mechanisms of delegation, representation, and
accountability operate in real-world policymaking, and the authorities and constraints
facing decision makers. Part III looks at current key policy challenges and debates,
including economic reform, financial regionalism, welfare policy, environmental policy
and international security.
Course Requirements:
In addition to regular attendance and active classroom participations (10% of the final
grade), students will complete the following written and oral assignments:
1. A group exercise on a policy problem (40% of the final grade): We will form
small groups during the first week of class. Each group will present for 15-20
minutes and write a two-page memo. Details will be discussed in class. Due
during the week of March 9 or March 21.
2. A six-page policy memo (50% of the final grade) that addresses a specific
policy issue and makes recommendations to the relevant official. Additional
details will be discussed in class. Due on April 27.
The Kennedy School has established a recommended distribution for grading and this
DPI-454 Spring 2017
course will follow this decision. The recommended range for A is 10-15%; A- 20-25%;
B+ 30-40%; B 20-25%; B- or lower 5-10%.
Academic Integrity:
You are expected to adhere to the University policies on academic honesty and integrity
as given in the Student handbook. Any violation of these policies will not be tolerated
and are subject to severe sanctions up to and including expulsion from the university.
Students are encouraged to work together but unless otherwise stated above, any work
handed in must be that of the individual student alone. Students must observe HKS rules
regarding the citation of sources. Any sentences or paragraphs taken verbatim from the
writing (or interviews with) any other person or persons, or from your own writing that
has been published elsewhere, must be placed in quotation marks and their source must
be clearly identified. Whenever you are drawing an important argument or insight from
someone else, even if you reword it into your own words, a reference to the source is
required.
Students who would like to request accommodations for a disability should get in touch
right away with the HKS Services contact: Melissa Wojciechowski.
Course Materials:
All required reading materials are online and available from the HKS Canvas site.
Course Schedule and Readings
Part I: Introduction, Economic Miracles and Democratization
Session 1 (January 24): Introduction: Transitions and Leadership Challenges
 Baum, Jeeyang Rhee. Responsive Democracy: Increasing State Accountability in
East Asia. Michigan University Press. 2011. Ch. 1.
Session 2 (January 26): The Asian Economic Miracle in Comparative Perspective



Stephan M. Haggard. “Business, Politics and Policy in East and Southeast Asia.”
In Behind East Asian Growth: The Political and Social Foundations of
Prosperity. Henry S. Rowen, ed. Routledge. 1998. Pp. 78-104.
Hall Hill, “Towards a Political Economy Explanation of Rapid Growth in
ASEAN: A Survey and Analysis,” ASEAN Economic Bulletin 14, no. 2
(November 1997): 131-149.
Paul Krugman, “The Myth of Asia’s Miracle,” Foreign Affairs. 73(6) 1994: 6278.
Questions to consider:
1. Is there a link between political authoritarianism and rapid economic
growth?
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DPI-454 Spring 2017
2. What were the political and economic causes of the Asian economic
miracle?
3. Why was government intervention in Korea effective unlike in many Latin
American countries?
Session 3 (January 31): Where Does Democracy Come From?


Yun Fan, “Taiwan: No Civil Society, No Democracy,” in Muthiah Alagappa,
ed., Civil Society and Political Change in Asia (Stanford, 2004), pp. 164190.
Hahm Chaibong. 2008. “South Korea’s Miraculous Democracy.” Journal of
Democracy 19(3): 128-142.
Questions to consider:
1. What factors account for the political transition to democratic rule, when
other efforts had failed?
2. What role did the U.S. play in Korea and Taiwan’s democratic transition?
Session 4 (February 2): Democratic Consolidation and Social Change



Kim, Sunhyuk. 2012. “Contentious Democracy in South Korea: An Active Civil
Society and Ineffectual Political Parties.” Taiwan Journal of Democracy, 8(2):
51-61.
Chu, Yun-han and Hyung Baeg Im. 2013. “The Two Turnovers in South Korea
and Taiwan.” In Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner, and Yun-han Chu eds.,
Democracy in East Asia: A New Century. Pp. 105-129.
Haggard, Stephan and Jong-sung You. 2014. “Freedom of Expression in South
Korea.” Journal of Contemporary Asia.
Questions to consider:
1. Has Korea’s democracy been fully (or sufficiently) consolidated?
2. What are the main political cleavages in Korea and Taiwan? How have they
evolved over time?
3. Why has freedom of expression declined in South Korea?
Part II. Political Institutions and Policymaking
For a detailed analysis of each country’s constitutional structures, see Hicken, Allen and
Yuko Kasuya. 2003. “A Guide to the Constitutional Structures and Electoral Systems of
East, South and Southeast Asia.” Electoral Studies 22:121-151.
Session 5 (February 7): Presidential-Legislative Relations

Asaba, Yuki. 2013. “Presidentialism in Korea: A Strong President and a Weak
Government, “ in Presidents, Assemblies and Policy-making in Asia, pp. 40-58.
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DPI-454 Spring 2017


Matsumoto, Mitsutoyo. 2013. “Presidential Strength and Party Leadership in
Taiwan,” in Presidents, Assemblies and Policy-making in Asia, pp. 107-133.
Kawanaka, Takeshi. 2013. “Trading Compromises: Interaction of Powers in the
Philippine Presidential System,” in Presidents, Assemblies and Policy-making in
Asia, pp. 89-106.
Questions to consider:
1. What are the sources and limitations of presidential power in Korea, Taiwan and
the Philippines?
2. What are the greatest challenges with regard to governability in Korea, Taiwan,
and the Philippines?
Session 6 (February 9): Legislatures and Policymaking


Simon Hix and Hae-Won Jun. 2009. “Party Behaviour in the Parliamentary
Arena: The Case of the Korean National Assembly.” Party Politics. 15(6): 667694.
Park, Chan Wook. 2000. “Legislative-Executive Relations and Legislative
Reform.” In Diamond and Shin eds., Institutional Reform and Democratic
Consolidation in Korea, Ch. 3.
Questions to consider:
1. How well has Korea’s legislature been functioning in recent years? Why?
2. Has Korea’s legislature increased its legislative power? If so, why?
3. Will floor violence in Korea disappear?
Session 7 (February 14): Political Parties and Elections


Donald K. Emmerson. “Minding the Gap Between Democracy and Governance.”
Journal of Democracy 23:2 2012, pp. 62-93.
Byung-Kook Kim. 2000. “Party Politics in South Korea’s Democracy: The Crisis
of Success.” In Larry Diamond and Byung-Kook Kim eds., Consolidating
Democracy in South Korea, pp. 53-85.
Questions to consider:
1. What explains party system stability? Is party stability good, bad, or ambiguous
for democratic representation?
Session 8 (February 16): State Capacity and Administrative Reform

Richard Doner, Bryan Ritchie, and Dan Slater, “Systemic Vulnerability and the
Origins of Developmental States: Northeast and Southeast Asia in Comparative
Perspective,” International Organization 59 (Spring 2005): 327-361.
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DPI-454 Spring 2017

Baum, Jeeyang Rhee. 2007. “Presidents Have Problems Too: The Logic of Intrabranch Delegation in East Asian Democracies” British Journal of Political
Science.
Questions to consider:
1. In what ways have the ‘developmental states’ of Asia been vulnerable to economic
changes in the global environment?
2. Under what conditions have governments adopted administrative procedural
reforms?
3. What, if any, implications do these reforms have for democratic responsiveness?
Session 9 (February 21): Judicial Politics: The Case of South Korea


Hahm, Chaihark and Sung Ho Kim. 2005. “Constitutionalism on Trial in South
Korea.” Journal of Democracy 16(2): 28-42.
Ginsburg, Tom. 2014. “Constitutional Courts in Asia,” Comparative
Constitutional Law in Asia. Pp. 47-79.
Questions to consider:
1. How has Korea’s Constitutional Court been able to maintain a high level of
compliance as well as popular support?
2. Has judicial review contributed to consolidating democracy in Korea?
3. Has judicial review affected public service provision in Asia? If so, how?
Session 10 (February 23): Designing Democracy: The Case of Thailand


Hicken, Allen. “Party Fabrication: Constitutional Reform and the Rise of Thai
Rak Thai”. Journal of East Asian Studies. 6(3) (2006): 381-408.
Ginsburg, Tom.“Constitutional Afterlife: The Continuing Impact of
Thailand’s Post-Political Constitution,” 7(1) International Journal Of
Constitutional Law 83-105 (2009)
Questions to consider:
1. What were the main obstacles to constitutional reform in Thailand?
2. What does the Thai case tell us about the challenges of constitutional reform?
Sessions 11 and 12 (February 28 and March 2): The Asian Economic Crisis and
Recovery
For those unfamiliar with the basics of exchange rates, a simple review can be found at
http://www.ny.frb.org/education/fxforeign.html#fxrates.
 MacIntyre, Andrew. “Institutions and Investors: The Politics of the Asian
Economic Crisis”, International Organization, 55(1) (2000): 81-122.
 Wade, Robert. 2000. “Wheels within Wheels: Rethinking the Asian Crisis and the
Asian Model.” Annual Review of Political Science 3.
 Lim, Linda. “Whose ‘Model’ Failed?” Implications of the Asian Economic Crisis,”
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DPI-454 Spring 2017
The Washington Quarterly 21, no. 3 (1998): 25-36.
 Dick K. Nanto. February 6, 1998. “The 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis.”
Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. http://www.fas.org/man/crs/crsasia2.html
 K.S. Jomo. After the Storm: Crisis Recovery and Sustaining Development in Four
Asian Economies. Singapore University Press. 2004. Ch. 1.
Questions to consider:
1. Were the underlying causes of the Asian economic crisis political or economic in
nature?
2. How can we explain the variation in individual country responses to the crisis?
3. What were the key policy responses undertaken by governments? Which were most
and least effective? Why?
Session 13 (March 7): Chaebol Reform: Case Study
 Lee, S.J. 2008. “The Politics of Chaebol Reform in Korea: Social Cleavage and
New Financial Rules.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 38(3): 439-452.
 Ha, Yong-Chool and Wang Hwi lee. 2007. “The Politics of Economic Reform in
South Korea: Crony Capitalism after Ten Years.” Asian Survey 47(6): 894-914.
Questions to consider:
1. What are the problems with chaebol?
2. What reforms took place? Why?
3. What further reforms are being debated?
4. Are the chaebol good, bad, or inconsequential for economic growth, democratic
representation, and public service provision?
Sessions 14 and 15 (March 9 and March 21): Group Presentations
**Spring Break: March 11-19
Part III. Policy Challenges and Debates
Session 16 (March 23): Developmentalism under Pressure
 Joseph Wong, “The Adaptive Developmental State in East Asia,” Journal of East
Asian Studies 4 (2004): 345-62.
 Yu-Shan Wu, “Taiwan's Developmental State: After the Economic and Political
Turmoil,” Asian Survey 47(6) (November/December 2007): 977–1001.
Questions to consider:
 How have patterns of political inclusion or exclusion affected the types of
economic policies and outcomes actually observed?
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Session 17 (March 28): Corruption and Public Trust


You, Jong-sung. 2015. Democracy, Inequality and Corruption: Korea, Taiwan
and the Philippines Compared. Ch. 5.
Baum, Jeeyang. 2009. “The Impact of Bureaucratic Openness on Public Trust in
South Korea.” Democratization 16(5):969-997.
Questions to consider:
1. What role does corruption play in policymaking and implementation in developing
democracies?
2. Are there any benefits to citizens from corruption among policymakers and
administrators?
Session 18 (March 30): Democratization and Welfare Policy

Joseph Wong, Healthy Democracies: Welfare Politics in Taiwan and South Korea
(Cornell, 2004). Chs. 1 and 6:
https://storage.googleapis.com/tzncneswlyafpl.appspot.com/Healthy-DemocraciesWelfare-Politics-Taiwan-PDF-281b235a0.pdf

Yang, Jae-jin. 2013. “Politics of Small Welfare State in South Korea.” Comparative
Politics.
Questions to consider:
1. What effects did democratization and the economic crisis have on social policy?
With what consequences for citizens?
2. How has the politics of social policy changed over time in Korea?
Session 19 (April 4): The Political Economy of North Korea


Haggard, Stephan, Marcus Noland and Erik Weeks. May 2008. North Korea on the
Precipice of Famine (Washington, DC: Peterson Institute For International
Economics). https://piie.com/publications/policy-briefs/north-korea-precipicefamine
Haggard, Stephan and Marcus Noland. 2011. Witness to Transformation: Refugee
Insights into North Korea (Washington, DC: Peterson Institute For International
Economics), Chs. 1, 2 and 6. http://bookstore.piie.com/book-store/4389.html
Questions to consider:
1. What, if anything, can foreign governments and NGOs do about famine in
North Korea?
2. What are the bases of the military-first politics and nuclear armament?
3. What, if any, are the prospects for reform in North Korea?
Session 20 (April 6): Politics of North Korea Policy: Reunification
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 Heo, Uk and Terence Roehrig. 2014, South Korea’s Rise: Economic Development,
Power and Foreign Relations. Ch. 6 (pp. 141-156)
 Park, Geun-hye. 2011. “A New Kind of Korea: Building Trust between Seoul and
Pyongyang.” Foreign Affairs. 90(5)
Questions to consider:
1. How have South Korea and North Korea’s unification policies changed over time?
Why?
2. Did the “Sunshine policy” help North Korea to reform?
3. Was Lee Myung-bak’s hard-line policy effective? If so, in what way(s)?
4. What are the prospects of Park Keun-hye’s North Korea policy?
5. Is peaceful reunification of the peninsula possible? Is it likely?
Session 21 (April 11): Environmental Policy



Christopher, Dent. 2014. Chs. 2-3. Renewable Energy in East Asia: Toward a
New Developmentalism.
Sunhyuk Kim. 2000. “Democratization and Environmentalism: South Korea and
Taiwan in Comparative Perspective.” Journal of Asian and African Studies. 35(3):
pp. 287-302.
Joon Hyoung Lim and Shui-Yan Tang. “Democratization and Environmental
Policy-Making in Korea.” October 2002. Governance. 15(4): pp. 561-582.
Questions to consider:
1. Do environmental problems pose significant risks to democratization and/or
democratic consolidation? If so, how?
2. How feasible are reforms in the energy sector across the countries under study?
Sessions 22 and 23 (April 13 and April 18): Financial Regionalism
(Guest Speaker on April 13: Professor William Grimes, Boston University)

William W. Grimes. 2015. “East Asian Financial Regionalism: Why Economic
Enhancements Undermine Political Sustainability,” Contemporary Politics, 21(2),
April, 145-160.
 William W. Grimes. 2014. “The Rise of Financial Cooperation Since the Asian
Financial Crisis,” for Saadia Pekkanen, John Ravenhill, and Rosemary Foot,
Oxford Handbook of the International Relations of Asia.
 Rodolfo Severino, 2011. “Politics of Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Economic Cooperation,” Asian Economic Policy Review, (6)1.
Questions to consider:
1. How have economic crises affected the demands for political change?
2. What has been the impact of financial regional cooperation and the creation of
organizations to address economic crises been on individual countries involved?
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Session 24 (April 23): International Cooperation and Security
 Donald Emmerson, 2008. “ASEAN’s ‘Black Swans,’” Journal of Democracy, 19(3),
July, 70-84.
 Robert Kaplan, 2011. “The South China Sea is the Future of Conflict,” Foreign
Policy, September/October.
 Wei, C.X. George. 2012. China-Taiwan Relations in a Global Context: Taiwan’s
Foreign Policy and Relations. New York: Routledge. Introduction and Ch. 12.
 Council on Foreign Relations, China-Taiwan Relations
(http://www.cfr.org/china/china-taiwan-relations/p9223#p1)
Questions to consider:
1.
How have cross-strait relations affected domestic party politics, especially
during elections? What are the policy implications?
Sessions 25 (April 25): Political Culture
 Jang Jip, Choi. 2009. “The Fragility of Liberalism and its Political Consequences in
Democratized Korea.” Asia Studies 52(3): 252-284.
 Kim Dae Jung. 1994. “Is Culture Destiny? The Myth of Asia’s Anti-Democratic
Values.” Foreign Affairs 73 (Nov/Dec): 189-194.
 Mark R. Thompson. 2004. “Pacific Asia After ‘Asian Values’: Authoritarianism,
Democracy, and ‘Good Governance.” Third World Quarterly 25(6): 1079-1095.
Questions to consider:
1. Are Asian values unfavorable for democracy?
2. What are the causes and consequences of fragility of liberalism in South Korea?
3. What is the future for democracy in the region?
Session 26 (April 27): Course Wrap-up
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