New Rising World Powers - Graduate

This is a whole-year graduate module that seeks to analyse the reasons for the recent rise of 6 large states in the world, as well as the impact of that rise upon the system of global governance and on theories of development. The 6 states are BRICSAM: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and Mexico. The first three seminars introduce concepts and approaches that are relevant to the analysis of the exp0erience of the individual states. The next 6 seminars focus in turn on the political system of each state through the prism of the distinction between liberal and illiberal democracy. The following 6 seminars deal with the political economy of each in turn, using the alternative concepts of developmental state and coordinated market economy. The final pair of seminars consider the diplomatic efforts of these states as a group and individually to establish more prominent roles for themselves in world affairs, as well as the possible evolution of such roles.

 East Asian Development Models - Graduate  

This is a whole-year graduate module that surveys the strategies for political and economic development of most states in East and Southeast Asia since the end of WWII. It contains a mix of thematic and country-specific seminars. The core theme is the relevance of the concepts of the ‘developmental state’ and the ‘competition state’ to the experience of the region: how far has the state ‘led’ development in individual countries and how? Other thematic seminars deal with issues such as welfare, gender, class and democratisation. The individual states covered include Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Vietnam. The final seminar looks at the changed strategies for development since the Asian Financial Crisis and the prospects for the future. Are ‘globalised’ political economies in prospect? Does that mean ‘Americanised’?