New Dynamics in East Asian Politics: Security, Political Economy, and Society

East Asia is changing and students need to grasp the new dynamics that shape politics and society across the region. This collection of essays by respected scholars examines the impact of development at the societal, national, and international levels on the conduct of politics in East Asia.   The chapters in this unique comparative tool are organized in sections around the themes of security and foreign policy, the new political economy, and changing societies, with each section featuring a mix of region-wide and country specific chapters. The book explains what are the new features and developments in East Asian politics today. It also examines how nations, more specifically China, Japan, both Koreas, and Taiwan are responding to challenges such as globalization, information technology, and the global recession as well as the impact of resulting domestic and foreign policies for the region and the world. Its comparative nature, broad coverage, and pedagogical apparatus will make this text a key resource to teach East Asian politics at the undergraduate level.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: East Asian Politics Today Zhiqun Zhu Part I. Security and Foreign Policy 1. China's Rise and East Asian Security Hochul Lee 2. The Changing US Role and the Shifting Regional Order in East Asia Il Hyun Cho 3. The Era of "Ibis Diplomacy" in Japan-China Relations? Mary M. McCarthy 4. Cross-Strait Relations Today: Challenges and Opportunities Chunjuan Nancy Wei 5. The Rise and Fall of Anti-Americanism in South Korea Heon Joo Jung Part II. The New Political Economy   6. Economic Globalization, Democracy, and Social Protection: Welfare Capitalism in East Asia Mason M.S. Kim 7. East Asia in the Digital Age: National Innovation Strategies of China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan Carin Holroyd and Ken Coates 8. Media and Environmental Politics in East Asia Mary Alice Haddad 9. Environmental Legislation in East Asia: Rationale and Significance Matthew A. Shapiro 10. East Asian Women and the Military: Victors and Victims Lana Obradovic Part III. Changing Societies 11. China's Rising Generation: College-Educated Youth in the Reform Era Teresa Wright 12. A "Natural" State? Nature and Nation in North Korea Carol Ann Medlicott 13. A Global "Chinawood"? China's Cultural Policy toward Global Hollywood in the New Century Wendy Su 14. Japan's Belated Policy Development toward a Gender-Equal Society Atsuko Sato 15. The Local People's Congress and Grassroots Democracy in China Diqing Lou

About the Author :
Zhiqun Zhu is John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Chair in East Asian Politics and Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Bucknell University, USA. He is the author of China's New Diplomacy: Rationale, Strategies and Significance (Ashgate, 2010); Understanding East Asia's Economic "Miracles" (Association for Asian Studies, 2009); US-China Relations in the 21st Century (Routledge, 2006); and The People's Republic of China Today: Internal and External Challenges (ed., World Scientific Publishing, 2010).   

Review :
"The East Asian states have gone through tremendous economic, political and social change since the end of WWII, and this edited volume provides a truly comparative view of these changes and their implications for security, political economy and society in the region.  This volume will be especially valuable to those interested in how the new political economy and security relationships in the region might influence regional political or social change, especially as seen in Mary Alice Haddad's chapter on media and environmental politics in East Asia." -Jessica C. Teets, Associate Editor, Journal of Chinese Political Science and Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Middlebury College, USA "Zhiqun Zhu has ably assembled precisely what the field needs: a current anthology of accessible yet scholarly pieces that focus on a wide variety of political, security, economic, and social aspects of East Asia.  In a field that is changing constantly, teaching resources in East Asian studies tend to become dated quickly.  New Dynamics in East Asian Politics: Security, Political Economy, and Society helps address that problem, providing current treatments of issues in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan." -- Steven F. Jackson, Professor of Political Science, Indian University of Pennsylvania, USA "This is an ambitious book to examine the important trends in security and foreign policy, political economy and social developments in East Asia. It adapts an inter-disciplinary approach and focuses on significant questions. The relatively young team of authors exploits the state-of-the-art methodologies and offers a multi-cultural perspective. While the volume attempts to appeal to both experts and university students, the general readership should find it interesting and stimulating. While the economic performance of East Asia attracts ample international media attention, its causes, implications and future challenges are not easily understood. Zhiqun Zhu's edited work succeeds in providing a foundation for a comprehensive grasp of the eminent issues." -- Joseph Cheng, Chair Professor of Political Science, Department of Public and Social Administration, City University of Hong Kong