Presentation

Tucked in the "corner of Asia", between powerful neighbors such as China and India, South-East Asia is a unique region characterized by strong territorial, economic and political disparities, combined with an old and original regionalization process. This class aims first of all to explore the geographical and historical determinants that have shaped South-East Asia, from the pre-colonial period to the construction of nation-states following the Second World War. We will then focus on the process of regional construction implemented through ASEAN by examining the specificities of the relationships between the member states as well as the political and economic dynamics at work in this sub-region. Finally, in the last part of the class, we will conduct an analysis of the sub-regional development processes, which we will approach firstly from the perspective of the risks associated with global changes, and secondly from the perspective of their national and sub-regional geopolitical consequences.

Recommended Prerequisite(s)

Some knowledge about the processes of colonization, decolonization, cold war, regionalization.

Bibliography

• Brunet R. (dir.), Asie du Sud-Est Océanie. Géographie Universelle, Paris, Belin-Reclus, 1995.
• Foucher M. (dir.), Asies nouvelles, Paris, Belin, 2002.
• De Koninck R.,  L ’Asie du Sud-Est, Paris, Armand Colin, coll U, 2009.
• Rapport annuel mondial sur le système économique et les stratégies (Ramses), I.F.R.I. (Institut français des Relations internationales), Dunod.

Educational formula

Students will be required to apply the geographical, historical, and geopolitical knowledge acquired by preparing an analysis and presentation of a topic, which will then be discussed in class.