FASS2300 Essay Questions and Information

1. Essay Questions. Choose one from the following.

1. There were both economic miracles and mixed successes (or even complete failures) in Asian

development story.

How significant was the role of a leader in changing a country’s future trajectory

against the given domestic and international circumstances? Compare and contrast the role of

political leadership and their government policies for economic development by selecting at least

one successful and one unsuccessful case. What would you have done differently if you were the

leader of the Asian country of your choice at that time? Why?

2. Could Asian countries (and Australia) keep their foreign policy sovereignty in the face of the rising

tension between the superpowers such as the United States and China (and to a lesser extent

Russia)? What would be your recommendations to policymakers in the ‘middle-power’ states such

as Australia to navigate the current global turbulence while keeping national sovereignty to protect

national interests?

3. This is an empirical essay. Pick one high-income economy, one middle-income or low-income

economy of your choice from Asia. Obtain time series data on key economic indicators including (but

not limited to) real GDP growth, consumption growth, investment growth, productivity growth, and

the level of openness (often measured as the sum of exports and imports over GDP), foreign direct

investment, inflation, and real exchange rates.

Plot the data in an appropriate manner so the figures

you created convey useful information for cross-country comparison. Provide your assessment on

whether and how the two economies of your choice can be made mutually better off from an

increased economic integration. For comparison, you can include any benchmarking example(s)

from other countries or continents such as Europe.

4. North Korea has active and increasingly sophisticated nuclear weapons and ballistic missile

programs, and is believed to possess chemical and biological weapons. In what sense

would this pose a serious threat to the global or regional security beyond South Korea? What

solution or strategies would you suggest towards resolving the North Korean nuclear issue? Appraise

Trump’s unorthodox approaches to direct dialogues with Kim Jong Un.

What are the pros and cons

of such approaches?

2. Basic Resources

Caveat: This is not intended to provide specific and direct references for your research essay.

Rather, I intend to give some background sources from which you may find references for your

chosen topic. You still need to find relevant references and sources by digging deeper and doing

your own research. You should be adept at finding the relevant references and data sources as

this is a valuable research skill.

You may be required to join (free of charge) to have access to the articles on these sites. Some

of

them might require you to log in via the University library site.

N.B.

All essays will be checked against plagiarism using an embedded AI software and also

peer reviewed.

General sources:

• East Asia Forum: The forum contains short opinion pieces on various

issues concerning Asia. https://www.eastasiaforum.org/.

• The Project Syndicate, an international media for commentary and analysis on a variety of

important

global topics, https://www.project-syndicate.org/.

• The Conversation, an academic forum offering informed commentary and debate on

some issues surrounding the world, https://theconversation.com/au.

• The Financial Times, one of the most authoritative newspapers,

https://www.ft.com/.

• The Economist, a leading global magazine for economists and policymakers,

https://www.economist.com/.

• The Peterson Institute for International Economics, https://www.piie.com/.

• Foreign Affairs, a magazine for in-depth analysis of U.S. foreign policy,

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/.

• International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences,

https://www.sciencedirect.com/referencework/9780080430768/international- encyclopedia-of-the- social-and-behavioral-sciences

For Obtaining Economic Data

The World Bank: https://data.worldbank.org/

The IMF’s International Financial Statistics: https://data.imf.org/?sk=4c514d48-b6ba-49ed-8ab9- 52b0c1a0179b

United Nations: https://data.un.org/

Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis Economic Database, FRED: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/

Asian Development Bank: https://www.adb.org/what-we-do/data/main

Think tanks and Research Institutes: for foreign policy issues

The following prominent think tanks contain many useful articles.

Council on Foreign Relations, https://www.cfr.org/

The Center for Strategic and International Studies,

https://www.csis.org/

Chatham House, UK, https://www.chathamhouse.org/

Nomura Institute, Japan, https://www.nri.com/en

Lowy Institute, Australia, https://www.lowyinstitute.org/

Australian Strategic Policy Institute, https://www.aspi.org.au/

Australian Institute of International Affairs, https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/

For a Review on Asia’s Development History:

• Studwell, Joe (2013), How Asia works: success and failure in the world’s most dynamic

region, London: Profile Books.

• Dwight H. Perkins (2013), “The Historical Foundations of East Asian Development” Chapter

1 in

East Asian Development, Harvard University Press,

https://sydney.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/61USYD_INST/2rsddf/cdi_jstor_books_j _ctt6wpppr_4

• Ijaz Nabi (2016), “Globalization: What the West can learn from Asia”, Brookings,

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2016/06/30/globalization-what- the-west-can-learn-from-asia/

• Alina Mungiu-Pippidi and Till Hartmann (2019), “Corruption and Development: A

Reappraisal”, Oxford Research Encyclopedia,

https://oxfordre.com/economics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190625979.001.0001/acrefo re-9780190625979-e-237

More information may follow and be provided on Ed.

3. Essay Marking Criteria

The following general criteria will be applied.

1. RELEVANCE: Did the essay address the questions well?

2. EVIDENCE OF RESEARCH: Is there strong evidence of research?

3. ARGUMENT:

a. Is the argument well backed by extensive research or evidence (data)?

b. Is the argument coherent and logical?

c. Does the argument show a critical thinking and analysis?

4. PRESENTABILITY:

a. Is the essay well written, i.e., easy to read, concise and flowing?

b. Is the essay well presented with proper citations and referencing in an

appropriate manner?

• Essay Marking Rubric is on Canvas under ‘Rubrics’ tab:

https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/59288/rubrics/78080

• Essay submission information is available below:

https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/59288/assignments/535144

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