PIER-CEAS Behind the Headlines Workshop for Educators – Power Transition and Belligerence: Where is North Korea Headed?

PIER-CEAS Behind the Headlines Workshop for Educators -- Power Transition and Belligerence: Where is North Korea Headed?

Seok-ju Cho - Assistant Professor of Political Science, Yale University

Friday, February 25, 2011 - 4:00pm to 5:30pm
Room 203, Henry R. Luce Hall See map
34 Hillhouse Avenue
New Haven, CT 6511

On November 23rd 2010, North Korea surprisingly attacked Yeonpyeong Island in South Korea, which caused a few casualties including two civilian deaths. Meanwhile, the authoritarian regime seeks to establish a smooth power succession from KIM Jong IL, the current dictator, to his youngest son KIM Jong Un, which, if successful, will amount to the third generational transfer of power in the KIM family. How is North Korea’s belligerent behavior to South Korea and the rest of the world, which is exemplified by the recent attack, related to its domestic politics? Will the Korean Peninsula remain peaceful or will it become a more dangerous place as the power transition in North Korea takes place? In this BEHIND THE HEADLINES Workshop, Professor Seok-ju CHO (Political Science, Yale University) will discuss how the prospect of peace-keeping on the Korean Peninsula, or more generally in East Asia, is related to the internal dynamics of North Korea, a nuclear-armed authoritarian regime. Participants will be provided with some readings in advance of the workshop and will also have the opportunity to consider teaching resources on Korea for use in the classroom. Seok-ju Cho is Assistant Professor in Political Science at Yale University. His areas of study include positive political theory, political economy, and comparative politics. His current research concerns legislative bargaining, electoral competition, party formation under alternative institutional arrangements, and politics in the Korean peninsula in the broader context of international relations. Professor Cho teaches a course at Yale on “Politics in South and North Korea.” The BEHIND THE HEADLINES Workshop Program is designed to provide educators with professional development opportunities on current international topics. Workshops run for two hours and utilize the talent and experience of invited speakers associated with Yale University (faculty, graduate students, World Fellows, Fox Fellows, Visiting Scholars and others). The objective of each workshop is to provide in depth information, diverse perspectives, and educational resources on topics that have both relevance for international relations and significance for understanding cultures, events, and histories of regions outside of the United States. Participants will have an opportunity to exchange ideas on how to integrate the content of the workshops into their teaching, network with other teachers and professionals, and receive CEUs.

Sponsored by the Council on East Asian Studies at Yale University, Programs in International Educational Resources at Yale University (PIER) with support from the United States Department of Education
Region: 
Korea