Pristupačnost
Short description of the Autumn School
During the academic year 2025/2026, winter semester, Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb will organize the Autumn School on Political, Economic and Security Aspects of East Asia. The aim of this Autumn School is to provide students a broad knowledge base concerning political, economic, and security issues in various East Asian countries, namely China, Japan, South and North Korea, and Taiwan. The School will enhance the information and knowledge about political history of East Asia, its political and economic development, and regional security challenges among the students of political science and journalism. It is the first interdisciplinary school dedicated to the issues of politics, history, economy, international relations, diplomacy, and security of East Asia in Croatia.
The School shall include three modules of 20 teaching hours, each covering political history, political economy and politics, security and diplomacy of the East Asia region. Each module shall be taught within the frame of one week (Monday to Friday: 17:00 to 20:00) and shall be divided in 10 hours of lecture and 10 hours of discussion. First module starts on 27 October 2025.
The School is offered to undergraduate and graduate students but also to exchange students studying at the Faculty of Political Science, as well as to students attending the University of Zagreb. Students who successfully complete the School and fulfill all requirements (class attendance, assigned literature reading, and submitting short essays or delivering oral presentations) shall be nominated for 5 ECTS points. The Course Convenors will provide literature for the students.
Teaching modules
The first module (October 2025) will cover the topics of politics and economy of East Asia. The course convenor of this module is Dr. Chung-li Wu, Distinguished Research Fellow and Director, Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan).
Topics covered by this module are:
1. The Third-Wave Democracy: Political Development in Taiwan
2. Party Politics
3. Electoral System and Voting Behavior
4. Judicial Politics
5. US-Taiwan-China Relations
The second module (November 2025) will cover the topics of political history of East Asia. The course convenor of this module is Dr. Dario Kuntić, Defence Counsellor, Permanent Representation of Croatia to the EU, Brussels, Belgium.
Topics covered by this module are:
1. The age of Western imperialism in East Asia
2. The fall of Qing Empire, founding of the Republic of China, and the Chinese Civil War
3. The rise and fall of Imperial Japan
4. East Asia in the Cold War
5. Changing Asian International Order in the post-Cold War Era
The third module (December 2025) will address the issue of politics and political systems of Taiwan and North Korea. The course convenor of this module is Dr. Davor Boban, Full Professor, Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Topical issues covered by this module are:
1. Taiwanese political system under KMT’s autocracy
2. Democratization of Taiwan and the new political system
3. Cross-strait relations: China and Taiwan
4. Political system and history of North Korea
5. North Korean nuclear program and relations with the great powers
Applications are open until 23 October 2025! Please send your letter of motivation to Dr. Dario Kuntić at: dkuntic@yahoo.com.
