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This is a new course designed to study Asia from a different perspective. Typically, scholars look at the internal and external dynamics of Asian politics, economy and security from land, with the state as the center of inquiry. This course, developed with the advice and assistance of RADM (Ret.) Michael McDevitt, Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analysis, examines Asia from the vantage point of the surrounding seas. The role of the state is important, but maritime geography is the center of inquiry in this course. The rapid growth of seaborne international trade, discovery of undersea mineral resources and increasing value of depleted fish stocks, and emergence of territorial disputes involving maritime spaces has raised the strategic importance of the world’s oceans and seas. More than half the world’s maritime area is located in Asia. The course will: • Provide an introduction to “maritime geography”; • Describe and compare the political, economic and security interests of the stakeholders in the major maritime areas of Asia: Sea of Japan, East China and Yellow Seas, South China Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea; • Appraise the policies of each stakeholder, including the U.S., in protecting and enhancing interests in Asia maritime areas; and • Examine the key issues involved with each of the five potential Asia maritime flashpoints that could lead to armed conflict. • Conclude with an in-class exercise and discussion of the Trump administration’s prospective plans and policy in Maritime Asia. <a href="http://bit.ly/1bebp5s" target="_blank">Click here to see evaluations, syllabi, and faculty bios</a>