Faculty Profile
Neil Diamant
Professor of Asian Law and Society; Walter E. Beach '56 Chair in Political Science (2002)
Contact Information
Stern Center for Global Educ Room 005
717-245-1540
Bio
Professor Diamant's research focuses on law and society in Asia (with particular reference to China, Japan, and India), civil-military relations in China, patriotism in comparative perspective, and Chinese constitutionalism. He also teaches courses on Israeli politics and Zionism. Publications: Professor Diamant is the author or co-author of four books: Useful Bullshit: Constitutions in Chinese Politics and Society (Cornell University Press, 2021); (with Martin Crotty and Mark Edele) The Politics of Veteran Benefits in the Twentieth Century: A Comparative History (Cornell University Press, 2020); Embattled Glory: Veterans, Military Families and the Politics of Patriotism in China, 1949-2007 (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009), and Revolutionizing the Family: Politics, Love, and Divorce in Urban and Rural China, 1949-1968 (University of California Press, 2000). He also co-edited Engaging the Law in China: State, Society and Possibilities for Justice (Stanford University Press, 2005). Recent articles include "Conspicuous Silence: Veterans and the Depoliticization of War Memory in China" (Modern Asian Studies, 2011), "Veterans, Organization, and the Politics of Martial Citizenship in China" (Journal of East Asian Studies, 2007), and, with Kevin J. O’Brien, "Veterans' Political Activism in China" (Modern China, 2014) and "Contentious Veterans: China's Ex-Officers Speak Out" (Armed Forces and Society, 2014). His articles on China's 1954 Constitution were published in The China Journal (2015) and Cold War Studies (2018). He has also contributed chapters to a number of edited volumes, including "The Limitations of Martial Citizenship in the People's Republic of China," in Peled, Lewin-Epstein, Mundlak and Cohen's Democratic Citizenship and War (2010); "Why Archives?" in Carlson, Gallagher, Lieberthal, and Manion's Chinese Politics: New Sources, Methods, and Field Strategies (2010); and "Legal Syncretism and Family Change in Urban and Rural China" in Galvan and Sil's, Reconfiguring Institutions across Time and Space: Syncretic Responses to Challenges of Political and Economic Transformation (2007).
Education
- B.A., Hebrew University of Jerusalem 1988
- M.A., University of Washington, 1991
- Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley, 1996
2023-2024 Academic Year
Fall 2023
POSC 290 Authoritarianism
At the end of the Cold War in 1991, it was not uncommon to hear, in one version or another, that liberal democracy and free market capitalism not only emerged victorious in the realm of competing political ideas, but also that the political world in the near and distant future would be full of states adopting these ideas. At that time, countries such as China, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, North Korea were considered outliers, that, like dinosaurs, would soon go extinct. Much has changed since then. Around the world democracy is in decline, while authoritarianism, in one form or another, is both resilient where it currently exists and on the rise in places such as Poland, Hungary, and the United States. More than this, authoritarian countries believe that their political model is superior in achieving goals the public considers important, such as economic growth and the provision of public order. This course offers students a comprehensive survey of authoritarianism as a political theory and practice, in comparative perspective. Looking at cases ranging from China, Taiwan, the USSR, Iran, Saudi Arabia to Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and the United States, we will examine the origins of authoritarian regimes, their fundamental features, how they maintain support, how they work in practice, and how they collapse, among other topics. Does authoritarianism work better? If so, under what circumstances, and why? Why are some authoritarian regimes so durable whereas others are unstable and weak? Why some collapse, and how do their legacies influence the kinds of political regimes that emerge in the aftermath?
EASN 306 Controversies US-China Relat
Cross-listed with POSC 390-01. This seminar takes a close look at some of the most contentious political, legal, and ethical issues in Sino-American relations in the post-Mao period (1978-), ranging from human rights, Tibet, Taiwan, the South China Sea, technology, environmental protection, religious freedom, trade, and intellectual property rights. Drawing on translated primary and secondary sources, the course focuses on the historical, political, and cultural forces that have often driven a wedge between the United States and China, but which also provide opportunity for cooperation.
POSC 390 Controversies US-China Relat
Cross-listed with EASN 306-02.This seminar takes a close look at some of the most contentious political, legal, and ethical issues in Sino-American relations in the post-Mao period (1978-), ranging from human rights, Tibet, Taiwan, the South China Sea, technology, environmental protection, religious freedom, trade, and intellectual property rights. Drawing on translated primary and secondary sources, the course focuses on the historical, political, and cultural forces that have often driven a wedge between the United States and China, but which also provide opportunity for cooperation.
EASN 480 Critical Dialogues E Asian St
To help prepare students for completing their senior research project, this course introduces current dialogues and research strategies in East Asian Studies. Students will study influential scholarly texts on and from the region and apply insights gleaned from them toward analysis of primary source data. Students will also learn to better identify and evaluate competing views presented by secondary sources. By the end of the course, students will have chosen a research topic, identified suitable sources, and developed a proposal for their senior project. The content and direction of the course will reflect the research interests of students and the instructor.Prerequisite: EASN, CHIN or JPNS major and 200-level EASN course.
Spring 2024
EASN 259 Law, Pol, & Society in Asia
Cross-listed with LAWP 259-01 and POSC 259-01.
LAWP 259 Law, Pol, & Society in Asia
Cross-listed with EASN 259-01 and POSC 259-01.
POSC 259 Law, Pol, & Society in Asia
Cross-listed with EASN 259-01 and LAWP 259-01.
JDST 262 Zionism
Cross-listed with MEST 262-01 and POSC 290-03.
MEST 262 Zionism
Cross-listed with JDST 252-01 and POSC 290-03.
POSC 290 Zionism
Cross-listed with JDST 262-01 and MEST 262-01. This course aims to provide students with a multi-dimensional understanding of Zionism as a political ideology that found its expression in the creation of a state, the establishment of a particular set of economic and cultural institutions as well as in the creation of new conceptions of land, space, and group interaction. At once a future-oriented revolutionary ideology and revivalist movement based on the idea of returning to an ancient homeland, the significance of Zionism in 20th and 21st centuries cannot be understated. Zionism (or rather, Zionists), produced a state Israel whose foundation has roiled politics in the Middle East until today. This course will look at the particular historical circumstances that gave rise to Zionism in the late 19th century, Zionist institutions, political culture and dominant historical narratives. The course will conclude with a detailed examination of more contemporary critics of Zionism both from within Israel and outside of it.