This course will bolster students’ understanding of politics and political change in Asia, with particular attention given to the Northeast and Southeast Asian regions. Key themes include the development and decay of political systems, modes of political transition, the dynamics of institutional design and operation, and the interdependence of politics with policy outcomes and social forces. Material is ordered in a thematic way, with lectures first introducing a key concept in theoretical terms, and then exploring it across a number of illustrative country cases. Through simulation exercises that encourage self-directed learning and discovery, students will learn how to participate directly in political transitions that have either democratic or authoritarian outcomes. They will learn also how to design resilient institutions and encode them in proto-consitutional documents, whether democratic or authoritarian in their character.