Introducing the FUS Faculty: Juliette Schwak

Associate Professor, International Relations and Political Science

Ph.D, City University of Hong Kong
MA and BA, Sciences Po Paris

Office: Kaletsch Campus, Office 3
Phone: +41 91 985 22 64
Email: jschwak@fus.edu

Juliette Schwak received her Ph.D. from City University of Hong Kong in 2017 and was an Assistant Professor of International Political Economy at Tokyo International University (2017-2019) before joining Franklin University Switzerland in 2019. A French citizen, she has lived and worked for several years in South Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Japan.

She specializes in political economy, but she conducts interdisciplinary research bringing together political economy and sociology. She is an East Asian specialist with specific expertise in the economy and society of the Republic of Korea, where she has conducted extensive field research. Her areas of research include everyday political economy, development, labour, and promotional politics and nation branding.

Overall, her research critically explores the development of East Asian capitalism, and its lessons for emerging economies. On a more theoretical level, she is interested in the strategic and cultural dynamics that turn highly disputable political economic projects into common sense global policy objectives and practices.

Juliette Schwak has been invited to give guest talks in various institutions across Asia and Europe. Her work has been published in prominent peer-reviewed journals such as Asian Studies Review, Journal of Contemporary Asia, Review of International Political Economy, Global Society and Third World Quarterly.

She is currently completing a book project that analyses the political economic roots of South Korea’s hypercompetitive society.

Her next research project will explore the political economic dimensions of nostalgia in contemporary East Asian societies.

Professional Experience:

Assistant Professor of International Political Economy, Tokyo International University, 2017-2019

Visiting Fellow, Asian Development Institute, Seoul National University, 2016

Visiting researcher, Jesse M. Robredo Institute of Governance De la Salle University, Manila, 2015

2024-2025 Courses

POL 300	Comparative Politics	FALL 2024
The development of the modern nation-state is analyzed from a variety of theoretical viewpoints. The approach and methods of major social theorists are examined in detail. Formerly POL 400. Students who have previously earned credit for POL 400 cannot earn credit for POL 300.
POL 303	Key Concepts in Political Economy	FALL 2024
Political entities have always sought ways to organize economic activity, including the production and distribution of goods and services. This course introduces students to the key ideas and theories that have shaped debates on the political and social implications of economic policies. Students learn about different understandings of prosperity, welfare and development, which are connected to political questions of freedom, equality, authority and power. The course also explores different methodological standpoints; from rational choice to institutionalism, postmodernism and historical materialism. It places particular emphasis on the role of governments and political interests in shaping conflictual processes of collective decision-making. Finally, this course also looks at key political actors (states, organized labor, capital) and their interactions, thereby highlighting how strategic factors influence social, political and economic choices. (Recommended prerequisite: POL 101)
SOC 100T	Introduction to Sociology (Northern Italy)	FALL 2024
What is "society"? What does its structure look like and how does it work? How does it change? Why does it change? How do are individuals and society intertwined? This course provides students with the tools to answer these questions. Modern societies have experienced dramatic social changes with the emergence of individualism, new class structures, the development of urban life or changing relationships between individuals and their natural environments. Sociology provides an understanding of these changes by studying human interactions and forms of social organization. In this course, students will be introduced to major sociological thinkers, concepts and approaches. This Academic Travel course will take students to Northern Italy, and Venice more specifically. This will allow students to apply their knowledge of sociology in one’s of world’s most visited cities, and to address very urgent sociological questions related to overtourism and social change in age of global mobility.
POL 317W	East Asian Politics and Society	SPRING 2025
East Asia is the region of the world that has experienced the most rapid and dramatic industrialization and modernization in the second half of the 20th century. This has turned East Asia today into a global powerhouse, but it has also deeply transformed East Asian societies and their political organization. What is East Asia? Is it a united region, built upon a shared history and culture, or is it a disparate assemblage of very diverse societies and political systems? What are the foundations of the region’s dramatic economic development and staggering transformations over the second half of the 20th century? What are the challenges that the region currently faces? This course will provide students with comparative tools to answer these questions. Students will learn about the political evolution of the region, contrast different types of states and regimes currently in place, discuss different theories behind East Asia’s development, address social changes related to globalization in East Asian contexts, and engage with debates on East Asia’s political culture(s). Additional topics will include the global success and contents of East Asian pop culture products, and the emergence of nostalgia in contemporary East Asian societies. Film will be used as a medium of instruction that students will analyze with the help of the instructor. This is a writing course, and a significant component of the total grade will depend on a variety of writing assignments that students will work on throughout the semester. (This writing-intensive course counts towards the Academic Writing requirements.)
POL 377	International Political Economy	SPRING 2025
The interplay between political and economic issues has become central to the study of international relations in the modern world. This course will examine the traditional theoretical foundations of International Political Economy (the views of the liberals, the Marxists, the nationalists, etc.) and their applicability to today's world. Using an inter-disciplinary approach, the course will look at both historical background and present-day issues and conditions. The problems of development and North-South relations and the question of sustainability will be examined. International trade issues, such as the relations between trade globalization and environmental and human rights concerns and the role of institutions such as, the WTO, the IMF and G8 meetings will be studied. Finally the course will also consider new problem areas such as the internet and its control and e-commerce and the emerging role of non-governmental organizations.(Formerly POL 277. Students cannot earn credit for both POL 277 and POL 377.)
SOC 100	Introduction to Sociology	SPRING 2025
What is "society"? What does its structure look like and how does it work? How does it change? Why does it change? How do are individuals and society intertwined? This course provides students with the tools to answer these questions. Modern societies have experienced dramatic social changes with the emergence of individualism, new class structures, the development of urban life or changing relationships between individuals and their natural environments. Sociology provides an understanding of these changes by studying human interactions and forms of social organization. In this course, students will be introduced to major sociological thinkers, concepts and approaches.

Publications:

Peer-reviewed articles:

2023, ‘Exporting the will to compete in Korea’s global Saemaul Undong’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 53(1), 146-164.

2022, co-authored with Sarah A. Son, ‘K-drama narrates the national: inter-Korean identities in Crash Landing on You’, Asian Perspective, 46 (3), 501-521.

2021, ‘Korea’s Exemplary Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Successes and Challenges’, PRISM, the Journal of Complex Operations, 9 (4), 200-212.

2021, ‘Foreign aid and discourses of National Social Responsibility: Evidence from South Korea’, Journal of Global Ethics, 17 (3), 302-322.

2021, ‘Domesticating competitive common sense: nation branding discourses, policy-makers and promotional consultants in Korea’, Global Society, 35 (2), 247-268.

2020, co-authored with Iain Watson, ‘Materiality, Territory and Sovereignty: Responding to Contradictory Water Security Issues in the Mekong Region’, Asian International Studies Review, 21 (1), 25-45.

2020, ‘Film in an International Political Economy classroom: for a critical pedagogy of the everyday’, Review of International Political Economy, 27 (6), 1330-1353.

2020, ‘Nothing under the sun: Korea’s developmental promises and neoliberal illusions’, Third World Quarterly, 41 (2), 302-320.

2019, co-authored with Iain Watson: ‘Water Security, Riparian Identity and Korean Nation Branding in the Mekong Sub-Region’, Pacific Focus, 34 (2), 153-182.

2019 ‘Dangerous Liaisons? State-Chaebol Cooperation and the Global Privatization of Development’, Journal of Contemporary Asia, 49(1), 104-126.

2018 ‘All the World’s a Stage: Promotional Politics and Branded Identities in Asia’, Asian Studies Review, 42(4), 648-661.

2016 ‘Branding South Korea in a Competitive World Order: Discourses and Dispositives in Neoliberal Governmentality’, Asian Studies Review, 40 (3), 426-443.

Other publications:

2023, co-authored with Sarah A. Son, ‘Screening the Inter-Korean conflict: the politics of Crash Landing on You’, in South Korean Popular Culture in the Global Context Beyond the Fandom, edited by Sojin Lim, Routledge (forthcoming).

2022, ‘Exporting K-Quarantine: Korea’s Promotion of Its COVID Management Strategy,’ in Security, Development and Sustainability in Asia, Volume III, Environment, Sustainability and Human Security, edited by Zhiqun Zhu, Singapore: World Scientific Publishing.

2022, ‘Park Geun-hye’s Impeachment: Theorising a Political Economic Revolt’, in South Korea after the 2017 Impeachment: Implications for Politics, Society, and Democracy, edited by Julia Dumin, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 97-123.

2021 ‘Unlocking Start-Ups: South Korea’s Efforts to Curb the Dominance of Chaebol’, Commentary with Francesca Frassineti, Istituto Per Gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI), 19 April.

2021, ‘K-Quarantine: exporting South Korea’s COVID-19 management strategy’, East Asia Forum, 11 March 2021.

2020 ‘Chaebol reform still an uphill battle after Lee Kun-hee’, East Asia Forum, 4 December.

2020 ‘A Democratic tour de force: How the Korean State Successfully Limited the Spread of COVID-19’, Policy Paper Asie.Visions, n°117, November 2020, French Institute of International Relations.

2020. ‘Review of Juanita Elias (2020) Gender Politics and the Pursuit of Competitiveness in Malaysia. Women on Board. London: Routledge.’ Journal of Contemporary Asia, Online First.

2020. ‘La fin du libre-échange?’ [The end of free trade?], Esprit, September.

2020, ‘Winning the image war: Korea and Japan’s COVID-19 management strategies’, with Sarah A. Son, East Asia Forum, 4 June.

2020. ‘Coronavirus en Corée du Sud : quand la population fait confiance à l'État.’ Asialyst, May 2020.

2019. ‘Nation branding en Corée du Sud : ruptures et continuités d’une stratégie promotionnelle’ [Nation branding in South Korea : shifts and continuities in Korea’s promotional strategy], Asia Trends 5.

2018 ‘When Public and Private Merge: South Korea and the Chaebol’, AsiaGlobal Online. November 22.

2018 ‘Review of Michael J. Green (2017) By More Than Providence. Grand Strategy and American Power in the Asia Pacific Since 1783. New York: Columbia University Press’. Inter-disciplinary Political Studies, 4(1), 239-242.

2018 ‘Place Branding’, pedagogical piece for the I-PEEL project (International Political Economy of Everyday Life), funded and managed by the University of Warwick (UK).

2017 ‘Review of Gladys Pak Lei Chong (2017) Chinese subjectivities and the Beijing Olympics, London: Rowman and Littlefield’. New Books Asia.

2016 ‘La société coréenne confrontée à l’Islam [Korean society and the challenge of Islam]’, Korea Analysis, 11, 21-25.

2016 ‘L’inquiétant taux de suicide des personnes âgées en Corée du Sud [The worrying suicide rate of the elderly in South Korea]’, Korea Analysis, 9, 24-28.

2015 ‘La multiplication des violences appelle à une réforme en profondeur de l’armée [The multiplication of violence urges for a deep reform of the army]’, Korea Analysis, 6, 23-28.

2014 ‘Privatisation des entreprises publiques: le cas de Korea Development Bank [Privatization of public companies: the case of Korea Development Bank]’, Korea Analysis, 3, 14-19.

Awards and Honors:

2021 Professional service award, Franklin University Switzerland Award recognizing faculty’s research performance

2018-2019 POSCO TJ Park Foundation Research Grant Joint researcher (PI: Iain Watson, Ajou University, Republic of Korea) ‘Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Southeast Asia: Evaluating New Opportunities for Asian ODA Cooperation in Water Security’.

2016 Visiting Fellowship awarded by the Asian Development Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 500US$.

2016 Research Tuition Scholarship. Waiving tuition for academic year 2016-2017.

2016 Supplementary Fund for Research Degree Studies, Department of Asian and International Studies, City University of Hong Kong.

2014 - 17 Hong Kong Ph.D. Fellowship Awarded by Hong Kong Research Grants Council.

2014 Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies Entrance Scholarship, awarded by the Chow Yei Ching School of Graduate Studies, City University of Hong Kong.

Other:

Current projects:

Everyday political economy of competitiveness in South Korea

South Korea’s ODA and Saemaul Undong development programs in Southeast Asia

The politics of benchmarking in Europe

Various:

Juliette Schwak is regularly interviewed in various programs of the French national radio France Culture:

Corée du Sud: le pouvoir des dynasties industrielles : épisode • 4/4 du podcast La force du Made in Asia (radiofrance.fr)

La République Samsung: épisode • 3/3 du podcast Corée du Sud, une économie à la conquête du monde (radiofrance.fr)

De Tel Aviv à Séoul, les pionniers du numérique sous pression: épisode • 2/4 du podcast Techno-puissances : innover pour exister (radiofrance.fr)

Grève générale en Corée du Sud: le modèle coréen contesté ? (radiofrance.fr)