International Studies

This is an independent research course with research arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific research topics vary each term and are described on a special project form for each student. A substantial paper is required. The number of units varies with the student’s project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student’s special study project form.

This seminar is an introduction to the world's geopolitical reorganization around the Sino-American strategic competition and the resulting repositioning of the other actors, all falling within the constrained context of climate transition. What does this reorganization mean in a world of interdependence like ours? It puts an end to the so-called period of “happy globalization” (1990-2020). Facing a rising level of risks, States are reintegrating the economy and trade into national security to reduce vulnerabilities. This seminar is focused on strategic issues, linking geopolitics, economy, and technology to bring a horizontal perspective to what are the core challenges of the 21st century. Methodology learning is an important part of this seminar, putting emphasis on the studying of the rivalry taking place while developing writing and presentation skills.

This course examines the international and national platforms and contexts of South Korea’s cultural diplomacy as well as some of the unique characteristics of South Korea’s heritage industry. The course covers theories and cases of cooperation between countries through culture and connects various genres of Korea's traditional and modern culture with diplomatic activities at the bilateral and multilateral levels.  

Topics include the formation of the United Nations, the formation of UNESCO, the British Museum and museums around the world, South Korea’s world heritage, South Korea in relation to media and politics, global promotion of Hangul, and Korean studies abroad.  

*This course has been offered as an optional summer intensive course at Hitotsubashi, meaning that the course meets for only one week after the UCEAP program end dates. 

This course is designed to provide students with a fundamental understanding of international political theories while engaging them in practical analysis of political scenarios using data science methodologies. While no prior knowledge of data science is required, a certain level of information literacy is expected to assimilate and interpret data-driven insights effectively.

The course examines the inter-relationships between the development of the international economy and the growth of national economies until the late 19th century. The course introduces students not only to a wide variety of topics and issues, but also to the wide variety of approaches used by historians. The course includes analyses of the original leading nation, Britain, and its replacement, the United States, as well as the catch-up of areas such as continental Europe, and the failure to catch-up of earlier well-placed areas such as Latin America. 

This course explores the key problems that the oceans are contemporarily facing and how global governors, law enforcement agencies, and other actors intend to address them. The course is organized in three blocks. In the first part, it revisits the contemporary foundations of ocean governance, including international organizations and the law of the sea. It then revisits the key contemporary ocean discourses. In part two, the course investigates major issues on the ocean agenda, such as shipping, fishing, piracy, smuggling, or deep seabed mining and how international actors address them. Following an independent writing period, the course concludes with a workshop where case studies are presented. The course is assessed on the basis of participation and the independent project.

This course explores the factors that have triggered the evolution of environmental law and governance beyond state (since the development of the UN Sustainable Development Goals), and how the theoretical approaches of environmental studies developed in that context. Additionally, it reflects on how and to what extent environmental law and governance can be resilient and adaptive in facing global challenges.

This course provides students with credit for professional and academic experience through internships with local organizations. While working at the internship site, students gain new abilities and skills and develop self-confidence from pursuing challenging goals. The academic component helps students navigate the challenges that they are likely to face while interning and afford them a greater understanding of their strengths and limitations related to their work experience and to Morocco. Students thereby get the opportunity to explore or affirm possible career aspirations. The Internship course provides students with a significant on-site work experience, both in terms of time spent and the tasks completed under the guidance of their mentors. The seminar develops their personal, interpersonal, and intercultural competences in order to maximize the gains from their internship placements. Furthermore, it broadens students’ perspectives of their international professional experience through a series of guided discussions, a professional journal, a final project, and presentations. The seminar helps students to evaluate and enhance their development in the workplace during their on-site work experience. Students explore and understand major professionally-related topics and develop their intercultural skills through interactive workshops and reflection of their work experience in the host culture.

This course focuses on the key issues in contemporary international relations., with the goal of learning the concepts and theories of IR useful to making sense of contemporary debates and developments in international politics. Focus is on the study of current events and the recent history that has shaped the international system, with specific attention devoted to foreign policy stances of big powers (the United States, China, and Russia), and to two topical international actors (the European Union and the United Nations). The second part of the course studies big trends and on-going international crises, including the rise of the Global South, the Ukraine War, and the Israel-Hamas conflict. This is followed by exploration of the four "Global challenges": energy security and climate change; migration; Africa's development; and digitalization and cybersecurity.