International Studies

This course provides conceptual frameworks that students may find useful in analyzing various types of peace initiatives including humanitarian assistance. Students examine a wide range of debates about peacebuilding and humanitarian intervention, and analyze a variety of intermediary efforts by the UN, NGOs and other relevant institutions. This course is offered in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Japan--a humanitarian organization working in conflict zones. Humanitarian experts from the MSF will share their practical and hands-on experience in the field of peacebuilding and humanitarian aid, while the professor will offer theoretical discussions relevant to the theme and lead group work and simulation exercises, which aim to facilitate students' understanding of the topics introduced by the MSF experts.

This course introduces students to key social, economic, and political current issues—such as climate change, economic liberalization, transnational migrations, terrorism, pandemics—and how different stakeholders—municipalities, nation-states, civil societies, as well as regional and international organizations—measure up to these issues and challenges. The course will also emphasize the connection and the articulation of these current affairs and public policies between the global and local levels. The course will thus make room for guest-speakers from local NGOs, news agencies or institutions to present their own take on global matters. While some of the topics addressed in this class have been covered at length by the literature, some will reflect immediate concerns as they arise from current affairs. 

This course introduces contemporary Sino-Japanese relations, enhancing one's understanding of the dynamics between the two countries over the decades. The course first presents the broad view of bilateral relations and its structure within the historical perspective, and then examines more thoroughly the key issues in China-Japan relations. The course wraps up with a view at China-Japan relations in the regional perspective. 

Classes are organized as interactive lectures. One or two sessions in the course are dedicated to a debate simulation on a territorial dispute between China and Japan.

This course provides the basis for understanding the current trends in international trade, including the growth of unilateralism and protectionist pressures and the crisis of the world trading system. 

Students explore cutting-edge research on climate politics and critically analyze various theoretical concepts and models, assess the advantages and drawbacks of different empirical approaches, and draw connections to core debates in international political economy and political science. Students gain familiarity with the frontier of climate politics scholarship, learn how to constructively critique academic work, and develop skills in designing and executing rigorous political economy research.

This course focuses on international refugee law and migration law, mainly in the realm of forced migration, as it is one of the pressing and large-scale challenges facing global society. The course introduces students to law, institutions, policies, practice, and contemporary debates concerning global refugee and migration governance. It adopts international law, international relations, and politics as general disciplinary frameworks.  

It is highly recommended (though not required) for students to have taken the courses on International Law I and II before registering for this course.   

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course provides knowledge of the multilateral trade system (the WTO system) and international investment law. The course teaches the ability to recognize the interests underlying those rules and legal instruments to enforce them, especially through the dynamics of argumentation emerging from international litigation. The course contains: an overview of the WTO system; the dispute settlement mechanism of the WTO; the most favored nation clause; the national treatment principle; GATT Article XX trade & non-trade values; the WTO TBT Agreement; the precautionary principle and the SPS Agreement; the New Government Procurement Agreement; the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs); China in the WTO; DSM the cases concerning natural resources; WTO and climate change; WTO and energy; the new generation of EU Free Trade agreements; principles of non discrimination and of fair and equitable treatment; direct and indirect expropriation; interpretation and application of investment treaties; investment dispute settlement mechanisms; transparency in investment arbitration proceedings; investment and sustainability issues; and protection of foreign investment, environmental, and human rights protection. For students who have not previously attended a course on International Law, it is advised to read Jan Klabbers, Cambridge University Press, 2020.

The course critically examines the construction of the 'development' concept, tracing its ties to capitalism and its roots in colonialism and mercantilism. It questions the outcomes, focusing on the reproduction of social inequalities and environmental consequences globally, nationally, and locally. Divided into parts, it covers critical development theories, explores development as a "globalization project," and reviews systematic alternatives and critiques of the sustainable project. Key concepts are illustrated through case studies and an Approach Based on Projects (ABP).

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course studies contemporary forms of terrorism, its definitions and origins, as well as its objectives, functions, and forms, with a particular focus on counterterrorism measures implemented both by individual states and the international community. It approaches classic and current scholarship on terrorism and counterterrorism and explores many of the research puzzles that remain unanswered. Underpinned by the existing debates among scholars of terrorism, ranging from mainstream to critical perspectives, the course examines the spectrum of terrorist motivations, strategies, and operations; the socio-political, economic, and other factors and causes that can create enabling environments for terrorist group activities; and finally, the means by which governments (especially liberal democratic states) react to contemporary forms of terrorist violence in different regions of the world. Classes are enriched by guest lectures who present case studies and focus on specific geopolitical spaces that are of critical relevance for current and future trends and scenarios on terrorism and counterterrorism. This comparative analysis develops a complex understanding of historical trends, meanings, contemporary dilemmas, and challenges related to this form of political violence.