Political Science

This course provides students with an opportunity to learn how to systematically compare public policies. It pays attention to the reasons behind the similarities and differences in public policies in different countries. The course consists of three parts. The first part of the course introduces and discusses concepts, theories, and methods in comparative public policy. The second part covers real-case comparisons for problem-solving. Key public policy issues are examined in comparative perspectives. Finally, while examining cross-national policy learning and policy transfers, the course discusses the importance of comparative public policy in policy-making and formulation. The key purpose of the course is to strengthen students' capacity to compare public policies, devise policy alternatives, and enhance their ability to make good public policies. In this course, we will specifically focus on the Triple Transition—digital, climate, and demographic—and discuss how to design relevant and impactful policies during this era of great transformation through comparative analysis.

The course provides a study of the contemporary Chinese political system. Topics include the people's congress system, electoral system, state administrative system, civil service system, national regional autonomy system, system of special administrative region, communist party's leadership system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation system. It analyzes the systems’ origins, composition, operation, and development.

This advanced course examines the political economy of East Asia. It treats East Asia as a political-economic space beyond the boundaries of individual countries, and pays equal attention to the past and the present. The course covers a wide range of topics, including the silk road, the tributary system, the circulation of money, the political economy of colonialism, migration and diaspora, the adoption of modern state system, the developmental state, regional production networks, East Asian regionalism, and the rise of China.

This course examines a number of areas in Singapore's domestic politics. Topics include key determinants of Singapore's politics, key structural-functional aspects of Singapore's domestic politics, the extent to which nation building has taken place in Singapore, and the key challenges facing Singapore and its future domestic politics. The course also studies issues related to nation building, state-society relations, and the likely nature of future developments and challenges.