Political Science

The Japanese post-war political system is somewhat unique and difficult to explain. Between 1955 and 2009, one political party was in power (with only one brief interruption). On the other hand, Japan was the first working democracy in East Asia and a model for many countries in the region. Japan established a democratic system but also developed into the second-largest economy in the world, the largest donor country; and a country with a quasi-European welfare system, a low unemployment rate, and a low crime rate. In the late 1980s, the journalist Karel van Wolferen wondered how this could happen in a country where no one seems to be in charge, the least the prime minister. Others have questioned whether Japan is indeed a democracy or a whether it is a free market economy. This course examines these puzzles; the successes and failures of postwar Japan; why it took such a long time until the first real change of government in 2009; why it failed after only 3 years in power, and what the recent developments mean for Japan. Finally, the course assesses where Japan stands in 2023 and where it might go from here.

This course focuses on the topic of negotiations and conflict resolution in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict from 1977 through the present. It is divided into three parts. First, the course examines the general theoretical framework for explaining and understanding negotiations in international relations. In addition, students study the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the main issues and patterns of negotiations. Second, the course addresses several case-studies of successes and failures of negotiations between Israel and its several Arab neighbors including Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinians. In this context, the students understand the failure of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. Finally, in the last part of the course, students conduct a simulation and present their papers and research.

This course offers analysis and discussion of the actors, institutions, and selected policy areas of contemporary politics in the UK. Students are given an overview of features that are characteristic of British politics, perceived within a broader comparative perspective. Context is added through lectures devoted to three specific periods – those of ‘Thatcherism’ (1980s), New Labour (1997-2010), and Conservative hegemony in the era of Brexit (2010s). Particular attention is devoted to theories and concepts from political science, such as the Westminster model, the majoritarian electoral system, and the union state.

This course explores the relations between Latin America and Spain in the post-colonial period. It begins with the insurrection in the Indies (El Grito de Dolores) and the criollo war against Napoleonic Spain in 1810 and ends with the present-day migratory movement from Spain to Latin America due to the economic crisis. It critically examines the cultural practices, literary productions, political concerns and economic relations of the newly formed Spanish American nations and Spain from the beginning of the independence in order to provide an understanding of the historical relations between “de-colonized” Latin American nations and “non-imperial” Spain, as well as of contemporary political and cultural relations. The course discusses “the Black and White legends” of Imperial Spain and subsequent sessions focus on the post-colonial period. Drawing examples from a variety of political issues, economic relations, cultural practices and literary texts, it looks at the dynamics of these “Hispanic Transatlantic” relationships characterized by a continuous fluctuation of both a merger of and antagonism between the cultures of the modern Spanish American nations and that of Spain. Special attention is given to issues of cultural displacement as well as to the role of linguistic, religious, and cultural affinities that bring these nations together.