Political Science

This course introduces students to the leading theories and frameworks in comparative politics, with a broad focus on political systems, institutions, and behaviors across different countries and regions. The course addresses critical questions, including why some countries are democracies while others are dictatorships; which factors contribute to the rise of populism, and how institutions shape political outcomes. 

This course introduces post-World War II Japanese history, with a focus on foreign policy and the domestic factors affecting it. The course examines Japan’s relations with Asia and the United States as well as issues such as the debate over the revision of Japan’s constitution; Japan’s security; the “history problem;” Japan’s official development assistance, and Japan’s “Soft Power” strategy. 

This course offers an introduction into the field of comparative politics with specific focus on the government and ideologies, social stratification, and institutions in the Middle East. It also includes a study of the problems of modernization and political development. It studies the similarities and differences between political systems by examining in-depth themes of analysis in order to provide certain patterns and dynamics to create a comparative framework tool in order to better understand the nature and dynamics of governance in the region. Themes include: Arab nationalism, democratization, personal rule, military involvement in politics, the politics of violence, and why civil war emerges. Specific country case studies are used as a basis to provide an in depth framework of understanding and analyzing the Middle East. The course creates an overall framework for students to navigate understanding of the region and develop a better understanding not only of individual political systems, but also an overall knowledge within that realm.

Transnational corporations and local businesses face significant challenges arising from geopolitical tensions. This course introduces the intricate relationship between geopolitics and business operations at both the international and local levels.

This course discusses the functioning of both the EU and the UN as normative power intergovernmental organizations. Do they really deserve to be labelled as such? And if so, what extent have they been successful as keepers of international peace? The EU’s Commission and Council and the UN’s Security Council, General Assembly and Human Rights at the hand of both historical and actual cases are assessed. Do not expect a clear “yes” or “no”,  but come to learn what the limits and opportunities of the EU and the UN as prominent IGO’s in the field of international politics are and even more important: come to learn how to start your own research on both normative powers by using both secondary and primary sources, including the necessary theoretical toolkit on how to interpret them. 

Chinese political economy covers both major theoretical and practical perspectives of exploring Chinese political economy. This course will focus on the political and economic reforms in China since the beginning of the reform and opening-up. It will utilize theoretical perspectives from political science, economics and sociology to systematically analyze the key theoretical and practical issues of China's reform. These issues include the party-state relationship, state capacity, cadre selection and promotion, fiscal and taxation reforms, central-local relations, digital political economy, and government responsiveness. The course aims to clarify the core logic and operational mechanisms of China's reform，and clarify the key advantages of Chinese political economy institutions. The design, content and format of this course are aimed optimally to benefit students in both knowledge accumulation and practical orientation.

This course provides students with an understanding of the most important challenges that war poses for international order. It draws on ideas from international relations, sociology, political geography, and anthropology to equip students with conceptual and analytical insights to understand the relations between international order and war. Are wars an unavoidable threat to international order? Or are they necessary at times to preserve international order? What have the Cold War, the "war on terror," and the war on poverty in common? How can we understand the relations between war and revolution, war and security, war and human rights, war and risk? What alternatives to war are possible today? How have wars and conflicts been transformed by changes in the international order?

This course examines the politics of Southeast Asia. Topics covered include: colonialism, nationalism, democracy, authoritarianism, war, economic development, social development, overseas Chinese, ethnicity, religion, populism, and international relations, as they apply to Southeast Asian politics.

This course explores why and when Russian policymakers consider military interventions necessary; how they are presented as legitimate and justifiable. It investigates the widespread beliefs and ideas among the Russian political elite associated with intervention, state sovereignty, and the role of the West.

This course examines how international factors influence the economic policies of developing countries. Students evaluate different theoretical debates, with an emphasis on how cross-border flows – such as goods, capital, production, people, and pollution – influence economic policymaking in developing regions. They address several themes that are central to understanding the politics of economic policymaking in emerging economies, including, the legacies of colonialism, trade protectionism and liberalization, globalization and the race to the bottom, the role of the state in development, and the influence of international organizations on developing countries.