IGESSIGESS (Institute for Global Economics and Social Sciences)

In our era of globalization, what happens on the other side of the world affects our lives. The COVID-19 outbreak in a Chinese city in 2019 evolved into a worldwide pandemic. Russia’s months-long war in Ukraine has accelerated a global energy and cost-of-living crisis and caused an economic slowdown in many countries. Understanding the problems that seem far away from home has become ever more important in this global era as we cannot afford to ignore them. But how can we interpret and tackle the key issues and challenges facing our world today? This introductory course in international politics and global affairs is designed to provide students with the analytical skills to explore and explain solutions to real-world issues.

The course consists of three segments. To start, we will look at the historical background of today’s international system, focusing on the evolution from the end of the bipolarity of the Cold War to the emerging global order increasingly led by rising powers. The second segment will cover the main concepts and major strands of theory in the discipline of international relations (IR). These conceptual tools help us analyze global problems and are necessary knowledge for students who wish to continue their studies of international politics after the conclusion of this course. In the final segment, we will investigate contemporary issues that are likely to affect our world for years to come.

Students of all disciplines who are interested in international relations are welcome to enroll. No prerequisites or previous knowledge of international relations is required, but it would be an advantage.

At the end of this course, students should be able to:
• Describe the historical development of the international system from the end of the Cold War to the present
• Demonstrate a foundational understanding of the major IR theories and concepts and apply them to historical cases and current events
• Analyze and consider solutions to global challenges in the contemporary world
• Show research, communication, and writing skills useful for future career paths in the field

英語 / English

The course will meet once a week. The structure of the course will consist of a mixture of lectures, student presentations, and group discussions. Lectures, which will introduce background information on each week’s topic, will be followed by student presentations on selected seminal texts related to a weekly debate question designed to expand students’ knowledge of the topic. Students will have a chance to interact with each other in small groups to review the ideas introduced in class and respond to the debate question before participating in a whole-class discussion.

In the last few sessions of the class, students will each share a proposal for their intended research with the class.

あり / Yes

なし / No

授業形態/methods of teaching：対面/face to face

※各回の授業形態は予定です。教員の指示に従ってください。

1[対面/face to face]：Introduction I

Introduction to the course

2[対面/face to face]：Introduction II

Where do you get your news?

3[対面/face to face]：The Historical Context I: Post-Cold War International Relations

Contending paradigms of the post-Cold War order

4[対面/face to face]：The Historical Context II

U.S. leadership and China’s rise

5[対面/face to face]：The Historical Context III

The liberal world order challenged? Democracy vs. authoritarianism

6[対面/face to face]：Theoretical Approaches I: How Can We Explain State Behavior?

Realism

7[対面/face to face]：Theoretical Approaches II

Liberalism

8[対面/face to face]：Theoretical Approaches III

Constructivism

9[対面/face to face]：Contemporary Issues in International Politics I

Nuclear nonproliferation

10[対面/face to face]：Contemporary Issues in International Politics II

The contested war memory in East Asia

11[対面/face to face]：Contemporary Issues in International Politics III

Global health

12[対面/face to face]：Contemporary Issues in International Politics IV

Human rights

13[対面/face to face]：Conclusion I

Research proposal presentations

14[対面/face to face]：Conclusion II

Research proposal presentations/Course Wrap-up

Outside of formal classes, students are expected to:
• Read the weekly required materials and prepare relevant questions to clarify and confirm their understanding or discuss in class
• Summarize and critically assess one or two required readings and prepare their analysis to share with the class
• Conduct an individual research project on a policy issue of interest in global affairs and present its results via oral presentation and written submission

Students are encouraged to do the following to contribute meaningfully to the class discussion:
• Explore supplemental readings provided on the list
• Keep abreast of current events by reading major news stories relating to international politics

All required course materials will be made available via hyperlinks in the syllabus or through Hoppii. No purchases are necessary.

The optional reference readings below are on reserve in the library. They provide helpful background information, particularly for the IR theoretical foundations.

• Baylis, John, Steve Smith, and Patricia Owens. 2020. The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Brown, Chris. 2019. Understanding International Relations. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
• Pevehouse, Jon C., and Joshua S. Goldstein. 2019. International Relations. London: Pearson.
• Drezner, Daniel W. 2015. Theories of International Politics and Zombies. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

• Class Participation (30%): This requirement includes class attendance and active participation in class discussions.

• Presentation on Required Reading (30%): Students will give a presentation on one or two articles from the entire reading list for debate questions during the semester. Students will sign up for the readings on which they wish to present in the first week of class.

• Individual Research Project (40%): Students will select a policy issue of interest in global affairs as a research project. The requirement includes a proposal presentation on their intended research (20%) and the submission of a 1000–1500-word final research paper (20%).

本年度授業担当者変更によりフィードバックできません。

The instructor will use Hoppii to manage the course.

While time constraints limit the detail in which we can address the broad range of material covered in class, if students wish to discuss certain topics in detail on an individual basis, they should feel free to reach out after class or make an appointment with the instructor via email. Students are also welcome to discuss their performance in class with the instructor at any time during the semester.