Program in brief
Equip students with both academic and practical skills for understanding and solving security and foreign policy issues
- Program Director: Professor Yoko Iwama
- Associate Director: Professor Harukata Takenaka
- Degree Offered: Ph.D. in International Relations
- Scholarship (for International Students)
Japanese Government (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology [MEXT]) - Language of Instruction: English
- Program Duration: 3 years
- Enrollment: April or October
- Graduation: March or September
- How to Apply:
- From 2021, prospective applicants should submit their applications to the G-cube Program. Further information and guidelines may be obtained from G-cube website Click here or the Admissions Office Click here
Established in partnership with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Security and International Studies Program (SISP) aims to equip students with academic and practical skills for understanding and solving security and foreign policy issues. Students will learn to do this by conducting in-depth research on historical and contemporary security and foreign policy matters, and engaging in theoretical as well as policy debates with faculty members and outside specialists. Field trips are another important means of enhancing students’ understanding of subject matters.
Target Group
We would welcome applicants with a master’s degree in the social sciences–especially international relations, political science, economics, or law. We would also welcome master’s degree holders with practical experience and expertise. In this context, government officials, military officers, researchers, and journalists with relevant work and academic experience would be particularly welcome.
Program Design
In the first year, students are required to undertake course work and earn a minimum of 14 credits from the courses and tutorials. By the end of the first year, students are expected to pass three Written Qualifying Examinations (QE), submit a dissertation prospectus, and pass in one Oral Qualifying Examination which is doctoral dissertation prospectus defense. After completing all four Qualifying Examinations, students can start writing a dissertation to complete it by the end of the third year.
Security and International Studies Program Curriculum 2020/2021 (as of October 2020)
| Category | Elective or Core | Course Name | Instructor |
|---|---|---|---|
| I Theoretical courses | Elective | International Political Economy Workshop | Chey |
| Strategic Studies Research Seminar | Michishita | ||
| Advanced International Relations | Iwama Yamamoto | ||
| Advanced International Security Studies | Michishita | ||
| Comparative Politics | Takenaka | ||
| Politics of Global Money and Finance (Advanced) | Chey | ||
| II Regional courses |
Elective |
Advanced International Relations in East Asia | Takagi |
| The Making of Modern Japan (Advanced) |
Kitaoka Pressello |
||
| Politics and Diplomacy in Postwar Japan |
Kitaoka Pressello |
||
| Advanced Chinese Foreign Policy | TBA | ||
| Advanced American Foreign Policy | TBA | ||
| Advanced Political Economy of Modern Japan | TBA | ||
| Advanced Comparative Political Economy | Kanchoochat | ||
| Advanced International Relations in Europe | Iwama | ||
| III Policy courses | Elective | Debates on International Security Issues (Advanced) | TBA |
| Non-Traditional Security (Advanced) | TBA | ||
| Advanced Development Cooperation Policy | TBA | ||
| IV General Subjects | Elective | Courses not listed in this table, admitted by the Advisory Committee | |
| V Paper Writing | Core | Security and International Studies Dissertation Seminar | Michishita, et al. |
| X OTHERS | Courses offered by the Center for Professional Communication | ||
Career Destinations
Graduates of this program are expected to become leading security and foreign policy specialists and practitioners in governmental/non-governmental/international organizations, research institutions, universities, and other relevant organizations.Affiliation of Students and Graduates
Affiliation of Students and Graduates
- Amnesty International
- Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations (Netherlands)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Indonesia)
- Ministry of Finance (India)
- Royal Thai Customs (Thailand)
- Philippine Institute for Development Studies (Philippines)
- Vinh University (Vietnam)
- Ministry of Defense (Japan)
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan）
- Waseda Institute for Advanced Study (Japan）
- Tokyo International University (Japan)
- National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (Japan)
Prominent Alumni
-
Dr. Manuel Jeffrey Ordaniel Sistoso（Graduated in 2017）
Assistant Professor of International Security Studies
Tokyo International University (Japan)/
Director of Maritime Programs (Non-Resident)
Pacific Forum International (United States)
Interview HERE
-
Dr. Andrea Pressello（Graduated in 2012）
Associate Professor
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)
Interview HERE
Dissertation Topics
- 中国の海洋進出がもたらしたもの -東アジアの海洋秩序に与えた影響-
- Analysing AUM Shinrikyos ’WMD Terrorism and Crimes: An Anatomy of Intentions and Capabilities
- Japan’s Southeast Asia Policy and the Cambodian Conflict, 1979-1993 : Diplomacy Amid Great Power Politics and Regional Confrontation
- 東アジアにおける共同軍事演習の変容 ─ハブ・スポークスからネットワークへ─
- Towards Securitizing the Narcotics Problem in India?
- Effects of Labor Immigration Policies on Indonesian Migrant Workers in Japan and South Korea
- Vietnam’s ASEAN Strategic Objectives since the 1986 Doi Moi Reform
- 破綻国家における内戦と国際的な平和活動 ～軍閥抗争国家における平和維持戦略～
- Conflict Cycles and Spoiler Problems in the Southern Philippines
- Patronage Politics and Rice Policies in the Philippines and Thailand
- Deconstructing the “China Threat”: An Inquiry into Changing Perceptions in India and Japan
- 冷戦後中国の「軍事外交」
- 海洋領域における軍事戦略の変遷に関する比較研究 1980～2017年
―領域拒否、SLOC防衛／SLOC妨害、戦力投射の観点から― - Resisting ‘China Threat’: The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia in the South China Sea, 1988-2015
- Policy Innovation under Democratic Leadership in a ‘Weak’ State: Trade Liberalization and AFTA Implementation in the Philippines
- Security Strategies of Small States, 1992-2016: Maldives in Comparison with Brunei, Timor-Leste, and Seychelles
- Neutral States and Wartime Japan: The Diplomacy of Sweden, Spain, and Switzerland toward the Empire
- １９７０年代の２つの石油危機における 日本の対米外交
- 帝国陸軍航空建設期（1910 年代〜1920 年代）における模索 ―要員の補充・養成及び器材の補給・整備を中心として－
- Laos’s Foreign Policy Change: from 1975 to 2000
Student Profiles
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Yasmin Adam (Maldives) (Ph.D. awarded in 2018)
Dissertation topic: “Security Strategies of Small States, 1992-2016: Research interests: Small state foreign and security policies; Small power-great power dynamics and international relations in the Asia-Pacific region e-mail: doc11113 |
 |
Yuka (Uchida) Ando (Japan) （Ph.D. awarded in 2021)
Dissertation topic: “Development of Japan’s ODA to Palestine from 1960 to 2003″ Research interests: Japanese foreign policy and Middle Eastern affairs (relationship with Western powers and the Middle East) e-mail: yukauchida |
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Jenny De Asis Balboa (Philippines) (Ph.D. awarded in 2018)
Dissertation topic: “Policy Innovation under Democratic Leadership in a “Weak” State: Trade Liberalization and AFTA Implementation in the Philippines.” |
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Orville Ballitoc (Philippines) (Ph.D. awarded in 2015)
Dissertation topic: “Conflict Cycles and Spoiler Problems in the Southern Philippines” |
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Arnold Fang (Hong Kong) (Ph.D. awarded in 2015)
Dissertation topic: “The Sociopolitical Origins of Filipino and Thai Rice Policies: Structures, institutions and money politics” |
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Peter Van Der Hoest (Netherlands) (Ph.D. awarded in 2016)
Dissertation topic: “Deconstructing the ‘China threat’ debate; India, Japan and Australia” |
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Nidya Kartikasari (Indonesia) (Ph.D. awarded in 2013)
Dissertation topic: “Effects of Labor Immigration Policies on Indonesian Migrant Workers in Japan and South Korea” Immigration Policy, International Relations in East Asia |
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Ju Hyung Kim (Republic of Korea)
Dissertation topic: ROK-US-Japan security cooperation
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Yoshikazu Kobayashi (Japan)
Dissertation topic: Economic sanctions
|
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Izumi Kubota (Japan) (Ph.D. awarded in 2017)
Dissertation topic: “China’s Military Diplomacy in the post-Cold War Era” |
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Oktay Kurtulus (Turkey)
Dissertation topic: TBA Research Interests: Japanese diplomatic history, Occupation of Japan, International relations theories, international politics e-mail: doc17011 |
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Shengyang Li (China)
Dissertation topic: Research interests: East Asia, China, International Political Economy, U.S.-China Relations e-mail: doc20111 |
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Pascal Lottaz (Switzerland) (Ph.D. awarded in 2018)
Dissertation topic: “NEUTRAL STATES AND WARTIME JAPAN:
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Akira Maeno (Japan) (Ph.D. awarded in 2014)
Dissertation topic: “Peace Operations in the Failed States” |
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Pandu Utama Manggala (Indonesia)
Dissertation topic: “Developing Indonesia’s Maritime Security Strategy” e-mail: doc15112 |
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Jikichiro Matsubara (Jiki) (Japan)（Ph.D. awarded in 2021)
Dissertation topic: “Defense Planning under Uncertainty: The Modernization program of Imperial Japanese Army during the Interwar Period.” |
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Quyet Huu Nguyen (Viet Nam) (Ph.D. awarded in 2013)
Dissertation topic: “Vietnam’s ASEAN Strategic Objectives since the 1986 Doi Moi Reform” Research interests: International Relations in East Asia, South China Sea dispute, Chinese and American Foreign Policy e-mail: doc 10113
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Jeffrey Ordaniel (Philippines) (Ph.D. awarded in 2017)
Dissertation topic: “Resisting ‘China Threat’: The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia in the South China Sea, 1988-2015″ |
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Andrea Pressello (Italy) (Ph.D. awarded in 2012)
Dissertation topic: “Japan’s Southeast Asia Policy and the Cambodian Conflict, 1979-1993: |
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Zulfiya Suleimenova (Kazakhstan)
Dissertation topic: “Political Analysis of Water Problem of Central Asia” Research interests: Water management, security and cooperation in Central Asia, water terrorism, impact of climate change on national security |
 |
Dissertation topic: “Towards Securitizing the Narcotics Problem in India?”
|
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Keitaro Ushirogata (Japan) (Ph.D. awarded in 2017)
Dissertation topic: “Comparative Maritime Strategies since the Cold War Era up to Today” e-mail: doc14011 |
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Alouni Vixayphongmany (Laos)（Ph.D. awarded in 2021)
Dissertation topic: “The Recalibration of Lao Foreign Policy” Research interests: Lao Foreign Policy, Economic Diplomacy, ASEAN, Regionalism, International Relations in Asia. e-mail: doc17111 |
grips.ac.jp