Concentration leader: Associate Professor Chey Hyoung-kyu
1. Goals
The IR Concentration aims to foster the development of future policy leaders through intensive training in the methods and approaches necessary for understanding and solving major contemporary challenges in the world. We welcome students with interests in international affairs, covering a variety of issues from security to political economy, as well as those who wish to analyze domestic politics and/or political economy in an individual country context or from a comparative perspective.
2. Main subjects and methods
The major subjects that the IR Concentration covers include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Global governance in various issue areas, including security, economy and development
- International cooperation in various issue areas including security, economy and development.
- Regional cooperation in various issue areas including security, economy and development.
- Politics of international trade, international finance, foreign investment, development, etc.
- Foreign policies of diverse individual countries in various issue areas embracing security, economy and foreign aid.
- Cross-country comparison of domestic politics and political institutions
- Comparative political economy
- Domestic politics and/or political economy of diverse individual countries
Both qualitative and quantitative methods can be adopted for analyses.
3. Requirements
To graduate, students must fulfill all requirements for the MP1 program, including successful completion of the Required Courses and Policy Papers. In addition, in order to cultivate an IR specialty, students are strongly advised to take:
(1) International Relations (Brummer, Iwama);
(2) at least one from the following two core courses:
- International Political Economy (Chey)
- International Security Studies (Michishita);
(3) at least three courses from the following courses:
- International Relations in East Asia (Takagi)
- Comparative Development Studies of Asia (Lim)
- Government and Politics in Japan (Masuyama)
- Japanese Foreign Policy (Kitaoka, Presselo)
- Comparative Politics (Takenaka)
- State and Politics in Southeast Asia (Lim)
- Structure and Process of Government (Horie)
- Politics of Global Money and Finance (Chey)
- Comparative Political Economy (Kanchoochat)
- International Relations in Europe (Iwama)
4. Research supervision
In writing a Policy Paper, each student will be assigned a supervisor who will offer individual supervision.
The list of professors who can advise an IR Concentration student is as follows:
Full-time Lecturer Matthew BRUMMER
Associate Professor CHEY Hyoung-kyu
Professor IWAMA Yoko
Associate Professor Veerayooth KANCHOOCHAT
Assistant Professor LIM Guanie
Professor MASUYAMA Mikitaka
Professor MICHISHITA Narushige
Associate Professor Andrea PRESSELLO
Assistant Professor TAKAGI Yusuke
Professor TAKENAKA Harukata
5. Examples of past Policy Papers
- Impact of Open Economic Policies on National Identity for Small States: Case study on Singapore
- Sustainable Finance and Central Bank Mandate: A Case Study of Bank of Thailand
- Impact of Refugees on Host Communities: A Case Study of Krisan And Fetentaa Refugee Camps-Ghana
- China’s Economy Strategy toward Bangladesh
- Sister Cities in Japan-Southeast Asia Relations: Determinants and Contribution to Foreign Policy
- Breakdown of Semi-Democratic Regime: Case study of Regime Collapse in Burma (1962)
- China’s Health Diplomacy
- Political and Economic Impact of the BCIM Economic Corridor in South Asia: The Bangladesh Case
- Political Economy of Davao Region: Mindanao’s Ace
- Marginalization through Land Dispossession: The Case of Maguindanao, Southern Philippines
- Political Problems of Implementing Competition Policy in Republic of Kazakhstan (The Case of Retail Electricity Sales Market)
- Cooperation of European Union and Japan in the Field of Development Assistance
- Insurgency and Local Politics: Violent Conflict in Sulu Archipelago, Philippines
- Development of Democracy in Georgia, Slovakia and Estonia after Collapse of Communism
- Question of Existence: Rising Sea Levels in the Pacific and New Zealand Policy Options
- Political Problems of Implementing Competition policy in Republic of Kazakhstan (The Case of Retail Electricity Sales Market)
- Cooperation of European Union and Japan in the Field of Development Assistance
- Insurgency and Local Politics: Violent Conflict in Sulu Archipelago, Philippines
- Development of Democracy in Georgia, Slovakia and Estonia after Collapse of Communism
- China’s Politics of Trade toward Bangladesh
- Public Debt and Macroeconomic Stability in Vietnam: A Comparative Perspective
- Governance with CSO: An Assessment on Socio-Political Reform in ARMM
- Question of Existence: Rising Sea Levels in the Pacific and New Zealand Policy Options
