Course Name Year Term Period Faculty / Graduate School All Instructors Credits
13458:[2025 Spring]IR18‐HE301 Advanced Seminar (85) § 13459:RUIR-3303 Advanced Seminar (Research Methods)(85) § 13460:IR18‐HE301 Advanced Seminar (80) § 13461:RUIR-3303 Advanced Seminar (Research Methods)(80) 2025 Spring Thu4 College　Of　International　Relations WATANABE HIROAKI 2

Campus

KIC

Class Venue

RYOYUKAN　RY206

Language

English

Course Outline and Method

【+R-Jugyo】
This course will not have +R-Jugyo. The number of class hours for “+R-Jugyo” will be covered by activities related to the course.

N.B. Not only GS students but also IR students are welcome. IR students can submit term papers and a graduation thesis either in English or in Japanese.

In this advanced seminar, we will examine several important issues, both empirical and theoretical, related to “international politics and political economy” (IP/IPE) and “comparative politics and political economy” (CP/CPE). In the case of political economy, several definitions exist, but for us, it is essentially a “political” analysis of economic policies, institutions and phenomena. An analysis of the incentives of political and economic actors, such as governments (states), politicians, bureaucrats and business sectors, is essential to understanding how and why certain policies are formulated. In IP and IPE, we will examine the interactions among countries and their foreign policies, including those related to security, economy (trade, investment, capital transactions, etc.), environment and human rights. In CP and CPE, we will examine the similarities and differences in economic and other policies among countries and analyze why they exist. We will read several book chapters and journal articles so that we will be able to understand relevant basic concepts and theories. Also, we will apply them to several country case studies.

In your fourth year (second year in this seminar), you will prepare for the final dissertation (thesis) by presenting several aspects of your research, such as research questions, literature review and methodology. The geographical areas of your research (for the dissertation) could be any region although the instructor has expertise in the international and comparative politics and political economy of East Asia (including Japan), certain European countries (such as Spain, Italy and the UK) and the US, among others.

I have convened this seminar since the fall semester of 2021 (after teaching mostly in the UK and several other countries such as the US and Spain for more than 10 years).

You can find the photos of this seminar's activities on my website:

https://www.hiroakirichardwatanabe.org/

Student Attainment Objectives

- Understanding of the basic concepts and theories of IP/IPE and CP/CPE.
- Examining important issues related to international or comparative politics and political economy of selected countries or regions.
- Familiarizing yourself with the basic components of a good dissertation and preparing for the final dissertation well in advance.

Recommended Preparatory Course

No preparatory study is required although having taken courses on politics, economics and international relations previously would be useful.

Course Schedule

Lecture/Instructor（When there are multiple instructors) Theme
Keyword, References and Supplementary Information
1-14

Seminar Management

For the third-year students:

In the first semester, several readings will be assigned. Students will need to read them “critically” to examine the appropriateness of methodology in terms of empirical analysis, theoretical application, data use and so on. Students will be required to provide a presentation of critical reading twice per semester. After individual presentations by one or two students in each class, other students will provide feedback on the presentations. These presentations will be assessed. Students will also be required to write a term paper that summarizes their presentations of critical reading (see “Grade Evaluation Method” below).

In the second semester, students will start working to identify research questions, conduct a literature review and design an appropriate methodology to write a preliminary proposal for the dissertation. Students will be required to present a draft of the proposal and a critical analysis of selected reading in the similar manner to the first semester. Other students will provide feedback. These presentations will be assessed, and students will submit a revised proposal or a critical analysis of selected reading as a term paper.

For the fourth-year (final-year) students:

In both semesters, students will work to complete writing a dissertation. Students will be required to present the drafts of the dissertation twice per semester (drafts of an introductory chapter and another chapter in their third semester and drafts of two other chapters in their fourth semester) and other students will provide feedback. These presentations will be assessed. Students will also be required to submit a term paper that includes two chapters (introductory chapter and another chapter for their third semester and two other chapters for their fourth semester). The fourth-year students will also be expected to support the presentations by the third-year students.

Class Format

　

Recommendations for Private Study

“Critical” reading of assigned materials, including certain tasks such as the identification of research questions, critical review in terms of empirical analysis, theoretical application and data analysis, and so on.

Grade Evaluation Method

Kind Percentage Grading Criteria etc.
Final Examination (Written)

Report Examination
(A report to be submitted by the unified deadline)

Exams and/or Reports other than those stated above, and Continuous Assessment　
(Evaluation of Everyday Performance in Class)		 100

Term Paper：40%
A term paper on critical reading (Third year, first semester; possibly second semester too);
A proposal as a term paper (Possibly third year, second semester);
Two chapters of the dissertation as a term paper (Fourth year, both semesters)

Continuous Assessment
(Evaluation of Everyday Performance in Class) ：60%
Assessment of two presentations per semester (2x30%)

Grade Evaluation Method （Note）

Advice to Students on Study and Research Methods

You should be able to identify an appropriate theoretical and empirical approach to your research question and include adequate data to support your main arguments.

Textbooks

Title Author Publisher ISBN Code Comment
Global Political Economy: Theory and Practice Cohn, Theodore H. Routledge 9781003056881 (eBook)

Textbooks （Frequency of Use, Note）

Reference Books

Reference Books （Frequency of Use, Note）

No reference books are used.

Web Pages for Reference

You can find the photos of this seminar's activities on my website:

https://www.hiroakirichardwatanabe.org/

How to Communicate with the Instructor In and Out of Class(Including Instructor Contact Information)

Talk with Students,Other (Separate instructions will be provided)

Other Comments

Examples of Past Graduation Research (Graduation Thesis) Titles

As this seminar began in Fall 2021, there are no samples yet.
【科目ナンバリング・カリキュラムマップはこちらから/Click here to see the Curriculum-Map and Course-Numbering】
URL:https://secure.ritsumei.ac.jp/students/pathways-future/course/curriculum.html/