Hiroshima University Syllabus

Back to syllabus main page
Japanese
Academic Year 2024Year School/Graduate School School of Integrated Arts and Sciences Department of Integrated Global Studies
Lecture Code ARS41001 Subject Classification Specialized Education
Subject Name Peace and Conflict Research I (平和と紛争研究 I)
Subject Name
(Katakana)
ヘイワトフンソウケンキュウ I
Subject Name in
English
Peace and Conflict Research I
Instructor YAMANE TATSUO
Instructor
(Katakana)
ヤマネ タツオ
Campus Higashi-Hiroshima Semester/Term 2nd-Year,  First Semester,  1Term
Days, Periods, and Classrooms (1T) Mon5-6:IAS K312
Lesson Style Lecture Lesson Style
(More Details)
 
Face to Face
Lecture, Discussion, Presentation
Reading assignment (Student is requested to prepare the designated textbook.), tasks in each class 
Credits 1.0 Class Hours/Week   Language of Instruction E : English
Course Level 3 : Undergraduate High-Intermediate
Course Area(Area) 24 : Social Sciences
Course Area(Discipline) 02 : Political Science
Eligible Students
Keywords International Relations, Peace and Conflict, International Security, Security Governance, Europe, Africa, Asia, America, State Failure, Regime Change, International Order and Regional Conflict, Conflict Prevention, Peacemaking, Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, Peacebuilding, Democratization, Civil Society, Sovereignty 
Special Subject for Teacher Education   Special Subject  
Class Status
within Educational
Program
(Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
 
Criterion referenced
Evaluation
(Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Integrated Global Studies
(Knowledge and Understanding)
・The knowledge and understanding of the important characteristics and basic theoretical framework of individual academic disciplines.
(Abilities and Skills)
・The ability to collect and analyze necessary literature or data among various sources of information in individual academic disciplines.
(Comprehensive Abilities)
・The ability to take action cooperatively to advance research to resolve the problem by sharing issues with people from different cultures and areas of specialization, and explaining one’s own ideas logically and simply. 
Class Objectives
/Class Outline
Aims
This series of subjects will provide academic knowledge for the understanding of contemporary armed conflicts and ways and means of conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and conflict prevention by international actors through the study of international Relations (IR)/International Politics.

Structure
This series is divided into two parts (Peace and Conflict Research I and II) as following. The first part ("the I" in T3) is for understandings of historical and theoretical perspectives and case studies of contemporary armed conflicts from the viewpoint of IR/International Politics. Primarily, historical knowledge of the sovereign state system provides us with a compass to designate where we are chronologically and geographically in international and domestic arenas. The first part also focuses on contemporary armed conflicts caused by political, economic, and social elements. The second part (“the II” in T4) will provide more specific studies about how international society tries to tackle those conflicts. In the class in T4, the lecturer will pay attention to the three perspectives: the United Nations (UN) security governance, European Union (EU) security governance, and African Union (AU) security governance. Those issues in world politics have been argued in debates on how those institutionalizations on conflict resolution and peacekeeping effectively and adequately respond to terminate armed conflicts and come about sustainable peacebuilding in relevance with state-building.

A Series of Peace and Conflict Research
This subject (Peace and Conflict Research I) is the first part of Peace and Conflict Research subjects at Hiroshima University (HU).
“Peace and Conflict Research I” is one of the specialized subjects in the Department of Integrated Global Studies (IGS). Participant to the subject entitled “Peace and Conflict Research II” is required to attend this subject (Peace and Conflict Research I) in T3.

Area of Study
International Relations (IR), International Politics (in Political Science)

The main purpose of IR/International Politics is to seek a quality of politics at the international level. It attributes to how international relations among state actors have emerged, maintained, and transformed in politics. Besides taking up the state’s form as the primal actor in international affairs, other actors, such as international organizations and non-governmental organizations whose activities link to global politics, become the objects for the analysis. This study area will concentrate on responding to how and why a particular decision has been made in politics. Study on IR/International Politics pursues this nature of concerns at global, regional, and local levels in world politics.
 
Class Schedule lesson1
Introduction
The instructor will explain the schedule of the classes during the T3.
Please check the Moodle, and task of the day.

(Lecture part) Introduction+: Conflict and Peace Research I
Lecture will provide what is contemporary world affairs on peace and conflict in a part of Lesson 1 and Lesson 2.

lesson2
What Is the Sovereign State System? The Background History (1)

Students will learn the meaning of several historical events related to peace and conflict through basic study questions such as why we are involved in sovereign state system.

Reading assignment: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 (Part One, the historical context), in Baylis, John, and Smith, Steve (Eds.)(2023). The Globalization of World Politics: Introduction to International Relations, Oxford University Press.

lesson3
International Order after the 1990s: The Background History (2)

The student will learn the meaning of international order in the context of the post-cold war era.

Reading assignment: Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 (Part One, the historical context), in Baylis, John, Smith, Steve and Owens, Patricia (Eds.)(2023). The Globalization of World Politics: Introduction to International Relations, Oxford University Press.
Others

lesson4
IR's Major Theoretical Perspectives: (1) Liberal Internationalism

Liberalism stresses need of the international cooperation among states based on “liberal institutionalism. On the other hand, “Survival” is the most critical value for realists in International Relations. In that sense, it is supposed that states pursue the “balance of power” in the “anarchical system” in the world to keep peace in mind. In the wide range of debates in both realism and liberalism, Lesson 4 and 5 introduce the essence of those “main approaches” in the study.

Reading assignment: Chapter 7 (Liberal Institutionalism) and Chapter 9 (Realism), in Baylis, John, Smith, Steve and Owens, Patricia (Eds.)(2023). The Globalization of World Politics: Introduction to International Relations, Oxford University Press.
Others

lesson5
IR's Major Theoretical Perspectives: (2) Realism

Liberalism stresses need of the international cooperation among states based on “liberal institutionalism. On the other hand, “Survival” is the most critical value for realists in International Relations. In that sense, it is supposed that states pursue the “balance of power” in the “anarchical system” in the world to keep peace in mind. In the wide range of debates in both realism and liberalism, Lesson 4 and 5 introduce the essence of those “main approaches” in the study.

Reading assignment: Chapter 7 (Liberal Institutionalism) and Chapter 9 (Realism), in Baylis, John, Smith, Steve and Owens, Patricia (eds.)(2023). The Globalization of World Politics: Introduction to International Relations, Oxford University Press.

Lesson6
Humanitarian Intervention and Regime Change

Non-interference is the central idea to keep the sovereign state system. That means that external intervention to any sovereign states is placed in a contradictory notion. Yet, two ways of “use of force” at the international level, are authorized by the UN Charter. This class examines contemporary practices of authorized external interventions concerning the state-building of authoritarian regimes by external regime change power.

Reading assignment: Chapter 33 (“Humanitarian Intervention in World Politics”), in Baylis, John, Smith, Steve and Owens, Patricia (Eds.)(2023). The Globalization of World Politics: Introduction to International Relations, Oxford University Press.
Others

lesson7
Refugees, hunger, development, and peacebuilding
Since the 1990s, peacebuilding activities in post-conflict areas have been counted as indispensable components to lead sustainable peace in societies. The embedded idea of peacebuilding implicitly and explicitly has shown “universal” ways based on liberal ideas. However, its peacebuilding sometime gives conflicted adjustment with local practices to be reconstructed. At the same time, the concept of human security also invented in the 1990s. How can world politics respond to human security itself? Class 6 shows a wide range of peacebuilding activities and their challenges, sharing the same line of human security issues.

Reading assignment: Chapter 26 (“Refugees and Forced Migration”) and Chapter 27 ("Poverty, Hunger, and Development"), in Baylis, John, Smith, Steve and Owens, Patricia (Eds.)(2023). The Globalization of World Politics: Introduction to International Relations, Oxford University Press.

lesson8
Disarmament and Armed Control of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Reading assignment: Chapter 30 ("Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction") in Baylis, John, Smith, Steve and Owens, Patricia (eds.)(2023). The Globalization of World Politics: Introduction to International Relations, Oxford University Press.
Others

Wrap-up

Tasks (in each class) and Final report

The details will be noticed to the students in the Lesson 1.
(Attention!) The designated textbook should be prepared by yourself before the day of Lesson 1. 
Text/Reference
Books,etc.
Please prepare the following textbook before starting this course. Instructor will order the book to be displayed at the HU textbook center (in Saijo Campus) where the students can purchase the book. The book will be displayed from late September to October 2023.

Textbook: Baylis, J., Smith, S. and Owens, P. (Eds.) (2023). The Globalization of World Politics: Introduction to International Relations, Oxford University Press (the 9th edition). 
PC or AV used in
Class,etc.
 
(More Details)  
Learning techniques to be incorporated  
Suggestions on
Preparation and
Review
The lecturer requests all the participants to take time prior to the class for reading assignments to vitalize discussion in this class.
 
Requirements Your Efforts (every week)
Attendance to class, preparation (reading assignment) before the course, and review after the class

Requirements and Evaluation
For fair evaluation, the registered students must attend the classes more than six times (among eight times) at least.

 
Grading Method The class grade is evaluated according to a registered student’s performance by tasks (60%) in each class and the final paper (40%).
The details for final paper will be noticed in the lesson 1. 
Practical Experience Experienced  
Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it Special Attache, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations (1999-2000)
Project Director, AMDA (Medical NGO) to Sri Lanka (2003-2004) 
Message  
Other   
Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes.
Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching. 
Back to syllabus main page