Syllabus for Academic Year 2023
Contents
Spring semester
Hiroshima & the Nuclear Age ····································································· 1Contemporary International Law and Peace ················································· 2
Atomic Culture ························································································ 4International Security ··············································································· 5
Pacifism and Peace Movements ·································································· 6International Relations in Southeast Asia ··················································· 7Contemporary Russian Politics and Foreign Policy ······································· 8

Fall semester
Regional Organizations and their Peace and Security Policies ························ 10

Course title

Hiroshima & the Nuclear Age

Instructor(s)Robert Jacobs

Language of instruction

EnglishSemester / Term

Spring semester

Targeted students

Graduate students

Course typeLecture and discussion

Course description

An omnibus class including lectures by the instructor, by otherfaculty, and also by community members

Course objectives

To help students develop a complex and multifacetedunderstanding of peace issues in Hiroshima and the world

Prerequisites

None

Cancellation of course registration (within specified period)

Course schedule

Grades and evaluation

Section 1: five lectures by Robert Jacobs on nuclear issues
Section 2: lectures by local faculty about their area ofspecialization
Section 3: lectures by important figures in the local peace
movement and also the peace movement beyond Hiroshima

70% written assignments, 30% in class participation

Course materials

Readings provided by instructor

Instructor profile

Robert Jacobs

Type(s) of active learning(if applicable)

2 weeks

Project-based learning, team-based learning, fieldwork, Jigsaw,
research, debate, discussion, reflection,
other
(
)

Course title

Contemporary International Law and Peace

Instructor(s)Tetsuo Sato

Language of instruction

English* In principle, this course（「 現 代 国 際 法 と 平 和 」・「 Contemporary
International Law and Peace」） is conducted in Japanese based on theJapanese syllabus, but it may be conducted in English based on the
English syllabus at the request of students. Those who wish to take thecourse should contact me in advance. (tetsuo_sato@hiroshima-cu.ac.jp)

Semester / Term

Spring Semester

Timetable / Credits

One 90-minute class per week x 15 weeks / 2 credits

Targeted students

1st and 2nd year student, MA

Course type
Course description

Course objectives
Prerequisites

Lecture and Discussion
Students will get a basic understanding of international law in generaland develop their analytical skills so that they will be able to take otherspecific courses of international law. Those who have not studiedinternational law should take this course first.
Students will get a basic knowledge of legal aspects related tointernational problems including the maintenance of peace and theprevention and peaceful settlement of conflicts in international society,and obtain analytical skills from the viewpoint of international law.
None

Cancellation of course registration (within specified period)
Before and after class study

Possible

Students will read designated pages of the textbook and other materials,
and prepare for discussions in class.

Each class session will be comprised of two parts. In the first part,students will gain a basic understanding of international law ingeneral by utilizing an introductory textbook. In the second part,students will deepen their understanding of international law gainedin the first part by dealing with relevant materials in the same field.

Course schedule

1. Course Introduction
2. The nature of international law and the international system
3. The sources of international law
4. The law of treaties
5. International law and national law
6. Personality, statehood and recognition
7. Jurisdiction and sovereignty
8. Immunities from national jurisdiction
9. Review I
10. Law of the sea
11. State responsibility
12. The peaceful settlement of disputes
13. The use of force
14. Human rights
15. Review II

Final exam (scheduled during exam period)

NoGrades and evaluation

Course materials

Instructor profile

Type(s) of feedback
Keyword(s)Class evaluation will be based on (1) class participation (50%) andclass presentation (50%).

・Martin Dixon, Textbook on International Law, Seventh Edition,
Oxford University Press, Paperback, ISBN: 9780199574452,
Published: 2013
・Martin Dixon, Robert McCorquodale, and Sarah Williams,
Cases & Materials on International Law, Sixth Edition,
Oxford University Press, Paperback, ISBN: 9780198727644,
Published: 2016
Professor. Dr. Tetsuo SATO was born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka
Prefecture in 1955. After obtaining his LL.B. from the Faculty of Law,
Hitotsubashi University and LL.M. from the Graduate School of Law,
Hitotsubashi University, Dr. SATO, as a Fulbright Scholarship Grantee,
studied and obtained a MALD at the Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy in the USA. He also obtained a Ph.D. in Law from
Hitotsubashi University in 1994. He taught at Hitotsubashi University as
Lecturer, Associate Professor and Professor before arriving at the HPI in
2018. His major publications include Evolving Constitutions ofInternational Organizations (The Hague, Kluwer Law International,
1996), The Law of International Organizations (Yuhikaku, 2005, inJapanese) and The United Nations Security Council and Chapter VII of
the UN Charter (Yuhikaku, 2015, in Japanese).
Via email and Zoom sessioninternational law

Course title

Atomic Culture

Instructor(s)Robert Jacobs

Language of instruction

EnglishSemester / Term

Spring semester

Targeted students

Graduate students

Course typeLecture and discussion

Course description

The class examines the role of culture in nuclear history,
including films, images, books and other cultural media

Course objectives

To help students grasp the centrality of culture to nuclear issues
and how the public understands and interacts with nuclear themes

Prerequisites

None

Cancellation of course registration (within specified period)

Course schedule

2 weeks

1. Class introduction
2. Hiroshima as a turning point in culture & society
3. Hiroshima as seen from America
4. Hiroshima as seen in Japan
5. Mythic symbolism of nuclear weapons
6. Cultural symbolism of nuclear weapons
7. Survival culture in Cold War America
8. World War III in popular culture
9. Shifting attention from nuclear weapons to nuclear power
10. Nuclear power in Japan
11. Late Cold War nuclear fears
12. Post-Cold War nuclear fears
13. Imagination about nuclear waste
14. Culture as a tool for nuclear analysis
15. Class review

Grades and evaluation

70% written assignments, 30% in class participation

Course materials

Readings and links to films provided by instructor

Instructor profile

Robert Jacobs

Type(s) of active learning(if applicable)

Project-based learning, team-based learning, fieldwork, Jigsaw,
research, debate, discussion, reflection,
other
(
)

Course title

International Security

Instructor(s)Kikkawa, Gen

Language of instruction English
Semester / Term
SpringTimetable / Credits

Intensive course - 15 sessions lasting 90 minutes each / 2 credits

Targeted students
Course type

Any student eligible to participate this course conducted in English
seminarWar has traditionally been studied as a problem deriving from therelations between states. Strategic doctrines, arms control agreement, andthe foundations of international organizations are designed to prevent
wars between states. Since 1945, however, the incidence of interstate
Course description
wars has been declining, while the incidence of internal wars has been
increasing. In order to understand this change, we need to shift ourattention to the problems of weak states: those states unable to sustain
domestic legitimacy and peace.
We try to understand the causes of civil wars focusing the structures of
Course objectives
weak states, and try to work the theory how to prevent civil wars in thecontemporary century.
Prerequisites
No
Cancellation of course registration (within specified period)
possible

Course schedule

1. Peace and security
2. Thinking about war in international politics
3. Wars of the third kind
4. The formation of states before 1945
5. The creation of states since 1945
6. The strength of states
7. The perils of the weak state the state strength dilemma
8. Wars of the third kind and international politics
9. Analyzing an anomaly: war, peace, and the state in South America
10. International responses to the weak state: managing an resolving
wars of the third kind
11. New war and old war
12. Putin’s war
13. Wow to make peace
14. Security community and its
15. discussion

Final exam (scheduled during exam period)
Grades and evaluation
Course materials
Instructor profile
Type(s) of active
learning(if applicable)
Keyword(s)Miscellaneous

No

Participation (40%) Presentation (30%), essay (30%)
Textbook: K. J. Holsti, The State, War and the State of War (Cambridge
University Press)
See the HPI website
Project-based learning, team-based learning, fieldwork, Jigsaw, research,debate, discussion, reflection,other ()
Peace, security, democratic peace, security community, preventive
diplomacy
This course will be taught in an intensive format, in September 2023.
The exact dates will be announced on the notice board around the
beginning of April.

Course title

Pacifism and Peace Movements

Instructor(s)Makiko Takemoto

Language of instruction English
Semester / Term

Spring Semester

Timetable / Credits

One 90-minute class per week x 15 weeks / 2 credits

Targeted students

Graduate students

Course type

Course description

Course objectives
Prerequisites

LectureAs a prerequisite for understanding the development of peace and peacestudies, students will acquire knowledge of European peace movements
and peace, as well as the relationship of peace theory to politics, society,and culture. Students will also read and discuss historical documents andliterature related to the concept of peace and peace theory.
Students will learn various points of view on peace and acquire
knowledge about European peace thoughts and peace movements as wellas the historical development of discussions on peace.
None

Cancellation of course registration (within specified period)
Before and after classstudy

Course schedule

Possible

Students are expected to read materials (in English or/and Japanese,
German if necessary) and prepare for discussions.

1. Guidance of the course / What is peace? #1 Definition of peace
2. What is peace? #2 European peace thoughts from ancient tomedieval times
3. What is peace? #3 European peace since modern times
4. History of peace movements #1 The birth of peace organizations
5. History of peace movements #2 The First World War and peace
movements
6. History of peace movements #3 Peace movements in the Interwar
period
7. History of peace movements #4 The Second World War and peace
movements
8. History of peace movements #5 The anti-war movements
9. History of peace movements #6 The spread and globalization of peace
movements
10. History of peace movements #7 Japanese peace movements
11. Pacifism in Asia and Europe
12. Development of peace studies
13. Peace and human security
14. Pacifism and cosmopolitanism
15. Conclusions

Final exam (scheduled during exam period)

No

Grades and evaluation

Class performance (participation and presentations including paper) 100%

Course materials

To be announced in the first class.
Makiko Takemoto is an Associate Professor at Hiroshima Peace Institute.
Her specialty is modern and contemporary German history.
Providing answers and comments in the class

Instructor profile
Type(s) of feedback
Keyword(s)peace studies, peace movements, Europe, Japan

Miscellaneous

The course will be conducted mainly as lectures, but students will be
expected to give presentations when necessary.

Course title

International Relations in Southeast Asia

Instructor(s)Narayanan Ganesan

Language of instruction

EnglishSemester / Term

Spring semester 2023

Timetable / Credits

One 90 minutes class x 15 weeks./ 2 credits

Targeted students

Graduate students studying Asian international relations

Course type
Course description

Course objectives
Prerequisites

Lectures and discussions on assigned topics
A survey of the international relations of Southeast Asia focusing on therole of great powers in the region. The course will also examine policies
during the Cold War and the post-Cold War periods, as well as regionalism
and the impact of the military coup on Southeast Asia
To provide an understanding of how major powers have impacted
Southeast Asia since the end of World War Two and improve critical thinking
on the topic.
Nil

Cancellation of course registration (within specified period)
Before and afterclass study

Course schedule

Readings and focus questions for discussion will be provided during thefirst meeting
A total of 15 Meetings of 90 minutes each as follows:
1. Introduction to region
2. The Cold War and its characteristics (2 weeks)
3. US policy towards Southeast Asia (2 weeks)
4. Soviet policies towards Southeast Asia (2 weeks)
5. China’s policies towards Southeast Asia (2 weeks)
6. India’s policies towards Southeast Asia
7. Japan’s policies towards Southeast Asia
8. ASEAN and regionalism (2 weeks)
9. Southeast Asia in the post-Cold War period
10. Case study of Myanmar and Southeast Asia
11. Overview and conclusion

Final exam (scheduled during exam period)
Grades andevaluation
Course materials
Instructor profile
Subject-related
experience in business,
industry etc.

PossibleNo

Grades will be awarded based on class participation and presentations as well
as a book review and long essay
All readings for the course will be provided in classOver 30 years of experience with research and publications on the politics
and international relations of Southeast Asia and more than 10 authored andedited books and 80 refereed journal articles and book chapters.
Trainer for Civil Service College in Singapore (2004 – 2019) and trainer for
Myanmar civil service (2015- 2021), and Summer School coordinator for
academic training at Yangon and Mandalay Universities (2015 – 2021)

Type(s) of feedback Return of graded assignments with feedback for improvements
Type(s) of active
learning (ifapplicable)

Building capacity in understanding Southeast Asian politics from a historicalperspective, evaluating writings and presenting arguments during
discussions)

Keyword(s)Southeast Asia, international relations, foreign policies, Cold War, ASEAN

Miscellaneous

Students should be prepared for a seminar styled discussion format

Course title

Contemporary Russian Politics and Foreign Policy

Instructor(s)Mihoko KATO, Lecturer

Language of instruction

Japanese / English (if students require)Semester / Term

Spring semester

Timetable / Credits

One 90-minute class per week x 15 weeks / 2 credits

Targeted students

1st and 2 nd year student, MA

Course typeLectureCourse description

This course is aimed at developing an understanding of thepolitics and international situation of Russia and the post-Soviet
states after the end of the Cold War, and learning theory andacquiring basic knowledge to analyze Russia’s foreign policy andnational interests.
The course is divided into three parts and students’ presentation.
In the first part, the instructor covers a historical overview of
Russian foreign policy by focusing on traditional and emerging
schools of foreign policy. In the second part, both instructor andstudents read and discuss articles related to the foreign policy
decision making system. In Weeks 8-9, students are required togive a presentation on their respective opinion papers; they are
required to choose their research theme and write an opinion paper
during the first part. In the third part, students are assigned to reada Japanese or English (or if possible, Russian) paper prior to eachsession and discuss its contents in class.

Course objectives

1) Students are expected to clarify their research themes by
examining previous studies on Russian foreign policy and recent
research trends.
2) Students are expected to improve their ability to write academic
papers and give an effective presentation.

Prerequisites

None

Cancellation of course registration (within specified period)
Before and after class study

Possible

Students are required to prepare an opinion paper to give a
presentation in Weeks 8-9. In the second and third part, students
are expected to read the assigned papers prior to each class.
*Tentative schedule
Week 1. Orientation

Course schedule[1 st section: Lecture and discussion]
Week 2. Russian foreign policy schools I
Week 3. Russian foreign policy schools II
Week 4. Russian foreign policy schools III[2 nd -section: Lecture and discussion]
Week 5. Foreign policy decision making system I
Week 6. Foreign policy decision making system II
Week 7. Other domestic factors

[Students’ presentation]
Weeks 8. Presentation of opinion papers
Weeks 9. Presentation of opinion papers[3 rd section: Presentation and discussion]
Week 10. Russia and the post-Soviet states I
Week 11. Russia and the post-Soviet-states II
Week 12. Russia and the U.S.
Week 13. Russia and Europe
Week 14. Russia and the non-West I
Week 15. Russia and the non-West II

Final exam (scheduled during exam period)
Grades and evaluation

Course materials

Instructor profile

Type(s) of feedback
Type(s) of active learning(if applicable)
Keyword(s)None

Evaluation depends on students’ understanding of the readings,
presentation skills, and quality of their questions and comments inclass.
Tsygankov, A.P. ed. (2018) Routledge Handbook of Russian
Foreign Policy (Abingdon: Routledge).
Alexander Sergunin (2016) Explaining Russian Behavior: Theory
and Practice (Stuttgart: Ibidem).
*Distributed in class the prior week.
Mihoko KATO studies Russia’s foreign policy in the post-Cold War
period. She has published books and articles on Russia’s relations
with the Asia-Pacific countries. In particular, she focuses onrapprochement between Russia and the former Soviet allies/friends(China, India, Vietnam, and North Korea) in the 2000s and its
impact on the existing world order.
The instructor will give comments on the students’ presentations inclass.
Project-based learning, team-based learning, fieldwork, Jigsaw,
research, debate, discussion, reflection,
other
(
)
Russia, Eurasia, post-Soviet states, International Relations

Course title

Regional Organizations and their Peace and Security Policies

Instructor(s)Mihoko KATO, Lecturer

Language of instruction

Japanese / English (if students require)Semester / Term

Fall semester

Timetable / Credits

One 90-minute class per week x 15 weeks / 2 credits

Targeted students

1st and 2 nd year student, MA

Course type

Course description

Prerequisites

LectureIn this lecture, students learn about regional organizations andtheir problems from the perspective of how the state (Russia) has
utilized various international organizations to achieve its external
objectives and national interests. The first session is an orientation;
Weeks 1 to 6 focus on the process and reality of the establishment of
the CIS and discuss the issue of reintegration of the former Soviet
space by Russia. Students are required to read research papers on
regional organizations and prepare
an opinion paper during
April-May. In Weeks 7 and 8, students will give presentations on
their reports. Weeks 9 to 15 focus on the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union, and the Silk Road
Economic Belt as case studies to discuss their realities, possibilities,
and problems.
At the end of the class, students are required to submit a final
report on the assigned topic.
None

Cancellation of course registration (within specified period)

Before and after class study

Course schedule

Possible・ Students are required to prepare an opinion paper to give a
presentation in Weeks 7-8. The presenter must prepare a résumé
of the assigned paper in advance.
・Students are expected to read the assigned paper prior to eachclass.
*Tentative schedule
Week 1. Orientation
Collapse of the Soviet Union and establishment of the
CIS
Week 2. Ethnic Russians in the post-Soviet space
Week 3. Basic Knowledge of Central Eurasian Countries
Week 4. Demise of the Soviet economic system and re-integration
Week 5. Security cooperation in the post-Soviet space
Week 6. Security Issues in the Post-Soviet Space and External
Actors. (U.S. and Europe)
Week 7. Presentation of opinion papers
Week 8. Presentation of opinion papers
Week 9.

Origin of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)Week 10. Institutional Features of the SCO
Week 11. SCO and China
Week 12. SCO and ASEAN
Week 13. Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Economic
Belt
Week 14. Regionalism in Central Asia
Week 15. Ukraine war and Eurasian countries

Final exam (scheduled during exam period)
Grades and evaluation

Course materials

Instructor profile

Type(s) of feedback
Type(s) of active learning(if applicable)
Keyword(s)None

Evaluation depends on students’ understanding of the readings,
presentation skills, and quality of their questions and comments inclass.
Tsygankov, A.P. ed. (2018) Routledge Handbook of Russian Foreign
Policy (Abingdon: Routledge).
*Distributed in class the prior week.
Mihoko KATO studies Russia’s foreign policy in the post-Cold War
period. She has published books and articles on Russia’s relations
with the Asia-Pacific countries. In particular, she focuses onrapprochement between Russia and the former Soviet allies/friends(China, India, Vietnam, and North Korea) in the 2000s and its
impact on the existing world order.
The instructor will give comments on the students’ presentations inclass.
Project-based learning, team-based learning, fieldwork, Jigsaw,
research, debate, discussion, reflection,
other
(
)
Regional organization, multilateralism, post-Soviet space, CIS, SCO