2021 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Humanities and social science courses
Political Science B
- Academic unit or major
- Humanities and social science courses
- Instructor(s)
- Kiyotaka Yasui
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 1-2 Mon (W621) / 1-2 Thu (W241)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAH.S203
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2021
- Offered quarter
- 2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course introduces basic theories and empirics in political science. Topics include elections, parties, and congress in domestic politics as well as war and peace in international politics. The course also covers applications of game theory and quantitative analysis in political science.
Today social media and the internet are flooded with political information. This course is designed to faicilitate students with the abilities to interpret these information and to understand the causes and mechanisms of various political phenomena.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1) Understand basic theories and models in political science.
2) Analyze various political phenomena from their own perspectives.
Keywords
Politics, Political Science, International Politics, International Relations, Game Theory, Quantitative Analysis
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The course will be conducted online. It consists of 7 on-demand classes and 7 real-time online classes over Zoom. The schedule will be announced on Portal/OCW. Q&A is available via email or Slack.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction | Read the related chapter of the textbook below: Hajimeni |
| Class 2 | How to understand politics | Read chapter (ch. hereinafter). 1 of the textbook |
| Class 3 | Framework of states | Read ch. 2 of the textbook |
| Class 4 | Political regimes | Read ch. 3 of the textbook |
| Class 5 | Election and voting | Read ch. 4 of the textbook |
| Class 6 | Political parties and party systems | Read ch. 5 of the textbook |
| Class 7 | Governments and accountability | Read ch. 6 of the textbook |
| Class 8 | Executive power, legistration and judiciary | Read ch. 7 of the textbook |
| Class 9 | Policy process, bureaucracy and interest group | Read ch. 8 of the textbook |
| Class 10 | Federalism and local government system | Read ch. 9 of the textbook |
| Class 11 | Security and peace | Read ch. 10 of the textbook |
| Class 12 | International political economy | Read ch. 11 of the textbook |
| Class 13 | International society and groups/individuals | Read ch. 12 of the textbook |
| Class 14 | Summary |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards for each class. They should do so by referring to textbooks.
Textbook(s)
Sunahara, Yosuke, Takeshi Hieda, and Atsushi Tago, 2020, Introduction to Political Science, Yuhikaku (Japanese).
Reference books, course materials, etc.
NA.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Mid-term report 40% (Scheduled on July 8); Final report 60%.
Related courses
- LAH.S103 ： Political Science A
- LAH.S304 ： Political Science C
Prerequisites
NA.