Ritsumeikan University, Graduate School of International Relations

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An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of International Relations in Asia

Sachio Nakato
Associate Dean
Graduate School of International Relations
Ritsumeikan Univesity

How are courses at Ritsumeikan University tailored to fit the interests of your students?

Fully taught in English, our Global Cooperation Program (GCP) tackles global governance issues from an interdisciplinary approach, providing courses from cultural studies to economics. One course I offer, International Political Economy, not only introduces basic concepts and theories of IPE but also asks students to develop their master's thesis with an interdisciplinary approach.

My students, like Robert and Alexandra Gerbracht, find that coursework at Ritsumeikan ties in with the interests and experiences that are already helping them develop their theses. Robert, who studied sociological anthropology in his master's studies at Columbia University, found similarities between this major and the sociological aspects of IPE. Currently a U.S. military officer, he now researches the sociological implications of Japan's military transformation from a variety of disciplines. His wife, Alexandra, who studied security studies at GW's Elliott School of International Relations, works on U.S.-Japan security and economic relations.

Students are encouraged to perform independent research. In order to guide students in their research, GCP offers individual systematic advising and supervision. An academic adviser is assigned from the beginning of the student's enrollment based on the student's research topic and is responsible for supervising research activities.

However, the teacher/student roles are not fixed. In my seminars, Muhammad Wahyu Widianto, a customs officer in Indonesia's Ministry of Finance, studies the impact of the ASEAN free trade area on Indonesia's manufacturing industry. Another student, Ezral Bin Uzaimi, from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry who engaged in the Japan-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement negotiations, also joins my seminars. I offer them theoretical advice and, in return, they provide me with practical knowledge on trade issues. We learn from each other through these seminars.

How has your research aided students in their academic development?

My current research interest is twofold. First, I am now working on a comparative study of Japanese and Korean responses to U.S. pressure in the beef industry. I will present this paper in the fall at the Six University Symposium in Shanghai, China. A couple of years ago, I published The Political Economy of U.S.-Japan Trade Frictions. My current work elaborates on the theoretical perspectives of this previous work.

My second research theme examines U.S.-Japan-South Korean engagement policy toward North Korea, funded by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. While I try to develop my theoretical framework based on the concept of "engagement" as part of my research, I have had intense talks with government officials from the United States, Republic of Korea, and Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Because of these research interests, many Korean students join my seminars. PhD student Song Key Yong conducted research on the transformation of the U.S.-South Korean Security Alliance. Park Chung-hee, another PhD student, is studying the ideological conflicts within South Korean politics regarding North Korean policy; she hopes to be a politician in the future. We are all now translating a book on South Korea's unification policy toward North Korea into Japanese. I look forward to publishing a book with them when we conclude this current project.

Ristumeikan University
Graduate School of International Relations
www.ritsumei.ac.jp/acd/gr/gsir/eng/index.html
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(+81-75) 465-1211

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