Teaching
Courses
Syllabi are the most recent version for each course.
Yale University
- Japanese Politics and Foreign Policy
This class introduces students to 11 important puzzles about contemporary Japanese politics and foreign policy, discusses various ways in which scholars have attempted to solve these puzzles, and suggests pathways for future research. Together, we seek to explain policy outcomes across a wide range of topics, including constitutional revision, defense, economic growth, energy, gender, immigration, income inequality, population aging, territorial disputes, and trade. In the process, we learn (1) the important actors in Japanese politics (e.g., voters, politicians, parties, bureaucrats, and firms); (2) the positions that different actors take with respect to various policies, as well as the sources of these policy preferences; and (3) how political institutions block or enhance the representation of these actors’ interests.
- Advanced Democracies
This course examines political challenges facing advanced democracies in the 21st century. Rather than focusing on democratic transitions or regime stability, we will investigate what political problems emerge after democracy consolidates. Topics include the puzzle of redistribution, unequal political representation, welfare state restructuring, globalization’s winners and losers, migration and membership, populism and democratic backsliding, demographic change, gender and care policy, and climate change. The course emphasizes both foundational theoretical frameworks and cutting-edge empirical research in comparative political economy.
- Age and Power
Younger people often have less political power than older people, yet they will live longer with the consequences of decisions made today. This imbalance takes on new urgency as declining birth rates and population aging transform societies around the world. In this course, we will explore the relationship between age and power in the United States and other countries through topics including political participation, representation, climate change, education, technology, work, housing, inequality, fertility, immigration, retirement, and healthcare. Throughout, we will analyze how political decisions shape our opportunities and security across the life course.
- Comparative Politics II
This survey course provides a general introduction to the field of comparative politics, with an emphasis on the most important theories and research themes. Topics include the foundations of political regimes, state formation, identity and nationalism, party development, electoral reforms, programmatic and clientelistic linkages, and social policy development. At the same time, the course seeks to strengthen students’ analytical skills in evaluating comparative research and prepare students to take the examination in comparative politics.
Earlier teaching
- Japanese Politics
- Causal Inference and Research Design
- Japanese Politics