Assignments

There are four assignments:

A précis (2 pages)
A short scenario paper (10 pages)
A longer briefing paper (up to 25 pages)
An oral presentation in class

A précis is not a critique or review of a longer work. It is a very concise summary of that longer piece of work. It is an abridged statement of the argument and evidence provided by the author. It is difficult to write because you must distill the essence of a longer (and often very complex argument) without injecting your own judgment about the strengths and weaknesses of the original.

The précis (2 pages) is to be written on at least one of the books marked by an asterisk (*) in the Readings table.

We will assign the books for each student collectively. Please be sure to send copies to both the instructor and to each student in the seminar. With the exception of readings for the first three sessions, all précis are due on the day the reading is assigned or suggested. Those from the first three sessions must be submitted by Session 4.

Student Example

“Précis: The Pursuit of Power.” (PDF)

This example appears courtesy of a MIT student and is anonymous by request.

Session 10: U.S. - Japan Bilateral Topics

The US-Japan Military Alliance
Extended Deterrence
Weapons Co-development, Co-Production, and Dual-Use Technology Transfer
Bilateral Trade and Investment

Session 11: Regional Topics

Regional Trade and Investment
New Security Architecture
Japanese Military Build-up
Japan and the Korean Peninsula
Sino-Japanese Relations
Russo-Japanese Relations
Japan-ASEAN Relations

Session 12: Global Topics

Japan and Terrorism
Global Warming
Collective Security
Japan and Maritime Security
Japan and the United Nations
Japan and International Organizations (World Bank, United Nations, WTO, IMF, OECD, etc.)
Global Treaties

Each student will prepare his / her own briefing on a single topic, selected from the list above. Each briefing will be organized according to the following outline:

Generic Context (What is this a case of? Alliance dynamics, Regional integration, etc.)
Analytics
1. Domestic politics
2. International system
3. International sources of domestic politics
4. Domestic sources of international politics
Link analysis to two or more of the following Japanese postures:
1. Status quo (Japan as junior partner)
2. Collective security in Northeast Asia
3. Japan as an independent regional power
4. Japan as an independent global power.

These briefings will require significant research and synthesis, but should be no more than 25 double-spaced pages in length. Each student will brief the class for 20 minutes. The papers are due within one week after the day of the presentation.

Imagine that you are a historian writing in the year 2050 explaining how the world / region arrived at one of the following outcomes:

A Northeast Asia Collective Security Regime
Japan as Junior Partner to U.S. (status quo 2016)
Japan as Junior Partner to China
Japan as Independent Middle Power
Japan as Independent Global Power

Be sure to assess the international, domestic political, national security, economic, and technological developments of the previous 4 decades (2010s–2040s) in developing your analysis. Argue plausibly how this outcome was obtained, using the class readings—both narrative and theoretical—and relevant baseline data you collect.

These papers should not exceed 10 pages in length. To help your scenario building, you might read:

Tetlock, Philip E., and Aaron Belkin. “Counterfactual Thought Experiments in World Politics: Logical, Methodological, and Psychological Perspectives.” Chapter 1 in Counterfactual Thought Experiments in World Politics. Princeton University Press, 1996. ISBN: 9780691027913. [Preview with Google Books]

Think outside the box!!!

This paper is due during Session 7.