Introduction to the political systems of Japan and South Korea
In this course, students are introduced to the essential elements and characteristics of the political systems of Japan and South Korea. Consequently, the course is divided into two parts, one dealing with the case of Japan and the other with the case of South Korea. Both halves of the semester deal with the same main topics without ignoring the special features of the countries. In each case, the system of government is introduced first and the political parties, the electoral system and foreign policy are discussed in the following sessions. In a further session, the course also deals explicitly with questions of dysfunctionalities of both democracies in order to support a sharpened understanding of the functioning of the respective political system in addition to a general basic knowledge of its characteristics. In its entirety, the course allows students to gain a comparative understanding of the respective specifics in design, function and practice by systematically contrasting the content of the two countries.
As this course is an introductory lecture, the main part of the course will be taught by the lecturers. However, students are encouraged to prepare for class by reading the assigned literature and to participate in class by asking questions and making comments in order to promote their own understanding and that of all other participants. Further course details will be available on Moodle.
While this course is taught in English to accomodate exchange students and other non-German speakers, BA-students will write their final thesis in German.
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