Graduate School of Social SciencesWaseda University

The objectives of the Major in Global Society are basic research into social sciences, corresponding to the current increasing worldwide complication and globalization, and demonstrative research regarding reorganization of international society from global viewpoints.
Today, in the midst of emerging globalism and with the rise of interdependent relationships among nations, the conventional nation-centered systems are forced to restructure and new orders must be developed from viewpoints of what we call “global politics”. In parallel with these movements, we must also focus on regionalism and localism. It can be said that such global-socialization movements are not limited to the fields of politics and economics, but tend to be observed notably throughout the modern world.

This Major in doctoral program has two objectives. Firstly, it will investigate the root of these revolutionary social changes, while aiming to formulate a hypothesis of established social science theories and construct new theories in order to find solutions for governing the new society. Secondly, it will shift its view on international society from traditional international relations to transnational relations, while aiming to construct theories for establishing new orders and also conducting demonstrative research.

Students will be constantly engaged between the humanities and social sciences which will train them to integrate the diverse knowledge that has been building since the start of modern Japan. With such training, students become researchers and specialists that can transform Contemporary Japanese Studies into a universal commodity and who can spread such knowledge globally.

Students will examine the current situation of each country’s civil society from the legal, political, and cultural aspect. While considering what would be the ideal system for civil society, students will engage in theoretical and practical research on popular opinion and the policy tools necessary for consensus building. In this way, students will be able to consider from a global perspective what 21st century civil society should be.

International Cooperation has traditionally been a field that focuses on the relationships between nations. However, in our research field students will learn to study international relations from a global perspective. Students will not only gain theoretical knowledge but also practical experience from the global community and engaging in interdisciplinary research on the international conditions necessary to achieve world peace, conflict resolution and peace building, and international cooperation.