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Political science examines politics not only in government
and among nations but also in private organizations, businesses,
universities, families, languages and daily life. Various
methods are used to do this, ranging from the interpretive
and historical to the quantitative and statistical.
The Department of Political Science at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (UHM) offers graduate programs leading to
the MA and the PhD. The MA program invites applicants who
are prepared to think critically and constructively about
political phenomena. The PhD program welcomes applicants who
are prepared to construct a successful course of study based
on their individual interests, in conjunction with appropriate
advising and course work.
The department's faculty members are especially distinguished
in the fields of international relations, political theory,
comparative studies, Asian politics, futures studies, and
policy analysis. Students may specialize in alternative futures,
Asian and Pacific politics, comparative politics, international
relations, political behavior, political theory, or public
policy.
Graduates in political science enter numerous professions,
including journalism, foreign service, social services, government,
law, law enforcement, teaching, civil service, business, librarianship
and research. Many of the department's graduate students come
from abroad and return to their home countries to become leaders
in their fields.
Below is an overview of the available areas of specialization:
Alternative Futures is a specialization premised on
the fact that industrial societies are undergoing such extensive
and rapid change that it is impossible to map out the future
simply by extending knowledge of the past or experiences of
the present. The option seeks to forecast things to come,
using theories of social structure and change, examining the
causes and consequences of transformation, leading to the
construction of alternative images of possible futures. The
program also emphasizes envisioning, designing, inventing,
and achieving preferred alternative futures. We wish to enable
persons to decolonize their future, to dream more viable dreams
than they presently may imagine and to strive to achieve them.
Asian and Pacific Politics is a specialization offering
a variety of courses ranging from country-oriented courses
(on Cambodia, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam)
to region-oriented courses (South and Southeast Asia, South
Pacific, and the Middle East), and to topic-oriented courses
(food and politics, agriculture and politics, dependency,
human rights, ethnic relations, nonviolent alternatives) in
which Asian, Pacific, and third world materials constitute
key components of the course.
Faculty members who teach these courses represent a variety
of theoretical and ideological approaches, and they are all
active researchers in their respective areas of specialization.
Many speak the languages of the areas that they teach and
are personally familiar with the culture and history of these
areas. Their interests are not limited to the study of their
areas, but are enriched by the development of theories that
can explain a wider area of human activities in the world.
The courses complement other offerings on Asia and the Pacific,
such as those at the School of Asian and Pacific Studies.
Comparative Politics explores the differential development
of politics, economics, and society in various "areas"
of the world. Some of the issues that are studied include
(a) models of development and their varied impacts on different
classes, regions, genders, and cultures; (b) the processes
of liberalization and democratization that have been reshaping
the post-cold-war world; (c) the resurgence of ethnic, religious,
and other movements that seem both derivative from and responses
to modernity; (d) the continued relevance of colonialism and
militarization in today's world; and (e) questions of identity
and otherness in postcolonial societies.
Rather than taking the spatializations of the world as a
given (developed versus underdeveloped, first versus third
world, the Occident and the Orient, nations, regions, etc.),
comparative politics attempts to be reflexive about the political
and contested origins of the worlds we inhabit. Specific courses
deal with theoretical questions (the impact of the newly-industrializing
countries on the rest of the third world; the process of democratization
in former dictatorships; the politics of the peasantry; the
political economy of Hawai'i ; ecologically sensitive models
of development), and are often centered on "areas"
of study (South and Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Hawai'i and the Pacific islands) or countries (China, India, Germany,
Japan, the Philippines). Graduate students are encouraged
to do field work in settings where the interaction between
theory and empirical research is central.
Conflict Resolution brings together theories and methodologies
of political science, social science, the humanities, and
law with the skills and techniques of dispute resolution,
particularly mediation and conciliation. The goal is to give
the student an understanding of the dynamics of conflict resolution
from comparative, historical, and theoretical perspectives.
Emphasis is placed on practice in the Asia-Pacific region
and in international contexts. A further emphasis is placed
on acquiring the skills of conflict resolution (listening,
communicating, and appreciation of variations in process)
and in practicing them in both institutional and personal
settings.
International Relations is the study of relationships
among governments, international social and migratory movements,
non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations, transnational
corporations, trade unions, and political parties. This study
is inherently interdisciplinary, dealing not only with international
politics but also international anthropology, economics, history,
the sociology of transnational relationships, and the modeling
of these relations.
Courses focus on international relations theory, international
organization and law, international security, environmental
politics, human rights, ethnic politics, nonviolent political
alternatives, conflict resolution, global modeling, and simulation
of international organizations such as the UN. Area studies
taught include American foreign policy and foreign policy
in the Middle East, China, Japan, South and Southeast Asia,
and the South Pacific. Many international relations faculty
members have also worked closely with the Spark M. Matsunaga
Institute for Peace.
Political Behavior involves the analysis of political
attitudes, culture, socialization, persuasion, competition,
and participation. Cognate disciplines that reinforce such
an approach to politics include psychology, anthropology,
sociology, and zoology (especially ethnology and behavioral
ecology). Political behavior is therefore concerned with leadership,
followership, and organization, with large and small groups
alike. It also deals with the decision-making and actions
of individuals, with learning and development, with subcultures
(and therefore ethnicity) as well as cultures, with gender,
with violence and nonviolence, and with modes of political
expression.
Political behavior is no more closely related to the American
politics than to those of any other society, except for the
coincidence that students of political behavior are so numerous
in the United States. Thus, those who focus on American government as
well as on factors underlying political activities in other
governments and societies share a common intellectual heritage
and set of concerns.
Political Theory covers a wide variety of intellectual
traditions, focusing on interpretative, critical, hermeneutic,
democratic, phenomenological, transformational, feminist,
gender, contextual, nonviolent and aesthetic approaches. The
faculty shares the assumption that the meaning of the subject
matter of political theory—whether it is a text, a community,
a revolution, or a political establishment—depends significantly
on the concerns of those who presume to interpret it. Whatever
is investigated is regarded as socially constructed, as constituted
by the way it is perceived. Whether the focus is on a class
of political philosophy, a legislative act, a health policy,
or a political movement, we see ourselves engaged in imposing
and exposing meanings. And we regard such an activity -such
politics- as an effort to integrate theory and action.
Public Policy is taught by faculty from such varied
bases as language analysis, choice theory, institutional analysis,
outcomes, development, and futuristics, reflecting the character
of both the student body and the faculty. Some courses focus
on organizational theory and comparative administration. Typically,
the core course in the policy field is taught to a mix of
non-American students interested in the application of Western-oriented
policy studies to the analysis of policy in their home country;
administrators in state and local government; and students
from fields that are increasingly "policy-sensitive"
(e.g., public health).
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Spalding 354