Department of Political Science

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The Department of Political Science is one of the leading political science communities in Taiwan . Our faculty represent a broad spectrum of backgrounds, methodologies and approaches. We have strength in teaching and research not only in the four fields of political science comparative politics, international relations, public policy, and civic education, but also in the areas of qualitiative and quantitative methodology, and political economy.

The Department offers a broad range of programmes covering the four main areas in the academic study of Politics: comparative politics, international relations, civic education and public administration and policy. The courses are designed to meet the needs of various levels of students and aimed to expose students to current issues, theories, approaches and debates in the discipline/sub-disciplines of Politics and to provide comprehensive training in different aspects of normative and empirical political science and prepare students for careers involving this expertise.

Module I: Comparative Politics

This module provides a strong conceptual and empirical understanding of comparative politics, while also assesses several key topics in the ROC government and politics. It looks at institutions and phases of development of democracy in Taiwan and emphasizes the academic controversies about how to interpret all these developments. It also examines whether and how the authority would be devolved in this newly democratised politics, and the development of local politics (in particular politics in Chia-yiand Yun-lin area). This module further discusses current political and economic development in China, which shall have profound impact on the future of Taiwan, and regional and global power structures.

Module II: International Relations

The central theme of this programme is to introduce the study of international relations and analyze the way in which states and other institutions interact, with specific reference to the ROC and its foreign relations, which has been a contested issue in the ROC and world politics. This module seeks to examine the means and the extent to which the ROC could normalize its relations with the rest of the world. It considers the development of the ROCs foreign relations on the basis of perspectives of geopolitics and global economic co-operation --- whether the ROC could break out of diplomatic isolation with its geopolitical significance in the Asia-Pacific area and with its critical role in world economy.

Module III: Public Administration and Public Policy

This module explores the principal theories of public administration and policy-making, seeking to identify the approaches to improve the functions of public sectors in Taiwan. It focuses on assessing the political and fiscal relations between the central and local governments (in particular local governments in South Taiwan); examining governmental organizations and personnel management; and studying cases of public policies and administration. This programme also sets discussions on industrial policies in the context of economic and industrial development in Taiwan and arranges practice training in the public sector to equip students with best skills and knowledge in their future career.

Module IV: Civic Education

Websitehttp://polsci.ccu.edu.tw/2009/english/introduction.php