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Middle East Area Studies,
Peacebuilding

The world is changing. Ten years ago, we could not believe the age is coming when the US dollar gets so weak as today and will be continuously so. Unexpected conflicts and natural disasters often happen these days. Climate change seems to have been more dramatically happening more than many of us believed. One small incident that used to be domestic has now given much impact globally. Greek financial shock is one of the examples. There are many challenges the globalized world has faced today. How to mitigate poverty and gender disparity, how to construct societies in which people from different backgrounds can live together, and how international society can provide assistance to post-conflict societies are among the challenges. These problems seem to be so far away from our daily. Yet, is that the case really?
Japan, too has many problems, as Japan has faced a declining population with the increasing population of the elderly. What kind of new industries can Japan create to develop more economically? How can we alleviate the gap between the rich and the poor that is getting bigger and bigger? What rational can we provide for Japan’s self-defense army to be dispatched to conflict and/or post-conflict zones under the name of international contribution? As a matter of fact, what vision we really need for our future depends on globalized economy and the increasingly high speed in the flow of money, people, goods and services. What kind of job do you have in the future? What do youbelieve important in your life? These are difficult questions but are the ones that should be thought out by knowing where you stand in the global context. Do you buy a chocolate bar for 100 yen at 100 Yen shop? Or do you pay 150yen for a chocolate bar in a “Fair Trade Shop”? Your choice may be different depending on the time and occasions. Yet, whatever choice you may make, it is a matter of value: what value do you consider important. In this sense, to open up yourself to world affairs is to rediscover yourself.
In my seminar, we will study why conflicts and wars happen, how to prevent conflicts and wars, and how to reconstruct post-conflict societies. Another area of study in my seminar is to think about how Muslim women can participate in society by adjusting themselves to a changing society that may have different values and practices than their traditions and cultural practices. Those who are interested in these issues are all welcomed to my seminar.