Anand Rao is an assistant professor of political science & international relations. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia in 2015 and joined the faculty at SUNY Geneseo in that same year. At Geneseo, he regularly teaches an introductory comparative politics class as well as higher-level courses on the topics of East Asian politics, terrorism and national security, and democratic peace theory.
Office Hours: Spring 2024
MW 1:45-3:15pm and by appointment on Microsoft Teams
Curriculum Vitae
Education
Ph.D. in Politics, University of Virginia, August 2015
Certificate in Japanese, Full-Year Asian Language Concentration Program, Cornell University, May 2002
M.A. in Political Science, Columbia University, May 2000
B.A. in History and Political Science, Union College (NY), June 1996
Peer-Reviewed Publications
"Presence of Malice: Japan and North Korea's Non-Relations," in Strategies of Survival: North Korean Foreign Policy Under Kim Jong-Un, edited by Jun Taek Kwon & Weiqi Zhang, Lexington Books (April 2023), pp. 77-96: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666922318/Strategies-of-Survival-North-Kore…
"Is the East Asia Quadrilateral Sustainable?," Asian Politics & Policy 13:2 (April 2021), pp. 266-279.
"To Dodge or Bite the Bullet: Immigration Politics in Japan," Japan Studies Association Journal 15:1 (2017), pp. 66-82.
Other Publications
Commentary, "Shadow of Japanese Colonialism May Cloud U.S. policy," Times Union (Albany), 27 July 2021, https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Commentary-Shadow-of-Japanes…
Book Review, "New Policies for New Residents: Immigrants, Advocacy, and Governance in Japan and Beyond," by Deborah J. Milly, Cornell University Press, in International Migration Review 50:1 (Spring 2016), pp. e5-e6.
Research Interests & Affiliations
Research Interests:
- Comparative politics
- International relations
- Immigration politics
- East Asian politics
- Domestic politics & foreign relations of Japan
- Academic Visitor at St Antony's College, University of Oxford, October-December 2023
Paper Presentations Done to Date at:
- Association for Asian Studies--2017
- Japan Studies Association--2011, '17, '19
- Midwest Political Science Association--2013, '16
- New York State Political Science Association--2018
- Northeastern Political Science Association--2019, '22
- Political Studies Association (UK)--2019, '23
- American Political Science Association--2023
Policy Related Activities
Selected after a competitive application process to be a member of Cohort V (2019-2022) of the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future, a program run by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. More information can be found here. Also, you can listen to my 2023 interview with Mansfield Foundation staff member Tim White here.
Classes
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PLSC 380: Asia in the Global Setting
This course covers controversial issues of diplomacy, politics, and economics faced by the regions of East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Countries emphasized include the People’s Republic of China, Japan, North and South Korea, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Singapore. Special attention is given to problems of development, regional cooperation, the relationships between domestic and foreign policy and Asia’s role in world politics.
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PLSC 441: Democracy & Int'l Relations
What is the connection between democracy and international politics? Would a more democratic world be a more peaceful world? Are democracies inherently more peaceful than nondemocracies? This course examines the concept of the democratic peace, beginning with Kant’s notion of the democratic pacific union. We then examine major contemporary works on democratic peace theory, arguments modifying our understanding of the democratic peace, and important critiques of this concept.
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PLSC 492: Comparative Politics Theories
An exploration of the theoretical approaches to understanding comparative politics. The course addresses the dimensions and requirements of good theory as well as emphasizing the comparative politics research methodologies. Theoretical issues explored will include classical theory, institutional, cultural, and rational choice approaches, social movements, political change (including democratization), the state, and civil society.