Department of Government and Justice Studies

 Dr. George Ehrhardt came to Appalachian State in 2011. His research focuses on politics in East Asia, especially Japan. Dr. Ehrhardt's work on Japanese domestic politics and on the security policies of both Japan and South Korea has been published in the Japanese Journal of Political Science, Politics and Religion, the Korean Journal of Defense Analysis and other journals. In addition, he edited and contributed to the first comprehensive study on Japan's Buddhist political party Komeito in several decades. Along with his research, he also teaches two departmental courses on the topic: a survey course on Asian Politics offered every other spring and a seminar in Japanese Politics. As a member faculty of the Global Studies program, he teaches a seminar comparing the Japanese experience after its financial crisis in 1991 to the American experience after 2008. Dr. Ehrhardt coordinates the deparment's undergradute research methods training. In addition to curricular revisions, he has also written the manual used for the sequence's lab component.

Areas of Expertise and Interest:

• Asian Politics
• Research Methods

Education:

• 2002 Indiana University, Bloomington IN. Ph.D. in Political Science. Dissertation topic: Japanese and South Korean responses to US negotiations with North Korea. Advisor: Dr. Michael McGinnis. 
• 1995 Elliot School of International Affairs at the George Washington University, Washington, DC. M.A. in International Affairs. 
• 1991 Carleton College, Northfield, MN. B.A. cum laude in International Relations 

Courses Taught:

• Research Methods
• Ameriocan Conservatism
• International Politics
• International Political Economy
• Asian Politics

Website: http://www.appstate.edu/~ehrhardtgc