Contemporary American Politics and Foreign Policy
My research focuses on elections, Congress, and the media, examining how domestic political processes shape the formation of both foreign and domestic policy.　　Within contemporary American politics, I have concentrated particularly on the U.S. Congress, the media, and elections. These domains are never independent of one another; rather, they are closely interconnected. For example, elections—an essential form of political participation—determine the composition of Congress, which in turn enacts a wide range of legislation related to information policy, often influenced by public opinion. The media not only drives electoral dynamics but also exerts significant influence over the legislative process, functioning as critical political infrastructure that shapes the actions of major actors such as the president and political parties. Furthermore, it interacts with an array of additional actors—think tanks, interest groups, and others—creating relationships of mutual dependence that ultimately affect both foreign and domestic policy.　　These policies then feed back into public opinion and influence subsequent elections, generating a continuous cycle of “electoral democracy” with elections at its core. I conduct my research with sustained attention to this dynamic interplay, maintaining a broad analytical perspective on the evolving relationships among these political institutions and actors.

I believe that the ideal of graduate education is to provide students with a solid foundation on which they can wrestle with knowledge themselves and learn independently. Through the process of self‑directed learning, students begin to formulate their own understanding of how particular phenomena hold meaning within their worldview. This marks the beginning of truly original thinking. Once this foundation is established, it becomes something that supports them not only in their research but throughout their lives.　

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MAIL：maeshima@sophia.ac.jp　TEL：03-3238-4304