Japan and the European Union: shared foreign policy interests

Background  Japan and the European Union (Reiterer (2004b) 2:33–42) are both interested in enhancing their international standing in order to overcome their perceived status as economic giants but political dwarfs. While the reasons for this endeavour as well as the inherent characteristics of the actors involved—a traditional nation state as compared to the most advanced integration structure world-wide—are quite different, both entities see themselves primarily as civilian powers (Whitman (2006) 11(1):1–15) without neglecting the need to endow themselves with a military capacity in order to be more effective and credible on a world-wide scale. The ‘EU is emerging as a key regional actor in certain global affairs, particularly in such areas as finance, trade, environment and development, and current policy is directed towards enhancing the role of the European Union in the global governance system. To this end, the European Commission is actively engaged in such issues as the global governance of trade, the protection of human rights, the promotion of democracy, strengthening of regional and global security communities, and encouraging regional integration in other parts of the world.’ (Farrel (2005) 10(4):452–453)—all areas, except the latter task, where the EU and Japan could potentially cooperate closely.Objectives  Before identifying shared foreign policy interests between the EU and Japan, I will first bring to light some of the interests the EU has in East Asia in general; secondly I will chart the major Japanese foreign policy interests which will allow me to map out areas of potential common interest and concern.Adjunct Professor for International Politics, University of Innsbruck; Minister and Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Japan; the author expresses his own views which should not be attributed to the European Commission. The author whishes to recognize the research assistance of Ms. Sachi Claringbould.

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The second face of security: Britain's 'Smart' appeasement policy towards Japan and Germany

Most states have numerous paths to create security for themselves.Foreign policy-makers must recognize that their own securitypolicy will initiate a process that structures the nature ofthe domestic competition over domestic and foreign policy inother countries. I contend that one state's security alternativecan empower or weaken domestic actors and interest groups inopposing foreign powers. I term this process the ‘secondface of security’ since it entails a less direct and morenuanced method of creating security (in contrast to the ‘firstface of security’). I apply this model to explain theintent of Britain's ‘smart’ or targeted appeasementpolicy during the 1930s – to strengthen conservative business,government officials, and economic circles in banking, lightindustry and finished goods, and even heavy industry in orderto steer Tokyo and Berlin away from rearmament and extreme autarky.     

Japan and two theories of military doctrine formation: civilian policymakers, policy preference, and the 1976 National Defense Program Outline

Using hitherto underutilized Japanese material, this paper systematicallyanalyzes two competing theories of military doctrine formation thataccount for the construction of the 1976 National Defense ProgramOutline (NDPO), postwar Japan’s first military doctrine.It demonstrates that, on balance, available evidence on thepolicy preference of two key civilian policymakers, Michio Sakataand Takuya Kubo, is more consistent with the interpretationdrawn from Posen’s balance-of-power theory than with thatfrom Kier’s domestic culturalist theory. While by no means ignoredby these policymakers, domestic political concerns neither dominantly shaped,nor gave a specific direction to their policy action. Rather,the policymakers were motivated to formulate the best responsepossible to Japan’s new international strategic conditions.This finding relates the hitherto neglected significance ofthe NDPO case to the larger, ongoing realist–constructivistdebate on the formation of military doctrine. It also leadsus to a more sophisticated understanding of NDPO formation,which focuses on the process of how a combination of politicalleadership and ideas triggered the breakthrough in Japanesesecurity policymaking.     

日本形势回顾与展望

20 0 1年日本掀起了战后罕见的全方位改革 ,被誉为日本版“撒切尔主义”和“里根经济学”的“小泉革命”正在改变着战后日本资本主义模式。但改革的震动和守旧势力的抵制以及亚太地区环境的变化决定小泉改革不可能一帆风顺。改革的成败将直接影响其“政治自立”、“经济自助”、“外交自主”的整体国家战略目标 ,亦将对亚太格局变动产生深刻影响。     

语言政策与国家认同:原苏联民族语言政策的失误与思考

苏联成立后,没有建立将俄语作为国家通用语言进行推广的法律框架,但在具体实践中却逐渐强化了俄语作为通用语的推广力度,并将推广俄语与构建"苏联人民"联系起来。由于没有辩证地区分语言的身份标志作用与交流作用,因而引起了一些非俄罗斯加盟共和国民族主义情绪的反弹。上述失误使原苏联语言政策未能有效发挥对国家认同应有的促进作用。     

Competing Visions of Japan’s International Engagement: Japan First vs Global Japan

ABSTRACT

The state and direction of Japan’s international engagement can best be understood as a competition between the ‘Japan first’ and ‘global Japan’ schools of thought. In light of the ever worsening security environment surrounding Japan, the gap between the Japan first school advocating a focus on the immediate needs of Japan’s territorial defence and the global Japan school arguing for more global engagement is widening. The competition between the two will continue to shape the direction of Japan’s foreign and security posture – and importantly, the global Japan school is far from winning, contrary to what Abe’s hyperactive diplomacy might suggest.     

The reputational bases of India’s China policy: the forward policy and beyond

ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes instances of the Indian leadership’s choice of an escalatory approach in its border dispute with China, first in the adoption of the Forward Policy in the lead up to the 1962 war, and more briefly the more recent decision in 2017 to take escalatory action in response to Chinese activity in the Doklam area in the trijunction of the India-China-Bhutan border region. In doing so, the paper demonstrates how a focus on reputation as an explanatory factor may allow us to make better sense of how Indian leaders have in the past and continue to in the present make decisions on key issues of national security concern.     

Russian policies on central and eastern Europe: An overview

After the collapse of both the Warsaw Treaty Organisation and the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance in 1990—91 Russia has lost highly effective instruments of (repressive) control of the East European countries and has been left without any significant influence on the economic, political and military developments in the region ever since. This can partly be explained by the deep distrust and emotional reserve vis‐à‐vis Russia on behalf of the new ruling elites in the region. A very important additional factor, however, has been the lack of a clear and coherent Russian strategy on the region in the early years of independent Russian statehood. After the initial loss of importance the region has regained prominence only indirectly as a crucial variable in Russian relations with Western countries and institutions such as NATO, the WEU, and the EU. Though deeper economic and trade relations between Russia and the region seem mutually advantageous, a major rapprochement seems to be blocked by political reservations and considerations.     

Gender in education: policy discourse and challenges

This article examines the socio-economic and cultural milieu of girls in Bangladesh and how it erodes the benefits of education. Laws and rules, even basic human rights, are unknown to many women. Economically active women too are affected by cultural norms and social taboos which reinforce their helplessness. Gender discrimination, especially for women, and inequity, physical, and verbal abuse persist. Women's empowerment is resisted by some women, and this poses a barrier to girls’ education, as evident from a rights perspective. Women's subordination to men is conditioned by a whole range of traditional practices embedded in the family and kin-group. Women's scope of work is mostly limited to domestic chores and care: education investment, borne out of the instrumentalist approach, is rendered ineffective as it is quite dependent upon socio-economic status and concomitant social structure. Education investment must uphold a capabilities approach to achieve sustained outcomes in education.