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12. Power balance: Japan’s Role in the Indo-Pacific under the constraints of big powers priorities and unsolved historical and territorial questions
- Author:
- Valerie Niquet
- Publication Date:
- 09-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Abstract:
- What is at stake today in the Indo-Pacific, is not only strategic stability and territorial issues, but also the defence and support of an international order based on democratic values and multilateralism. These values comprise respect for the rule of law, transparency, particularly concerning defence policy, military budget, financial institutions or ODA attribution policy, but also the denunciation of the use of force or threat to use force to solve territorial or other issues and of course the respect for global commons and freedom of navigation. In that respect, the evolution of the situation in the IndoPacific is of global interest, including for the European Union and its member States. These democratic values constitute the core of the liberal international order and are more broadly accepted as universal norms, including in the Asia Pacific. Asean, for instance, a leading player in the region, favours the signature of a code of conduct in the South China sea based on these values in spite of the attachment of its member States, to the principles of non-interference and sovereignty
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, History, Power Politics, Territorial Disputes, and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- Japan, Asia, and Indo-Pacific
13. British India, Russia, and the Future of Neighborhood Diplomacy: Ekai Kawaguchi’s Notes on 20th Century Tibet
- Author:
- Monika Chansoria
- Publication Date:
- 09-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Abstract:
- Around the decade of 1880s, a substantial number of native Indians (usually pilgrims and priests visiting sacred places) were permitted to enter Tibet. Ekai Kawaguchi recalled his experience and understanding of the Tibetans and described them as inherently hospitable people, by and large. Assessing the relationship existing formerly between British India and Tibet, Kawaguchi acknowledged that British India was closely connected with Tibet since long. In the initial phase, Tibet’s attitude towards the British Indian Government could not be termed resentful or hostile.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, History, and Trade
- Political Geography:
- Britain, India, Asia, and Tibet
14. Governance, Education, Trade, Finance, Religion, and Gender: Ekai Kawaguchi’s Notes on 20th Century Tibet
- Author:
- Monika Chansoria
- Publication Date:
- 10-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Abstract:
- The politico-governance landscape in 20th century Lhasa oversaw a system of hierarchical government–one in which, the hierarchy was composed of both, clerical and lay departments, each consisting of an equal number of men. The 165 priests belonging to the higher ranks attending to the affairs of the State bore the title “Tse Dung.” The lay officials with corresponding rank and number held the title “Dung Khor.” The most visible distinguishing mark between the priests and laymen was that while the former shaved their hair and wore priestly robes, the latter did not.1 The priestly functionaries of higher ranks were subjected to control by four Grand Secretaries, bearing the title “Tung yk chen mo”, though the real powers were vested in the seniormost priest. Similarly, four “Shabpe” (Premiers) were appointed over the higher lay officials.2 Only one among the four “Shabpe” held precedence in wielding real power, while the other three were his councilors and advisers.
- Topic:
- Education, Gender Issues, Government, Religion, Governance, Finance, and Trade
- Political Geography:
- Japan, Asia, and Tibet
15. Why Germany matters for Japan
- Author:
- Hans Kundnani
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Abstract:
- Since the euro crisis began in 2010, there has been much debate about German power in Europe. Germany has been widely seen as a kind of European “hegemon.” But this both exaggerates the extent of German power in Europe and underplays how problematic it is. Rather, Germany has reverted to the position of “semi-hegemony” within Europe that it occupied between 1871 and 1945.1 However, whereas the classical “German question” was geopolitical, the new version of the “German question” is geo-economic – that is, German power is now economic rather than military. These questions around German power are extremely important for the future of Europe. But why should anyone in Japan be interested in them?
- Topic:
- History, Bilateral Relations, and Geopolitics
- Political Geography:
- Japan, Europe, Asia, and Germany
16. 2019 ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus: Enhancing Bilateral and Regional Cooperative Security for India and Japan in the Indo-Pacific
- Author:
- Monika Chansoria
- Publication Date:
- 12-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Abstract:
- Since the end of the Cold War, cooperative security became a catchphrase term used generally to describe a more peaceful approach to security through increased international cooperation. The cooperative security model essentially embraced four concentric and mutually reinforcing “rings of security”: Individual Security, Collective Security, Collective Defense, and Promoting Stability. In 1992, American strategists — Ashton Carter, William Perry, and John Steinbruner discussed cooperative security in terms of providing new avenues toward world peace, and argued, “Organizing principles like deterrence, nuclear stability, and containment embodied the aspirations of the cold war… Cooperative Security is the corresponding principle for international security in the post– cold war era.” Two years later, in 1994, former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans described cooperative security as tending “… to connote consultation rather than confrontation, reassurance rather than deterrence, transparency rather than secrecy, prevention rather than correction, and interdependence rather than unilateralism.”
- Topic:
- Security, Regional Cooperation, Bilateral Relations, and ASEAN
- Political Geography:
- Japan, India, Asia, and Indo-Pacific
17. Territorial Annexation of Tibet: Tenure of the 13th Dalai L ama (1876-1933) recorded by Charles Bell (For mer Br it ish Polit ical Representative in Tibet, Bhutan, and Sikkim)
- Author:
- Monika Chansoria
- Publication Date:
- 05-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Abstract:
- Histor y often tends to repeat itself, or as Spanish-American philosopher, Jorge Agustín Santayana wrote in 1905-06 in The Life of Reason, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. While setting out to write on, or about Tibet, it is inevitable to conclude that there never was, or will be, a long walk to freedom either for Tibet, or for the holy chair of the successive Dalai Lamas – the god and king-in-one incarnation of Chen-re-zi, the Lord of Mercy – the patron deity of Tibet. The Dalai Lama not only governs his subjects in this life, but can influence their rebirth in the next, or as Tibetans believe is the “Ruler in this life, the Uplifter in the hereafter.” The journeys of the Dalai Lamas in and out of Tibet recount being perennially those, which forced them out of their homeland in the most pressing, dark, and arduous circumstances. These have been recorded most persuasively by Sir Charles Bell, British civil servant, and former British Political Representative in Tibet, Bhutan, and Sikkim, whose accounts dedicated to the memory of the 13th Dalai Lama stand testament to their long and affectionate friendship. Bell’s work Portrait of The Dalai Lama published in 1946 is amongst the finest accounts on Tibet’s chequered history. It’s important to understand Tibet’s geography and the course of events that shaped its historical and political destiny in order to realize the relations that Tibet shared with the powers that encircled it. The Chinese overlord ship, which commenced early in the 18th century and ended in 1912, was often little more than nominal. China’s endeavor to control the foreign policy of Tibet sprang mainly from two reasons: First, the Chinese desired the country as a barrier on the west; and second, from 1642, when the supreme authority of the Dalai Lama was established– China sought his spiritual backing to restrain the turbulent Mongols from invading the northern Chinese provinces.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Religion, History, and Territorial Disputes
- Political Geography:
- Asia, Tibet, and Bhutan
18. Countering Foreign Influence and Inter ference in Open Societies —A Japanese Perspective on Authoritarian Infiltration
- Author:
- Hideshi Tokuchi
- Publication Date:
- 02-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Abstract:
- It is almost a cliché that Australia and New Zealand are canaries in the coal mine for Chinese attempts at exerting political influence. In fact, Chinese influence is not a topic that affects just Oceania. It is already a serious challenge that confronts all democracies and open societies. According to Clive Hamilton’s “Silent Invasion,” a Chinese diplomat who sought political asylum in Australia told Hamilton that Australia’s openness, relatively small population, a large number of Chinese immigrants and commitment to multiculturalism have weakened Australia’s capacity to recognize and defend against the Chinese infiltration, but all democracies and open societies are susceptible to the threat
- Topic:
- Authoritarianism, Geopolitics, and Foreign Interference
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, and Asia
19. 1919 Paris Peace Conference Centennial: Recollecting India’s Representation and Participation
- Author:
- Monika Chansoria
- Publication Date:
- 01-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Abstract:
- The Paris Peace Conference opened on January 18, 1919, paving way for an ensuing legacy of peacemaking. It aimed at fortifying the conceptual foundations in reference to the very essential premise on which peacemaking rests – i.e., bringing a conflict/war to a halt, and thereafter initiating a diplomatic process that seeks to provide a platform for initiating the process of reconciliation. Held at the Palace of Versailles, the Peace Conference saw delegates from 27 parties, with rigorous deliberations and recommendations that eventually got included into the Treaty of Versailles with Germany, held at the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, on June 28, 1919.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Treaties and Agreements, History, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- India and Asia
20. Rethinking Regionalism in Asia: Influence of India’s Pragmatic Ancient Statecraft Arthashastra
- Author:
- Monika Chansoria
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Japan Institute Of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Abstract:
- India’s rise and consequent role in global politics has oscillated amid terms like emerging power, regional power, global power, and a would-be great power. Primarily pursuing soft power strategies in its immediate and extended region since the Cold War years and earlier, India was and continues to be known for maintaining a policy of strategic autonomy balancing relations with major powers/power blocs. Contrary to the years of the Cold War and immediate post-Cold War period, when it was labeled being rather disinclined to project itself as a power to reckon with, India appears inching, albeit very gradually, toward staking that claim. In doing so, New Delhi is inclined and determined towards forging ‘strategic partnerships’ that are pragmatic and remain best-suited to Indian national interests, based on converging partnerships with shared interests and goals. With dividends such as growing demographic, economic, political, and military status, New Delhi can be described as taking baby steps towards cementing its place as a rising power in the evolving world order. This world order also witnesses the momentous emergence of Chinese military and political power and nearly concurrent decline of America’s policy-oriented and strategic weight to confront China’s rise, especially across the Indo-Pacific. It is this remodeled multipolar architecture which has been instrumental in goading India to employ its distinct blend of hard and soft power, with the objective that its stature and role will not end up being merely tangential.
- Topic:
- Cold War, Regional Cooperation, History, Power Politics, and Partnerships
- Political Geography:
- India and Asia
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