Number of results to display per page
Search Results
162. Prospects for energy cooperation in North-East Asia
- Author:
- Ernest Wyciszkiewicz
- Publication Date:
- 08-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The cooperation between the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, and Japan in the field of energy is one of the major factors defining the foreign policies of these countries and determining the strategic environment in Northeast Asia. For several years now, each of the three countries has been considering means of ensuring long-term energy security (Japan and China), and the appropriate use of existing energy potential to modernise the state and improve its international standing (Russia).Although the energy cooperation between these countries is still of a limited scope, the dynamic development of the regional energy markets is to be expected, given the fast changing international setting. The nature of future relations between the three powers (whether cooperative or confrontational) in the field of energy will have an impact on both regional and global security, particularly if one considers the growing political and economic significance of the Asia-Pacific region. An analysis of the present state of this cooperation and of its future prospects entails a discussion of the existing international and domestic conditions determining the policies of the three main actors: Russia, China, and Japan.
- Topic:
- Security and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Japan, China, Israel, Northeast Asia, and Asia-Pacific
163. Remembering George Kennan: Lessons for Today?
- Author:
- Melvyn Leffler
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Kennan's thinking and policy prescriptions evolved quickly from the time he wrote the “Long Telegram” in February 1946 until the time he delivered the Walgreen Lectures at the University of Chicago in 1950. His initial emphasis was on the assessment of the Soviet threat. With new documents from the Soviet archives, we can see that the “Long Telegram” and the “Mr. X” article contained both brilliant insights and glaring omissions. After he was appointed by Secretary of State George C. Marshall to head the newly formed Policy Planning Staff, Kennan's thinking evolved from a focus on threat assessment to an emphasis on interests. Believing that the Soviet threat was political and ideological, and not military, Kennan stressed the importance of reconstructing Western Europe and rebuilding western Germany and Japan. The key task was to prevent the Kremlin from gaining a preponderance of power in Eurasia. Kennan always believed that containment was a prelude to rollback and that the Soviet Union could be maneuvered back to its prewar borders. Eventually, the behavior of the Kremlin would mellow and its attitudes toward international relations would change. The United States needed to negotiate from strength, but the object of strength was, in fact, to negotiate—and compromise. It was important for the United States to avoid overweening commitments. American insecurity stemmed from a mistaken emphasis on legalism and moralism. The United States could not transform the world and should not seek to do so. Goals needed to be modest, linked to interests, and pursued systematically. Kennan would have nothing but disdain for a policy based on notions of a “democratic peace.” But the empirical evidence of social scientists cannot be ignored. Should the pursuit of democracy no longer be seen as a value, but conceived of as an interest?
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Japan, America, Europe, Eurasia, Asia, Soviet Union, Germany, and Chicago
164. Culture and Collective Action - Japan, Germany and the United States after September 11, 2001
- Author:
- Dirk Nabers
- Publication Date:
- 09-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- In order to provide a lens to the issue of international security cooperation after 11 September 2001, this paper will examine the question of how collective action in international relations becomes possible. The author maintains that it is possible to understand, if not explain, a fair amount of inter-state collective action by analyzing the culture of the international system. Using discourse analysis as a tool, the analysis addresses the underlying ideas, norms and identities that constitute the relationship between the United States and Japan on the one hand and Germany and the United States on the other hand as it evolved since September 2001. As a result, the paper argues that even if the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington have led to strong pressure on states like the United States, Germany and Japan to form a collective identity, rivalling identities have yet not given way.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, New York, Washington, Asia, and Germany
165. The European Union Defence Industry and the Appeal of the Chinese Market
- Author:
- Eugene Kogan
- Publication Date:
- 01-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Austrian National Defence Academy
- Abstract:
- This report deals exclusively with the European Union and the People's Republic of China (PRC, also known as China) and not with a broader range of issues, such as, for instance, the impact of an embargo lift on the Asia-Pacific balance of power or on the Trans-Atlantic relations. The concerns of countries, such as Australia, Japan, South Korea and, undoubtedly, Taiwan are a very important issue. However, this report sets out to deal exclusively with the EU-China issue. Nevertheless, one can say that, for instance, the delivery of the airborne early-warning and control system (AWACS) to China would considerably change the balance of power in the Asia- Pacific region and exacerbate already strained Trans-Atlantic relations. The US will face the serious dilemma of how to deal with the EU over such deliveries to China, since the EU is their partner and not a subordinate as Israel is, for instance.
- Topic:
- Security and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Europe, Asia, South Korea, and Australia
166. Security Council Reform Debate Highlights Challenges Facing UN
- Author:
- Ian Williams
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- Within a day of arriving at the United Nations John Bolton, the former lobbyist for Taiwan and advocate for one permanent seat on the Security Council, the United States, had cut a deal with the Chinese representative. China wants to stop an additional permanent Security Council seat for Japan. The United States had promised Japan its support in return for its loyalty over Iraq, but hated Germany more than it loves Japan. So the two agreed to thwart the attempt by the G-4 (Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan), to secure permanent seats during the current reform proposals.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, India, Taiwan, Asia, Brazil, and Germany
167. Considering China as a Potential Member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group
- Author:
- Andrew Prosser
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Defense Information
- Abstract:
- In January 2004, China formally requested to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), an informal multilateral export control regime that aims to contribute to the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons through the coordination and implementation of guidelines which govern transfers of nuclear material and technology. The NSG's membership comprises the principal nuclear supplier states in Europe and the Americas, as well as Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, and a number of former Eastern Bloc states, including Russia. The group's decisions, including those concerning the admission of new members, are made on a consensus basis, but the informal nature of the organization means that its decisions cannot be construed as legally binding upon its member countries.
- Topic:
- Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Japan, China, Asia, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand
168. Japan's Constitution and Defense Policy: Entering a New Era?
- Author:
- Rust Deming
- Publication Date:
- 11-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Japan's postwar defense policy was set by the 1947 constitution. Early in the occupation, General Douglas MacArthur and his staff concluded that the 19th-century Meiji constitution needed to be revised or entirely replaced if Japan were to become a true democracy, with the Emperor removed from any political role. In January 1946, convinced that the elitist and authoritarian Japanese establishment was incapable of producing a democratic constitution, MacArthur ordered his staff to produce a draft. One week later, an entirely rewritten constitution emerged and was presented to the Japanese. Included in the draft was Article IX: War as a sovereign right of the nation is abolished. The threat or use of force is forever renounced as a means of settling disputes with any other nation. No Army, Navy, Air Force, or other war potential will ever be authorized and no right of belligerency will ever be conferred upon the state.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, International Cooperation, and International Law
- Political Geography:
- Japan
169. US-Japan Security Treaties: Formation, Evolution and Consequences
- Author:
- Hakan Gönen
- Publication Date:
- 12-2004
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- This study examines the formation, evolution and consequences of the US-Japan post-war security relations. Since the end of World War II, the close US-Japan security relationship has benefited both nations. Japan relies on the US for protection from outside attacks by either conventional or nuclear forces. In turn, under the terms of the security treaty, Tokyo lends military bases on Japanese soil to American forces. In this context, Japan has been able to concentrate on rebuilding its economy with relatively little concern for its own defense. But both Tokyo and Washington have begun to reassess their security requirements in view of changing global threats in the post-cold war era.
- Topic:
- Security and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, and America
170. Missile Defense in Asia
- Author:
- Walter B. Slocombe, C. Richard Nelson, Michael P.C. Carns, and Jacques S. Gansler
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The prospect of North Korea developing both nuclear weapons and long–range missiles has been at the core of the U.S. rationale for early deployment of a missile defense and of Japan's interest in defense for itself. In the face of North Korea's missile programs and its acknowledgement of an active program to develop nuclear weapons, the problem of defense against those weapons assumes new urgency — as does the question of how defenses affect the broader dynamic of security in Northeast Asia.
- Topic:
- Security and International Law
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, Asia, and North Korea