Number of results to display per page
Search Results
792. Japan under the DPJ: Changes in Foreign and Defense Policies
- Author:
- Sook-Jong Lee and Young-June Park
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- East Asia Institute (EAI)
- Abstract:
- On August 31, 2009 the Democratic Party of Japan’s (DPJ) landslide victory in the country’s national election brought fifty-four years of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) political dominance to an end. The DPJ won 308 of the 480 seats in the Lower House. Combined with 118 of the 237 seats in the Upper House that it won in July 2007, for the first time, the DPJ now controls both houses. By contrast, the LDP performed miserably. It managed to hold onto only 119 of the original 304 seats that it had held in the Lower House. Since its founding in 1955, the LDP had only lost power very briefly for a ten-month period between 1993 and 1994 when a non-LDP coalition came to power. The DPJ’s rise to power has been remarkable. The party was formed in 1996 during the run-up to the Lower House election of that year. The formation of the DPJ was in opposition to the LDP’s long dominance of Japanese politics and the policies of the reformist parties such as the Social Democratic Party and the Japanese Communist Party. The DPJ emerged as the third largest party behind the LDP and the now defunct New Frontier Party. By merging with members who had seceded from other opposition parties, such as the New Frontier Party, it would soon come to be a major challenger as it became the second largest party with the 1998 Upper House elections. However, its political influence waned and was only strengthened again through its merger with the Liberal Party, then led by the powerful Ichiro Ozawa in September 2003. This merger would also considerably boost its low public approval rating. However, it still trailed behind the LDP with a comparatively lower approval rating and a smaller number of parliamentary seats. In spite of these initial disadvantages, the DPJ’s victory was mainly due to a public backlash against the neoliberal reforms initiated during the 2001-2006 Koizumi administration and the inefficiencies of the short-lived cabinets of Shinzo Abe, Yasuo Fukuda, and Taro Aso. With this election victory, analysts widely expect that there will be considerable changes in Japan’s domestic and foreign policies under the DPJ. On its domestic agenda, the DPJ is likely to increase its political control over the bureaucracy and to strengthen the social safety net by providing farming subsidies and cash allowances for child-rearing families. In its foreign policy, the DPJ is expected to maintain the U.S.-Japan alliance but pursue a more independent stance than that of the LDP. At the same time, the DPJ will place greater emphasis on improving its relations with other Asian countries. This will also mean that South Korea-Japan relations will be improved as the DPJ addresses from a different perspective the controversial historical issues that have strained relations between the two countries. In general, there will not be significant changes to Japan’s foreign policy while substantial reforms will be focused on domestic political issues. Based on an analysis of the DPJ’s foreign and security policy, this commentary examines the prospects for South Korea-Japan relations as well as changes to Japan’s foreign policy.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Military Strategy, Elections, and Domestic politics
- Political Geography:
- Japan and Asia
793. Deterring State Sponsorship of Nuclear Terrorism
- Author:
- Michael A. Levi
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Policymakers consistently identify nuclear terrorism as one of the greatest threats facing the United States and the world. Indeed, the diffusion of technology, the rise of extremist ideology, and the steady spread of nuclear materials conspire to make nuclear terrorism an increasingly worrying prospect.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States, New York, and Washington
794. Cracks in the Foundation: NATO's New Troubles
- Author:
- Stanley Kober
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is beginning to fracture. Its members, sharing the triumphalism that underpinned U.S. foreign policy after the Cold War, took on burdens that have proved more difficult than expected. Increasingly, they are failing to meet the challenges confronting them.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Defense Policy, NATO, and International Organization
- Political Geography:
- United States
795. Managing Defense Transformation in Small and Medium-Sized NATO Countries
- Author:
- Dorinel-Ioan Moldovan
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Connections
- Institution:
- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
- Abstract:
- Defense transformation in small and medium-sized countries has a dialectical aspect. On one hand, it is a general process that has arisen as a result of the effect of the forces of globalization on domestic security and defense issues. As such, it is identical for all countries, having the same features. On the other hand, as a critical organizational process, defense transformation represents a unique response by each nation's defense institutions, a response that is crafted in order to cope with challenges coming from both internal and external sources. This paper will analyze the challenging dimensions of defense transformation from the perspective of the binomial relationship of willingness and affordability, and will compare the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches. It is obvious that the complexity of the defense transformation process comes from the many questions it raises and requirements it poses, which each country must solve for its own specific context.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, NATO, and Government
796. Special Report No. 207: Integrated Security Assistance: The 1207 Program
- Author:
- Robert M. Perito
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Section 1207 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of FY 2006 and FY 2007 authorized the Defense Department (DOD) to provide up to $200 million over two years in funds, services, and defense articles to the State Department (DOS) for security, reconstruction, and stabilization. The DOD transferred over $99 million in Section 1207 assistance to the DOS to fund projects in Haiti ($20m), Somalia ($25m), Nepal ($10m), Colombia ($4m), trans- Sahara Africa ($15m), Yemen ($8.8m), and Southeast Asia ($16.9m). Congress's intent in authorizing this program was to jump start the new State Department Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization. It was also to promote a “whole of government” approach to security-assistance programs. After two years' experience, publication of principles and guidelines for 1207 project applications should solve problems resulting from a lack of awareness of the program and confusion over leadership and application procedures. Adding USAID to the decision-making Technical Advisory Committee should remove the largest source of interagency tension that has troubled the program. Greater clarity is needed concerning the relative weight of the program's priorities, which include security, counterterrorism, stabilization, and reconstruction and avoiding the need to deploy U.S. military forces. There is a need for the DOD and DOS to provide additional resources to embassies that are expected to complete a relatively complicated application form. There is also a need for the DOD to streamline the provision of funds so the money arrives in real time before circumstances change and projects cannot be implemented. Ultimately, the DOS and DOD need to honor the intent of Congress and request that Congress appropriate funds directly to the DOS for these projects.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, Middle East, and Central America
797. PolicyWatch #1371: Highlighting al-Qaeda's Bankrupt Ideology
- Author:
- Michael Jacobson and Matthew Levitt
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- According to recent U.S. government reports and senior U.S. counterterrorism officials, contesting al-Qaeda's message is no less important than capturing or killing the group's operatives. And as the administration prioritizes its agenda for the last eight months in office, recognizing the need for a refocused communication plan to highlight the bankruptcy of al-Qaeda's ideology is a critical -- albeit overdue -- part of a reengineered counterterrorism strategy.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Terrorism, and War
- Political Geography:
- United States
798. PolicyWatch #1354: Cheney's Middle East Trip: Iran Tops a Weighty Agenda
- Author:
- Simon Henderson
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- On March 16, Vice President Cheney departs on a Middle East trip that will take him to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank, and Turkey. Coming less than two months after President Bush's trip to the region, the vice president's itinerary is intriguing. His undisclosed agenda with "key partners," in the words of the White House announcement, is likely to include the peace process, the price of oil, Iraq, and Iran. And among those issues, Iran will likely be the most mentioned, especially given this week's controversial resignation of Adm. William Fallon as the top U.S. commander in the Middle East -- a move attributed in part to differences on Iran between him and the White House.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, and Middle East
799. PolicyWatch #1330: Domestic Issues Trump Foreign Policy in Iran
- Author:
- Mehdi Khalaji
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- At each stop on his recent Middle East tour, President Bush centered his foreign policy agenda on the growing threat from Iran. But inside the Islamic Republic, domestic policies -- and not the international issues that Bush highlighted -- are at the center of political debate.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Intelligence, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, and Middle East
800. PolicyWatch #1329: Bush in Arabia: Work in Progress or Waste of Time?
- Author:
- Simon Henderson
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- Most of President Bush's eight-day trip to the Middle East was spent in the Persian Gulf, visiting Kuwait, Bahrain, the two leading sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and Saudi Arabia. As long-term allies of the United States, these Gulf Arab states still look to Washington as their ultimate security guarantor in what remains a dangerous region. In return for security, the United States asks for a reasonable world price for oil, support for its efforts to secure peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and cooperation in countering the threat of a potentially nuclear-armed Iran. The success of the trip may be judged by future progress on these policies.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Defense Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Middle East, and Arabia