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111. More Pax, Less Americana in Asia

Author:
T.J. Pempel
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Northeast Asia presents a major theoretical puzzle: the region is rife with security challenges and seems continually poised for horrific military conflicts. Yet, despite many structural tensions, the region has been devoid of significant shooting wars since the signing of the Korean armistice in 1953. This essay examines two major contributions to that pacific condition: first, the pervasive focus on economic development and the growing economic links across the region; and second, the growing number of multilateral institutions within the Asia-Pacific. It concludes that while a 'Pax Americana' was important to peace in the past, the long-term prospects are for the continued absence of overt conflict but in ways that will reflect an overall decline in America's capacity to shape regional developments.
Political Geography:
America and Asia

112. The politics of coordination and miscoordination in the post-Cold War United States–Japan alliance: from a Japanese perspective

Author:
Motoshi Suzuki
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Alliance coordination involves a multiplicity of equilibria, the resolution of which depends on institutions and knowledge known as focal-point effects. Since the end of the Cold War, the alliance has expanded its missions despite difficult coordination problems by taking advantage of multiple focal factors. Although common threat perceptions have continued to serve as a central focal factor, other factors, such as shared democratic values and international norms, have been used to legitimate the alliance's missions that are beyond what the perceived threats could justify. To be a viable focal factor, common threat perceptions, democratic values, and international norms need to be backed up by the causal knowledge that alliance coordination has stabilizing, confidence-building, and legitimating effects on regional and international security, respectively. More recently, however, the allies' perceptions are becoming more complex and divergent, putting increasing pressures on the other factors for maintaining and expanding the missions. Although democratic values and international norms could generate diversionary effects in broadening Japan's policy horizon, this need not be feared insofar as it contributes to the alliance's basic goal.
Political Geography:
United States and Japan

113. The efficiency of China's multilateral policies in East Asia (1997–2007)

Author:
Sun Xuefeng
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Since the mid-1990s, China has adopted various multilateral policies to shape a more favorable regional environment. The policy of integration, which accommodates both the United States and neighboring countries' core interests, can succeed in achieving China's goals in regional multilateral cooperation. On the contrary, the policies of dominance, co-governance, and guidance have been suffering from frustration or failure because they threaten the core interests of either the United States or China's regional partners. The efficiency of China's multilateral policies is strongly shaped by two factors: the dominant United States wary of China's rapid rise and the substantial power gaps between the two states. In the coming decade, China may rise to the second rank in terms of economic capabilities, but the United States can still maintain its dominant position. So China will adhere to the policy of integration to maintain its favorable regional environment in East Asia. China's rising position and its integration policy will result in the continuation of competition in the regional cooperation mechanisms and the stability of the US regional alliance system in the decade to come.
Political Geography:
United States, China, and East Asia

114. Uneasy Warriors: Gender, Memory, and Popular Culture in the Japanese Army

Author:
Alessio Patalano
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This monograph examines the socio-cultural realm of the Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF) charting the contradictions and uneasiness of the modern military profession within the country. Across five chapters, Sabine provocatively points out how in many ways the JSDF prefigured the 'post-modern' character of present military organizations through their practice of 'carefully constraining and recasting their potential for violent acts in the name of the Japanese state' (p. 7). In post-war Japan, normative constraints enshrined in Article 9 of the constitution, memories of the violent behavior of the imperial armed forces, post-war popular culture, and social models, have in fact contributed to make the transition towards 'new modes of militarized gender' a permanent factor shaping the JSDF's identity.
Political Geography:
Japan

115. Normalizing Japan: Politics, Identity, and the Evolution of Security Practice

Author:
Seung Hyok Lee
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Scholars of international relations (IR) generally agree that at present Japan is not sufficiently 'normal' in its national security principles and behavior, as symbolized by the nation's 'peace constitution' and the restraints imposed on national power projections. Scholarly experts offer, however, dichotomous views on Japan's future trajectory. 'Realists' emphasizing materialistic power distribution in international politics assert that Japan is already close to discarding its post World War II pacifist identity in order to become a muscle-flexing military giant more commensurate with its international status and changing external environment. 'Constructivists' focusing on the resilience of social identity, on the other hand, counter that despite drastic shifts in international power dynamics, Japan is likely to maintain the core of its antimilitaristic security institutions, as a prudent Japanese society and domestic politics remain at the core of security policy-making.
Political Geography:
Japan

116. Erratum

Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
The publishers would like to apologise for an error in International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 10(2), 2010, p. 379. The author's name was published incorrectly. The correct name should be Umemoto Tetsuya.
Political Geography:
Asia

117. Free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific a decade on: evaluating the past, looking to the future

Author:
Christopher M. Dent
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
This paper charts the growth and patterns of free trade agreement (FTA) activity in the Asia-Pacific, discussing the extent to which there has been evolution and learning in FTA practice among Asia-Pacific states, with attention to the most notable trends in technical policy content and the different ideational approaches to formulating agreements. This sets the broad context for considerations of the current and likely future paths of FTA convergence, harmonization, and transformation in the Asia-Pacific. It is argued that new options for economically rational and politically feasible bilateral FTA partnerships within the Asia-Pacific region are running out. One response has been to explore more seriously options for forming wider plurilateral and regional agreements within the Asia-Pacific. However, a number of constraints and hindrances will work against such FTA convergence and harmonization. The longer term transformation of existing, mostly bilateral FTAs into different or expanded types of agreement has stronger prospects.
Political Geography:
Asia-Pacific

118. Regional cooperation in Northeast Asia: searching for the mode of governance

Author:
Hidetaka Yoshimatsu
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
Since the late 1990s, China, Japan, and South Korea – the core states in Northeast Asia – have gradually engaged in various initiatives and institutions for regional cooperation. Such initiatives extend from summitry to functional cooperation in finance, environmental protection, logistics, and other areas. Furthermore, the three countries have shown their willingness to vitalize cross-border economic activities by concluding commercial arrangements. Given these evolutions, this article seeks to address the following questions: what features are found in trilateral cooperative initiatives and how these features are evaluated in terms of 'regional governance'? The paper advances two propositions. First, regional cooperation in Northeast Asia can be characterized as weak neoliberal orientation and intensive business involvements in cooperative projects in state-directed policy networks. Second, regional governance in Northeast Asia has gradually intensified the nature of regulatory governance in which the governments of the three countries sought to harmonize standards and regulatory systems through trilateral cooperation.
Political Geography:
Japan, China, South Korea, and Northeast Asia

119. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the softest of them all? Evaluating Japanese and Chinese strategies in the 'soft' power competition era

Author:
Yee-Kuang Heng
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
As states jostle to attract and entice others by deploying a range of innovative strategies, a 'soft' power competition era looms possibly in the Asia-Pacific. This paper argues that reflecting on this period of competitive policy innovation provides a valuable opportunity to re-assess the theory and practice of Joseph Nye's 'soft' power, given its conceptual and empirical frailties: how theoretically precise are the policies commonly described as projecting 'soft' power? To do so, it undertakes a comparative evaluation of Japan's and China's 'soft' power strategies. By paying close attention to the theory–practice linkage, it illuminates the disparities in their understanding of Nye's 'soft' power. Rather than a one-size-fits-all concept, 'soft' power strategies with distinctively Japanese and Chinese characteristics are emerging, bringing different advantages and weaknesses. The proverbial magic mirror would conclude that by more closely matching Nye's formulations and displaying a less competitive streak, Japan appears the 'softer' power.
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and Asia-Pacific

120. Balancing Okinawa's return with American expectations: Japan and the Vietnam War 1965–75

Author:
James Llewelyn
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
Institution:
Japan Association of International Relations
Abstract:
The Vietnam War greatly destabilized Southeast Asia and led to almost a decade of fighting by America and its Asian allies. It was fought on the principle that if communism was unchecked it would overrun the region, with the Southeast Asian countries falling under communist control like 'dominoes'. While countries such as Thailand, South Korea, and Australia provided military support to assist American strategic objectives, Japan, however, was constrained by its peace constitution and thus unable to provide direct military assistance. Nonetheless, under the leadership of the avid anti-communist conservative leadership of Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, Japan still managed to play a role in the Vietnam War. Although Japan initially entertained the notion of facilitating mediation, with Okinawa's reversion hanging in the balance after 1967, Japan's leadership took a more hawkish approach on Vietnam in order to ensure that Washington would agree to reverting Okinawa to Japanese administrative control.
Political Geography:
Japan, America, Asia, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, and Thailand

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