05 March 2013
WP255 | Security Identity, Policymaking Regime and Japanese Security Policy Development
Abstract
Compared to the Cold War, Japan’s post-Cold War security policy has undergone significant change. This is especially visible in the new means Japan has adopted, both outside and within the context of the U.S.-Japan security relationship, in contributing to regional and international affairs in military-strategic terms. Challenging realism’s dominance, this paper captures this shift through the use of collective identity, more specifically, Japanese security identity. It argues that Japan’s security policy expansion is captured by the shift in Japan’s security identity from a peace-state to an international-state. To understand this shift, the security identity is studied in the context of the Japanese security policymaking regime. Three elements of the regime are studied: the agents involved in the security policymaking process, the decision-making structure, and the role of the U.S. in Japan’s security policymaking process. The combined effect of these elements determines the dominant security identity and Japanese security policy.
About the Author
Dr Bhubhindar Singh is Assistant Professor and member of the Multilateralism and Regionalism Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His research interests include the international relations of Northeast Asia with a special focus on Japan’s security policy, the international relations of Southeast Asia and defence diplomacy in East Asia. Before joining RSIS, Bhubhindar was a lecturer in Japanese Studies at the School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield, and Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Singapore. He has published in the European Journal of International Relations, International Relations of Asia-Pacific, The Pacific Review, Asian Survey, Asian Security, The Round Table, Contemporary Southeast Asia and Issues & Studies; and his book is entitled Japanese Security Identity Transformation: From a Peace-State to an International-State (Routledge).
Abstract
Compared to the Cold War, Japan’s post-Cold War security policy has undergone significant change. This is especially visible in the new means Japan has adopted, both outside and within the context of the U.S.-Japan security relationship, in contributing to regional and international affairs in military-strategic terms. Challenging realism’s dominance, this paper captures this shift through the use of collective identity, more specifically, Japanese security identity. It argues that Japan’s security policy expansion is captured by the shift in Japan’s security identity from a peace-state to an international-state. To understand this shift, the security identity is studied in the context of the Japanese security policymaking regime. Three elements of the regime are studied: the agents involved in the security policymaking process, the decision-making structure, and the role of the U.S. in Japan’s security policymaking process. The combined effect of these elements determines the dominant security identity and Japanese security policy.
About the Author
Dr Bhubhindar Singh is Assistant Professor and member of the Multilateralism and Regionalism Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His research interests include the international relations of Northeast Asia with a special focus on Japan’s security policy, the international relations of Southeast Asia and defence diplomacy in East Asia. Before joining RSIS, Bhubhindar was a lecturer in Japanese Studies at the School of East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield, and Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Singapore. He has published in the European Journal of International Relations, International Relations of Asia-Pacific, The Pacific Review, Asian Survey, Asian Security, The Round Table, Contemporary Southeast Asia and Issues & Studies; and his book is entitled Japanese Security Identity Transformation: From a Peace-State to an International-State (Routledge).
