International Relations of the Asia-Pacific - recent issues

Russian perceptions and policies in a multipolar East Asia under Yeltsin and Putin

Rangsimaporn, P. — 2009-04-22

While the desire to counterbalance US unilateralism informed Russian perceptions and advocacy of multipolarity globally, the complex and fluid balance of power in a multipolar East Asia complicates Russian perceptions and policies of multipolarity regionally and counterbalancing US power became not the sole goal. Russia's aim in East Asia was to reassert its influence while ensuring a stable regional environment in order for Russia to restore itself as a great power. However, the relatively stabilizing US regional role, the rise of neighboring China, the prospects of Japanese remilitarization and strengthened US–Japanese military alliance, and the lack of a Northeast Asian security structure are factors that pose both challenges and opportunities for Russian policymakers in pursuing Russian interests and great-power aims. Such factors have served to make Russian perceptions and policy in East Asia somewhat contradictory. While Russia's great-power aspiration was relatively clear, the policies to achieve this remained vague and inconclusive.

Historical beliefs and the perception of threat in Northeast Asia: colonialism, the tributary system, and China-Japan-Korea relations in the twenty-first century

Gries, P. H., Zhang, Q., Masui, Y., Lee, Y. W. — 2009-04-22

Historical controversies continue to plague northeast Asian politics today, with Chinese and Koreans protesting Japanese history textbooks and Japanese politicians' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, and Koreans protesting Chinese claims that the ancient Kingdom of Goguryo was Chinese, not Korean. Yet, there is little empirical research exploring what, if any, impact historical beliefs have on threat perception and foreign policy preferences in northeast Asia today. On the basis of surveys of Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean university students, this paper explores the relationships among beliefs about the past, perceived threat in the present, and foreign policy preferences for the future. Results and their implications for northeast Asian security are discussed.

Ocean frontier expansion and the Kalayaan Islands Group claim: Philippines' postwar pragmatism in the South China Sea

Granados, U. — 2009-04-22

In 1946, the Philippines raised claims in the South China Sea over an area already known as Spratly Islands. This claim advanced through peculiar stages, starting when Thomas Cloma allegedly discovered islands in 1946, later named as Freedomland, and maturing to some extent in 1978 by the government's claim over the so-called Kalayaan Island Group. Considered as an oceanic expansion of its frontiers, this paper reviews the basis of the claim, first over the nature of Cloma's activities, and secondly over the measures the Philippine government took as a reaction of Cloma's claim of discovery of an area already known in western cartography as the Spratlys. Eventually, what is the nature of the link between the 1978 Kalayaan Islands Group's official claim and 1956 Cloma's private one?

News coverage and Japanese foreign disaster aid: a comparative example of bureaucratic responsiveness to the news media

Potter, D. M., Van Belle, D. — 2009-04-22

This paper examines news coverage of overseas natural disasters in Japan and the United States and assesses the extent to which that coverage affects amounts and types of emergency assistance provided by each country's ODA program. The comparison between the two cases allows for the examination of the different effects of media on foreign policy as well as the different ways in which those effects are filtered through institutional arrangements within the aid policy-making apparatus in each country. Following up comparative work on media impact on development aid programs in five countries, this paper argues that the organization of emergency assistance programs is a key determinant in explaining media impact on aid policy.

Investigating Japanese government's perceptions of the postwar world as revealed in prime ministers' Diet addresses: focussing on East-West and North-South issues

Suzuki, T. — 2009-04-22

This study applies content analysis to Japanese prime ministers' Diet addresses in order to examine the Japanese government's perception of the world after World War II. Since the end of the Cold War, many scholars have revealed more strategic and proactive aspects of Japanese foreign policy by investigating broader issues or longer time periods. Methodologically, these studies as well as conventional studies derive the character of Japanese foreign policy mainly from an examination of documentary sources or case studies, thus further empirical evidence can help these discussions. By investigating the long-term perception focussing on North-South issues as well as East-West issues, we show that there are aspects of Japanese foreign policy with an individual character. We conclude that this method provides empirical evidence and helps to construct a multidimensional perspective for characterizing Japanese foreign policy, and thus contributes to the recent lively discussions on this topic.

Contemporary conservative thoughts in Japan: conservative views on morality, history, and social issues

Kaihara, H. — 2009-04-22

This article discusses the political thoughts of conservatives. What makes their thoughts distinctive is their understanding of the state of the nation: the Japanese people are degenerating. Especially they worry about the youth. Horrendous juvenile crimes, bad manners, school bullying, and declining academic capabilities force them to paint Japan's future gloomily. Conservatives believe that the taproot of these social problems is a lack of morality: they have lost the will to tell what is right or wrong. They believe that morality is possible only when people embrace tradition and history. However, the Japanese cannot have pride in their history and country because of public discourse propagated by America's occupation policies and leftist ideologies. They also believe that public schools must concern not only on students' knowledge but also on their moral characters, such as the will to live. To raise pupils and students with moral characters, family must get involved along with schools.

Money Orders: Ambiguous Economics, and Ubiquitous Politics

Katada, S. N. — 2009-04-22

The Political Economy of Regionalism in East Asia. Integrative Explanation for Dynamics and Challenges

Solis, M. — 2009-04-22

Teaching international relations in Southeast Asia: historical memory, academic context, and politics - an introduction

Chong, A., Hamilton-Hart, N. — 2008-12-19

The teaching of international relations (IR) at universities in Southeast Asia plays a role in the production of knowledge about the IR of Southeast Asia. As a complement to the scrutiny of published research output, a focus on teaching offers one pathway toward comprehending the constitution of meaning in both the IR of Southeast Asia and the broader IR discipline. This introduction to a collection of essays on the teaching of IR in Southeast Asia also discusses the potential ways by which attention to teaching may uncover the socializing role of pedagogy. An inquiry into the discipline as it is taught in the region throws light on how particular national legitimating myths are reproduced, the transmission of collective historical memories, the dominance of certain schools of international thought, and the role of civil society in Southeast Asian knowledge production.

Teaching international relations in Singapore 1956-2008: from supporting development to global city aspirations?

Chong, A., Tan, S. S. — 2008-12-19

This preliminary survey of international relations (IR) teaching in Singapore argues that while the hegemonic goals of the nation-state have been pervasive since 1956, the influences upon IR teaching have become more complex and subtle in tandem with Singapore's transition from pristine developmentalism to an aspiring global city. Today, IR teaching has acquired characteristics of a division of labor among the main universities, research institutes, and business-oriented schools. Nonetheless, the dialectics of whether the future lies in open-ended knowledge inquiry or hewing to some version of state-associated pragmatism remains unresolved.

International relations in Indonesia: historical legacy, political intrusion, and commercialization

Hadiwinata, B. S. — 2008-12-19

This paper is about the development of international relations (IR) as a field of study in Indonesian universities. It argues that IR as a discipline has been encountering a paradox. On the one hand, while the discipline has been increasingly held in high esteem by students, marked by an increasing number of applicants to IR departments across the country; on the other hand, IR scholars show too little commitment to research and publication for the development of the discipline; and if they do publish, the quality of writing is generally poor. This article indicates that the paradox of teaching IR in Indonesia has much to do with historical legacies and political intrusion, as well as an economic environment in which universities are increasingly driven toward commercial activities. All these factors shape the current development of social science in general, and IR in particular.

Teaching international relations in Thailand: status and prospects

Prasirtsuk, K. — 2008-12-19

International relations (IR) as it is taught in Thailand possesses developmental characteristics that have curbed its growth in the past. Through a combination of institutional and trend analyses, it will be argued that IR teaching in Thailand is at a turning point where externally driven developments are compelling a certain level of professionalization and engagement with global debates.

International relations in Malaysia: theories, history, memory, perception, and context

Balakrishnan, K.S. — 2008-12-19

The article makes a preliminary survey of the teaching of international relations (IR) in Malaysia. It starts by describing the origins of the field, and the emergence of an IR epistemic community joining both academia and government. This account is necessarily derived from the experiences of the four most established Malaysian universities distinguished by length of existence and official favor. Subsequently, the survey would describe course content and influences going into their design. The penultimate sections would attempt to place the evolution of Malaysian IR teaching within a historical context. This survey nonetheless concludes that nationalist aspirations continue to remain a secondary influence when compared with intellectual dependence upon the West in the design of IR education in Malaysia.

Teaching international relations in Vietnam: chances and challenges

Minh, P. Q. — 2008-12-19

This paper traces the evolution of the teaching of international relations (IR) in Vietnam, from the establishment of the first Institute of International Relations in 1959 to the proliferation of departments of IR or international studies from the 1990s. It notes the limitations facing teachers of IR and efforts to develop and standardize the curriculum in recent years. It also examines the way national history is portrayed in the teaching of Vietnam's foreign policy and regional relations in Southeast Asia, with increasing attention paid to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from the 1990s.

The balance of great-power influence in contemporary Southeast Asia

Ciorciari, J. D. — 2008-12-19

This article reviews and critiques recent scholarly work on Southeast Asian relations with the great powers, examining the strategies that ASEAN governments have used and the effects of those strategies. The author argues that Southeast Asian governments have generally steered away from traditional balance of power politics to promote a more complex ‘balance of influence’ comprising military, economic, institutional, and ideational dimensions. A key feature of this balance of influence strategy has been its inclusiveness. Southeast Asian governments have invited competing great powers to participate in the region's economic and diplomatic affairs so that they develop stakes in the region's peace and prosperity. The author contends that Southeast Asian efforts have been relatively successful to date, contributing to a multi-dimensional balance that is relatively resilient and places significant constraints on any external power's ability to exercise unwanted dominance in the region.

Embattled Garrisons: Comparative Base Politics and American Globalism

Ohtomo, T. — 2008-12-19

Power and Security in Northeast Asia: Shifting Strategies

Hiwatari, Y. — 2008-12-19

Governing Finance: East Asia's Adoption of International Standards

Katada, S. N. — 2008-12-19

Introduction to the special issue of International Relations of the Asia-Pacific

Inoguchi, T. — 2008-09-01

Legitimacy and effectiveness in Thailand, 2003-2007: perceived quality of governance and its consequences on political beliefs

Mikami, S., Inoguchi, T. — 2008-09-01

This article investigates the political attitudes of Thai citizens, who have been exposed to a harsh political climate in recent years. Two questions we address here are: (a) how people perceived the quality of governance under the Thaksin administration and the subsequent provisional military government, and (b) what impacts, if any, the populist style of politics as well as the military coup have had on the political beliefs of the Thai population. The statistical analysis based on AsiaBarometer Survey data locates a plunge in public perception that occurred during the period between the Thaksin era and the military government, but it also reveals that the difference is largely a product of inflated populist policies, and that people's commitment to a democratic system was already fragile before the coup.

Anti-Americanism in Asia? Factors shaping international perceptions of American influence

Carlson, M., Nelson, T. — 2008-09-01

Against the backdrop of 9/11 and the Bush administration's subsequent invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, many have argued that international perceptions of the United States are growing more negative and that ‘anti-Americanism’ is going to be a problem for American foreign policy in the decades to come. We examine the debate over anti-Americanism by using survey data collected in more than 26 countries that span East, Southeast, South, and Central Asia, with a focus on two empirical questions. First, to what extent do citizens in Asia believe that the United States has a negative (or positive) influence on their country? Second, what factors, at both the individual and national level, shape the perceptions of American influence? Although we uncover little evidence of pervasive anti-Americanism, the results of our multilevel model generally confirm the theoretical importance of three explanations for international perceptions of the United States—interest theories, cultural and political similarities, and increased information and contacts.

Commerce and prudence: revising China's evolving Africa policy

Holslag, J. — 2008-09-01

This paper evaluates the extent to which China adapted its Africa policy to external criticism and expectations. It is found that policy modifications mainly occurred when long-term interests were at risk, with regard to issues of limited importance and non-binding initiatives. The article departs from the vast literature on adaptation and tests this concept on several aspects of China's engagement in Africa. This approach not only allows us to revise the PRC's changing Africa policy but also permits to contribute to the debate whether China is a status quo or revisionist power. In this regard, it turns out that China's ostensible compliance with the demands of other actors is designed to give leeway to its revisionist aspirations.

Hierarchy and the role of the United States in the East Asian security order

Goh, E. — 2008-09-01

To construct a coherent account of East Asia's evolving security order, this article treats the United States not as an extra-regional actor, but as the central force in constituting regional stability and order. It proposes that there is a layered regional hierarchy in East Asia, led by the United States, with China, Japan, and India constituting layers underneath its dominance. The major patterns of equilibrium and turbulence in the region since 1945 can be explained by the relative stability of the US position at the top of the regional hierarchy, with periods of greatest insecurity being correlated with greatest uncertainty over the American commitment to managing regional order. Furthermore, relationships of hierarchical assurance and hierarchical deference help to explain critical puzzles about the regional order in the post-Cold War era.

Is there an aid-for-participation deal?: US economic and military aid policy to coalition forces (non)participants

Tago, A. — 2008-09-01

There is an empirical evidence of an aid-for-policy deal between the United States and other states; the United States has utilized aid programs to promote affirmative votes in the UN General Assembly and to maintain an alliance relationship with strategically important states. However, whether there is a systematic evidence of an aid-for-participation deal remains inconclusive. Does the United States generally utilize its foreign aid to reward the contribution of troops to the US-led multinational forces and to punish the lack of contribution? The author argues that US foreign aid is used to prevent free-riding in coalition participation. To test the argument, I examined whether states were punished or rewarded by the United States for their behavior in sending or failing to send troops to 15 post-Second World War US-led coalition forces. The results show that the United States punished states for unexpected nonparticipation, but did not always provide rewards for support.

Social States: China in International Institutions, 1980-2000

Foot, R. — 2008-09-01

Securing Japan: Tokyo's grand strategy and the future of East Asia

Shinoda, T. — 2008-09-01