Long live pacifism! Narrative power and Japan’s pacifist model

Abstract

International relations research acknowledges that states can have different security policies but neglects the fact that 'models' may exist in the security policy realm. This article suggests that it is useful to think about models, which it argues can become examples for emulation or be undermined through narrative power. It illustrates the argument by analysing Japan's pacifism-an alternative approach to security policy which failed to become an internationally popular model and, despite serving the country well for many years, has even lost its appeal in Japan. Conventional explanations suggest that Japan's pacifist policies were 'abnormal', and that the Japanese eventually realized this. By contrast, this article argues that narratives undermined Japan's pacifism by mobilizing deep-seated beliefs about what is realistic and unrealistic in international politics, and launches a counter-narrative that could help make pacifism a more credible model in world politics.

Morality and progress: IR narratives on international revisionism and the status quo

“…We examine the scholar as narrator operating through the creation and deployment of powerful conceptual IR narratives that not only represent, but also select and restrain, our knowledges of the world and the identities and motivations of the actors within it. We further show how these narratives transcend the discipline, connecting to and permeating political practice (see Winkler 2019;Gustafsson et al 2019).…”

WIN-WIN! with ODA-man: legitimizing development assistance policy in Japan

“…While norm constructivism (Berger, 1998;Finnemore & Sikkink, 1998;Legro, 1997) emphasizes the internalization (or lack thereof) of norms among political actors, the repertoire approach rather suggests that it is in the very activation of instruments in networks that agency takes place. Moreover, critical constructivist approaches (Gustafsson, 2015(Gustafsson, , 2019Hagstr€ om and Hanssen, 2016;Hanssen, 2020;Suzuki, 2015;Yennie Lindgren & Lindgren, 2017) are predominantly concerned with differentiation processes, how actors construct identity -Selfin constant negotiation vis-a-vis its Others, which is helpful for understanding how policies, practices and instruments become 'conceivable' in a political community (see Doty, 1993;Holland, 2011;Rumelili, 2004). When it comes to repertoires, however, the concern is to situate the activation and promotion of this particular instrument -ODA-manas part of the broader family of instruments, and to illuminate the continuity of Japan's foreign policy repertoire in the face of a rising China and deteriorating public finances at home.…”

‘Soft power is such a benign animal’: narrative power and the reification of concepts in Japan

“…Japan contributed US$13 billion to the US-led coalition but it was heavily criticized both abroad and at home for engaging in 'chequebook diplomacy'. This criticism left many officials and scholars feeling humiliated and held back by the Japanese Constitution's war-renouncing Article 9 (see Gustafsson et al 2019). This led to a realization in Japan's MOFA that it 'will become increasingly important for Japan to participate in and cooperate with international cooperative activities through human resource contributions to secure the peace and stability of the international community' (MOFA 1999).…”

“…Such as the dispatch of the SDF to various peacekeeping operations, the promotion of the Defense Agency to ministerial status or the adoption of new security legislation in 2015. These developments are attributed to a changing international security environment, 'securitization' moves or a changing security identity (seeGustafsson et al 2019). 'Soft power is such a benign animal' 485…”