Normative power Japan: the European Union’s ideational successor or another “contradiction in terms”?
by Rok Zupančič, Miha Hribernik,
The concept of normative power has gained prominence, and consequently, invigorated research endeavours in recent years. With the exception of the “normative power Europe”, the concept still remains a relatively under-researched topic in international relations. This is particularly valid for case studies of East Asian countries, and this article attempts to fill this void to some extentbyanalysing the case of Japan. In looking at Japan’s quest for normative power, we analyse three areas, in which successive Japanese governments invested significant financial, material and human resources, aiming at recognition of Japan as “an international force of good”. The three areas are: peace-building (including peace-brokering), human security and regional initiatives (the case of ReCAAP). Even though the normative behaviour of an actor does not imply using the instruments of hard power, this paper argues that Japan, aiming at reinforcing its normative power, has relied on significant economic means, used in the security-related fields. This was conducted multilaterally in accordance with other actors in the international community, but mostly in areas where the ‘normative activities’ of Japan do not contradict the strategic interests of influential international actors.
PolSci Volume 13, number 2 (winter 2013) comprises articles which touch upon themes such as political parties’ electoral success and voters’ behaviour, normative power and regional security in East Asia and the endurance of informal practices within a transitional bureaucracy. The first is an empirical analysis (case study Bosnia and Herzegovina) of the question whether... »
The aim of this article is to address the lack of academic knowledge about public services in post-Soviet Georgia. Its attention is focused on the practices of career progression in public institutions in the context of meritocratic principles. In the new, ever-changing environment, with the inherited general mistrust of Soviet-type institutions, and at the time when formal democratic... »
The present research focuses on the problem of personality determinants of individual voting behaviour. The applied methodological approach was the Five Factor model, based on the trait theory of personality. The study (sample size N = 726) used a questionnaire drawn up by Paul T. Costa and Robert R. McCrae – creators of the Five... »
The concept of normative power has gained prominence, and consequently, invigorated research endeavours in recent years. With the exception of the “normative power Europe”, the concept still remains a relatively under-researched topic in international relations. This is particularly valid for case studies of East Asian countries, and this article attempts to fill this void to... »
The present research focuses on the problem of personality determinants of individual voting behaviour. The applied methodological approach was the Five Factor model, based on the trait theory of personality. The study (sample size N = 726) used a questionnaire drawn up by Paul T. Costa and Robert R. McCrae – creators of the Five... »
This article addresses a gap in the literature concerning the survivability of new political parties in existing parliamentary systems. It focuses on the particularities of post-communist party systems and considers the impact that the recent international financial and economic crisis has had on decreasing the legitimacy of the established parties – for which Slovenia will... »
Does nationalism continue to determine elections in consociational political arrangements even long after the conflict? To examine the presumed reduction of nationalism in divided societies through consociationalism, this article tests the impact of ethnicity on the relative success of non-nationalist political parties. Using an original dataset from the local elections of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as... »
In “Making democratic governance work: how regimes shape prosperity, welfare, and peace”, Harvard Professor Pippa Norris tries to untangle the intricate relationship between liberal democracy, state capacity and human security. Norris’s objective is to explain why liberal democracy should be valued as intrinsically good for prosperity, welfare and peace, the core components of human... »
Submissions are now being accepted for the summer 2014 issue. Please submit your work saved as a Microsoft Word document at polsci@sar.org.ro before April 20, 2014, midnight Central European Time. Please note that we will not review manuscripts that have already been published, are scheduled for publication elsewhere, or have been simultaneously submitted to another journal.... »
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International Advisory Board
Alina Mungiu-Pippidi (chair) Hertie School of Governance
Larry Diamond Stanford University
Tom Gallagher University of Bradford
Alena Ledeneva University College London
Michael McFaul Stanford University
Dennis Deletant Georgetown University
Helen Wallace London School of Economics and Political Science
