New Directions in Japanese Grand Strategy: Conceptualising ‘Strategic Partnerships’

Abstract

This thesis examines the newly-adopted mechanism of bilateral ‘strategic partnerships’ as a tool of diplomacy within the broader context of Japanese grand strategy. It posits that these new forms of security alignment have become an integral part of Japan’s ‘external mobilisation’ aimed at addressing the ‘increasingly severe security environment’ with which the country is now confronted with. It takes an inter-disciplinary approach drawing on Organisational Theories to supplement existing International Relations (IR) approaches, which are deemed insufficient for fully capturing and comprehending the nature, purpose, and dynamics of this novel form of alignment. In creating a new conceptual model of ‘strategic partnerships’ on these bases, it then applies it as an analytical framework to two important and contrasting cases study dyads – Japan-Australia and Japan-South Korea – to test the explanatory power of the model and reveal deeper insights into key empirical examples of Tokyo’s strategic-partnering policy. It concludes that the model significantly advances our understanding of these relationships, as well as demonstrating how they form part of a wider strategic context within which Japanese grand strategy must be conducted.