The Shift of US Strategy towards East Asia
‘Troika’ and the Formation of America’s Japan Policy
In: European Journal of East Asian StudiesSearch for other papers by Quansheng Zhao in
Current site
Google Scholar
This piece centres on the vital role intellectuals and think tanks play in US foreign policymaking. Before examining empirical data and original developments, a middle-level theoretical framework is needed to link our data and grand theories in International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis. We focus on a ‘strategic core force’ troika in the US foreign policymaking system and the significant role it has played in policy transformation. It consists of three key elements—‘policy architect’, ‘expert counsellor’ and ‘policy implementer’. This paper uses a case study from the Asia-Pacific, focusing on the shift of US strategy towards Japan. The post-Cold War period saw increasing uncertainty concerning Japan’s role in US foreign policy and led to a critical examination and restructuring of East Asian policy. Although we focus on the 1990s, there are profound implications for current US policy towards East Asia. The policy shift in the 1990s laid the foundation for Obama’s 2011 ‘pivot to Asia’ strategy, especially as it relates to US security and military operations. It has become increasingly clear that Japan can provide concrete material support in the form of military and financial assistance and as such its importance for US East Asian policy cannot be overstated.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
2
Donald E. Abelson, ‘Old World, New World: the evolution and influence of foreign affairs think-tanks’, International Affairs, Vol. 90, No. 1 (2014), pp. 125–142, p. 130; Judith Goldstein and Robert O. Keohane (eds), Ideas and Foreign Policy: Beliefs, Institutions, and Political Change (Ithica: Cornell University Press, 1993), pp. 12–16.
-
4
James McGann, ‘The fifth estate: think tanks and American foreign policy’, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 11, No. 2 (2010), pp. 35–42, p. 36.
-
14
Dougherty and Pfaltzgraff, Contending Theories of International Relations, p. 460; McGann, ‘The fifth estate’, p. 36.
-
15
Barbara A. Misztal, ‘Public intellectuals and think tanks: a free market in ideas?’ International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, Vol. 25, No. 4 (2012), pp. 127–141, p. 133.
-
20
See, for example, James Rosenau, Domestic Sources of Foreign Policy (New York: The Free Press, 1967); Henry Kissinger, ‘Domestic structure and foreign policy’, in James Rosenau (ed.), International Politics and Foreign Policy (New York: The Free Press, 1969); and Robert Putnam, ‘Diplomacy and domestic politics: the logic of two-level games’, International Organization, Vol. 42, No. 3 (1988), pp. 427–460.
-
24
Ezra F. Vogel, Japan as Number One: Lessons for America (New York: Harper & Row, 1985).
-
25
Richard Bernstein and Ross H. Munro, The Coming Conflict with China (New York: Vintage Books, 1998); George Friedman and Meredith LeBard, The Coming War with Japan (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991).
-
28
Joseph Nye, ‘The case for deep engagement’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 74, no. 4 (1995), pp. 90–102, pp. 92–94.
-
29
Yoichi Funabashi, Alliance Adrift (New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1999), p. 259.
-
32
Chalmers Johnson and E.B. Keehn, ‘The Pentagon’s ossified strategy’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 74, No. 4 (1995), pp. 103–114; Tsuneo Akaha, ‘Beyond self-defense: Japan’s elusive security role under the New Guidelines for US–Japan Defense Cooperation’, The Pacific Review, Vol. 11, No. 4 (1998), pp. 461–483.
-
33
Yoichi Funabashi, Alliance Adrift (New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1999).
-
36
Joseph S. Nye, Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power (New York: Basic Books, 1990); Joseph S. Nye, Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (New York: Public Affairs, 2004).
-
40
Ezra F. Vogel, ‘Japanese–American relations after the Cold War’, Daedalus, Vol. 121, No. 4 (1992), pp. 35–60, p. 48.
-
46
Yoichi Funabashi, Alliance Adrift (New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1999), p. 229.
-
49
Yoichi Funabashi, Alliance Adrift (New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1999), pp. 238–239.
-
50
A.M. Hoffman, ‘A conceptualization of trust in international relations’. European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 8, No. 3 (2002), pp. 375–401.
-
53
Dahui Huang, ‘From “basic defense” to “dynamic defense”: significant readjustment of Japan’s National Defense Policy’, The Contemporary World, Vol. 1 (2011), pp. 44–46.
-
60
Kinue Tokudome, ‘Passage of H.Res. 121 on “comfort women” ’, The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus, Vol. 5, No. 8 (2007); http://apjjf.org/-Kinue-TOKUDOME/2510/article.html.
-
62
Colin J. Bennett and Michael Howlett, ‘The lessons of learning: reconciling theories of policy learning and policy change’, Policy Sciences, Vol. 25, No. 3 (August 1992), pp. 275–294, p. 275.
-
63
Bowman H. Miller, ‘Soldiers, scholars, and spies: combining smarts and secrets’, Armed Forces & Society, Vol. 36, No. 4 (2010), pp. 695–715, p. 705.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 256 | 37 | 6 |
| Full Text Views | 222 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 47 | 4 | 0 |
The Shift of US Strategy towards East Asia
‘Troika’ and the Formation of America’s Japan Policy
In: European Journal of East Asian StudiesSearch for other papers by Quansheng Zhao in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
This piece centres on the vital role intellectuals and think tanks play in US foreign policymaking. Before examining empirical data and original developments, a middle-level theoretical framework is needed to link our data and grand theories in International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis. We focus on a ‘strategic core force’ troika in the US foreign policymaking system and the significant role it has played in policy transformation. It consists of three key elements—‘policy architect’, ‘expert counsellor’ and ‘policy implementer’. This paper uses a case study from the Asia-Pacific, focusing on the shift of US strategy towards Japan. The post-Cold War period saw increasing uncertainty concerning Japan’s role in US foreign policy and led to a critical examination and restructuring of East Asian policy. Although we focus on the 1990s, there are profound implications for current US policy towards East Asia. The policy shift in the 1990s laid the foundation for Obama’s 2011 ‘pivot to Asia’ strategy, especially as it relates to US security and military operations. It has become increasingly clear that Japan can provide concrete material support in the form of military and financial assistance and as such its importance for US East Asian policy cannot be overstated.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 256 | 37 | 6 |
| Full Text Views | 222 | 2 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 47 | 4 | 0 |
