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Long live pacifism!: narrative power and Japan’spacifist model
Swedish Defence University, Department of Political Science and Law, Political Science Division. Stockholms universitet, (SWE).ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9897-9891
Swedish Defence University, Department of Security, Strategy and Leadership (ISSL), Political Science Section.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7495-055X
Soka University (JPN).
2019 (English)In: Cambridge Review of International Affairs, ISSN 0955-7571, E-ISSN 1474-449X, Vol. 32, no 4, p. 502-520Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

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.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2019. Vol. 32, no 4, p. 502-520
Keywords [en]
pacifism, narrative, power, Japan, security
National Category
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalisation Studies)
Research subject
Statsvetenskap med inriktning mot strategi och säkerhetspolitik
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-8633DOI: 10.1080/09557571.2019.1623174OAI: oai:DiVA.org:fhs-8633DiVA, id: diva2:1327559
Funder
Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation, MMW2013.0162Available from: 2019-06-19 Created: 2019-06-19 Last updated: 2022-02-18Bibliographically approved

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Hagström, Linus

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