What is it about?
Overall, Japan's identity has often been studied from two perspectives: one that views identity as a product of domestic norms, cultures, and which informs interests and behaviors; the other sees identity as relational and constructed between an actor and its "Others". This article further refines these frameworks by addressing three main issues: whether there is a comprehensive way to understand Japanese identity construction; how changes or continuity in national identity can be handled by actors; and what the point of identity analysis in IR theory is.
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Why is it important?
National identity enables or constrains actors' behavior in international politics. Therefore, analyzing how an identity comes about can help us understand the decisions that states make abroad. In the case of East Asia, for instance, navigating one's way out of an abstract identity dispute may even pave way to militarized conflicts.
Perspectives
This article not only puts into context the findings of other contributions to the same special issue, but also proposes a framework of three mutually interacting layers of identity construction. Overall, it seems that the changes in Japan's identity suggest that Japan is heading for remilitarization. These changes are likely to be led by identity entrepreneurs who effectively foment public emotion over key issues.
Professor Linus Hagström
Swedish Defence University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Japan and identity change: why it matters in International Relations, The Pacific Review, November 2014, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/09512748.2014.969298.
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