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Dialogue without cooperation? Diplomatic implications of EU-Japan summits

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Abstract

The European Union (EU) and Japan have held annual bilateral summits since 1991; however, little cooperation has been achieved between the two parties. The existing literature on summitry meetings fail to account for this puzzling observation. This dissertation instead argues that the symbolic aspects of summits are the driving force behind the rise and continuation of EU-Japan summits because they essentially indicate the status of the EU and Japan in international relations.

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Notes

  1. For the sake of simplicity, I will use the term EU throughout to refer to the European Economic Community, the European Community and the European Union.

  2. Except for one in 2012.

  3. See, for instance, Tsuruoka 2008; Reiterer 2004.

  4. Questionnaire answered by an EU official

  5. Interview with a Japanese diplomat

  6. Phone interview with an EU official

  7. Phone interview with an EU official

  8. Phone interview with an EU official

  9. Questionnaire answered by an EU official

  10. Phone interview with an EU official

  11. Questionnaire answered by an EU official

  12. Phone interview with an EU official

  13. Phone interview with an EU official

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Correspondence to Aiko Morii.

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Morii, A. Dialogue without cooperation? Diplomatic implications of EU-Japan summits. Asia Eur J 13, 413–424 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-015-0429-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-015-0429-7

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