Abstract
Bilateralism and multilateralism have been the two poles of Japanese foreign policy, with a tendency to gravitate more towards bilateralism. This pattern of foreign policy however, is not unique to Japan but holds true for many other nations, if not all, in the world. Since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, nation states have sought to maintain peace and security mainly through bilateral alliances. Instances of multilateralism amongst states have been few. Historically, multilateral cooperation has consisted of attempts made during the periods immediately following great power wars. As pointed out by Charles W. Kegley and Gregory Raymond, ‘there has been an initial hopeful burst of cooperation and institution building to forge a stable new order among the victorious powers’1 after every great power war. Symbolic examples of such multilateral cooperation in the realm of security include the Peace of Westphalia as well as the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), the Concert of Europe (1815), the League of Nations (1919) and the United Nations (1945).
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Notes and References
Charles W. Kegley, Jr, and Gregory Raymond, A Multipolar Peace? St. Martin’s Press, 1994, p. 9.
Henry A. Kissinger, A World Restored, Universal Library, 1964, p. 5.
Charles Krauthammer, ‘The Unipolar Moment’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 70, Issue 1, 1991, p. 24. Charles Krauthammer is a syndicated columnist. This article is adapted from his Henry M. Jackson Memorial lecture delivered in Washington D.C., 18 September 1990.
Wayne Sandholtz et al. The Highest Stakes: The Economic Foundations of the Next Security System, New York, Oxford University Press, 1992.
Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy, A Touchstone Book, Simon & Schuster, 1994, p. 809.
A multipolar post-Cold War World was suggested, for example, by the following references: The Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy, Discriminate Deterrence, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1988, and Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, New York, Random House, 1987.
Takahiro Shinyo, ‘Reisengo no Kokuren to Yobo Gaiko’, in National Institute for Research Advancement ed., Yobo Gaiko, Kokusai Shoin, 1996, p. 50.
Edward Lincoln, Japan’s New Global Role, The Brookings Institution, 1993, pp. 2–3.
Dennis T. Yasutomo, The New Multilateralism in Japan’s Foreign Policy, St. Martin’s Press, 1995, p. 177. Dennis T. Yasutomo is Professor of Government and Director of the East Asian Studies Programme at Smith College, Northampton Massachusetts.
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© 1999 Akiko Fukushima
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Fukushima, A. (1999). Introduction. In: Japanese Foreign Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403915924_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403915924_1
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