This thesis looks at the role of Japan during the negotiations of a large-scale free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)....Show moreThis thesis looks at the role of Japan during the negotiations of a large-scale free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Previously, academic discourse such as the pivotal state theory by Solís and Katada has focused on role of Japan during mega-FTAs. However, most of this research has been focused on Japan during CPTPP negotiations. This thesis looks at Japan’s role within RCEP, as it is the first mega-FTA with China. How does Japan’s influence compare to China during RCEP negotiations? By way of methodological triangulation, this thesis will measure the influence of Japan. While there are limitations, Japan was able to influence some regulations, especially regarding tariff reduction, intellectual property and e-commerce. That being said, while Japan hoped to include India within RCEP, India withdrew in the last stage of negotiations. This is because that Japan’s position within negotiations was hampered among others by its interventionist agricultural lobby. As Japan’s influence within RCEP was limited, it remains an unlikely pivotal state while China’s influence grows. With its analysis, this thesis will contribute to a broader academic discourse on the pivotal state theory, as well as the developments of mega-FTA negotiations in general.Show less
Een kort samenvattend overzicht van de gebeurtenissen rondom de christenvervolging op Japan in de 17e eeuw. Hierbij is er gekeken naar de aanleidingen die er voor hebben gezorgd dat de Portugezen...Show moreEen kort samenvattend overzicht van de gebeurtenissen rondom de christenvervolging op Japan in de 17e eeuw. Hierbij is er gekeken naar de aanleidingen die er voor hebben gezorgd dat de Portugezen niet meer welkom waren op Japan wegens de geloofsverspreiding en hoe het de Nederlanders gelukt is om deze handelspositie met Japan van de Portugezen over te nemen met betrekking tot religieuze verschillen.Show less
When asking: what do humans need to survive? The word ‘security’ will be unmistakably an important answer to that question. When asking: what do states need to survive? The same word is, again, an...Show moreWhen asking: what do humans need to survive? The word ‘security’ will be unmistakably an important answer to that question. When asking: what do states need to survive? The same word is, again, an inherent concept that is interwoven with its survival. But what is security? For humans the answer seems obvious: having a steady source of food and water and not being in physical danger. Yet in recent times even this has been challenged and concepts such as ‘identity’ and ‘freedom of fear’ are debated to be also important in the concept of ‘security’. This already is a complex debate, but when it comes to states, the answer is yet even more complex. Because a state, unlike a human, is not a physical object, but as Anderson famously argued, is an ‘imagined community’ (Anderson, 1983). Then what does security mean for a state? This study aims to contribute to this understanding by deconstructing and critically examining ‘national security’ in a policy case study: Taiwan in Japanese foreign (security) policy documents.Show less
The thesis discusses the hybridity of Japanese sartorial culture with a focus on the works of Issey Miyake. It explores the boundaries between culture, body and sartorial design. Moreover, how do...Show moreThe thesis discusses the hybridity of Japanese sartorial culture with a focus on the works of Issey Miyake. It explores the boundaries between culture, body and sartorial design. Moreover, how do the designs of Issey Miyake express his Japanese identity while also crossing borders between East and West?Show less
This thesis provides an analysis of three marginal historical movements from the inter-war period in the 20th century; German neocolonialism, Japanese Pan-Asianism and Pan-Africanism. All three...Show moreThis thesis provides an analysis of three marginal historical movements from the inter-war period in the 20th century; German neocolonialism, Japanese Pan-Asianism and Pan-Africanism. All three movements represent trends that present alternative views of the dominant ideologies of the century which they were ultimately suppressed by with the onset of the Second World War. Based on what documentation they left behind however, a model can be constructed that attempts to explain how these movements could have survived or otherwise have seen a resurgence in the absence of global liberalism and communism. Alternative histories found in video games, such as the popular Hearts of Iron IV expansion made by its (non-academic) community The New Order: Last Days of Europe provide an opportunity to put this model into practice, but the shortcomings in its existing narrative regarding Africa must first be addressed.Show less
This thesis argues that during the Abe and Suga administrations, Japan has been successful at pushing some of its key security objectives into the agendas of strategically important Southeast Asian...Show moreThis thesis argues that during the Abe and Suga administrations, Japan has been successful at pushing some of its key security objectives into the agendas of strategically important Southeast Asian states through the process of tactical hedging. Tactical hedging has allowed the Abe and Suga administrations to be flexible with its policy approach to the rise of China, allowing Japan to be firm on security issues in Southeast Asia when needed, while allowing room for friendly economic competition. This flexibility made security cooperation with Japan more viable for Southeast Asian states, as none of the countries wish to pursue a hard-line China containment policy. The Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, which has seen notable alterations by the Abe and Suga administration to address the needs of their Southeast Asian partners, and Japan refraining from openly criticizing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are examples of Japan taking the concerns of its Southeast Asian partners into account. While still at an early stage, the results of Japan’s tactical hedging can be seen within Japan’s improved security relations with Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. These three countries, which belong to the largest economies of ASEAN, and are faced with China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, will therefore be used to support the importance of tactical hedging for security cooperation in East Asia.Show less
This thesis argues that during the Abe and Suga administrations, Japan has been successful at pushing some of its key security objectives into the agendas of strategically important Southeast Asian...Show moreThis thesis argues that during the Abe and Suga administrations, Japan has been successful at pushing some of its key security objectives into the agendas of strategically important Southeast Asian states through the process of tactical hedging. Tactical hedging has allowed the Abe and Suga administrations to be flexible with its policy approach to the rise of China, allowing Japan to be firm on security issues in Southeast Asia when needed, while allowing room for friendly economic competition. This flexibility made security cooperation with Japan more viable for Southeast Asian states, as none of the countries wish to pursue a hard-line China containment policy. The Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, which has seen notable alterations by the Abe and Suga administration to address the needs of their Southeast Asian partners, and Japan refraining from openly criticizing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are examples of Japan taking the concerns of its Southeast Asian partners into account. While still at an early stage, the results of Japan’s tactical hedging can be seen within Japan’s improved security relations with Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. These three countries, which belong to the largest economies of ASEAN, and are faced with China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, will therefore be used to support the importance of tactical hedging for security cooperation in East Asia.Show less
This thesis aims to assess whether China and Japan’s strategies have both followed a similar economic diplomacy strategy when engaging with third countries and the corresponding projects, the Belt...Show moreThis thesis aims to assess whether China and Japan’s strategies have both followed a similar economic diplomacy strategy when engaging with third countries and the corresponding projects, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy. While a specific motivation can be hard to pinpoint, the economic diplomacy tools they used are identifiable from agreements, public correspondence by officials or news articles that discuss reactions to the projects. Considering the case studies and the blueprints of the Free and Open Indo Pacific strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative, it is possible to conclude that Japan follows with the FOIP nearly the same or at least a very similar strategy to the BRI of China. The case studies do not always remain within the established movements of the BRI and FOIP in the used framework. The movements are along the axes of economic diplomacy primarily are between commercial and trade diplomacy. China in particular shows that it is willing to go further than Japan with using the tools of commercial diplomacy. Moreover, China is also willing to go further than Japan if they are not getting a formal participation in the BRI from another country, compared to the FOIP.Show less
In recent years, China's economic diplomacy has received more attention in the field of International Relations. Some scholars argue that China uses its economic diplomacy in a coercive way, while...Show moreIn recent years, China's economic diplomacy has received more attention in the field of International Relations. Some scholars argue that China uses its economic diplomacy in a coercive way, while other scholars argue against this notion. This thesis discusses China's economic diplomacy with its research question: "What drives China’s economic diplomacy in the case of political disputes in East-Asia?". The thesis examines two disputes between China and its neighbouring countries, Japan and South Korea, in order to research how China employs its economic power. The research is based on three factors that influence how China creates its economic diplomacy; national sentiment, history of the bilateral relations, and bilateral trade. Using process-tracing, the thesis examines these three factors of the THAAD dispute with South Korea and the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute with Japan. The aim of the thesis is to demonstrate that, while national sentiment, previous bilateral relations, and bilateral trade influence China's economic diplomacy, these factors do not influence China’s decision-making equally. The thesis concludes that national sentiment influences the Chinese government the most to use its economic diplomacy coercively.Show less
Exploring the salience of LGBT-norms in Japan through analyzing the cultural match, political rhetoric, domestic interests, domestic institutions and socializing forces surrounding those norms.
In de ontwerpen van Charles Rennie Mackintosh van omstreeks 1900, zien we het vierkant steeds vaker voorkomen als motief in de decoratie van zijn interieurs en objecten. In Hill House (1902-4) is...Show moreIn de ontwerpen van Charles Rennie Mackintosh van omstreeks 1900, zien we het vierkant steeds vaker voorkomen als motief in de decoratie van zijn interieurs en objecten. In Hill House (1902-4) is deze toepassing op zijn hoogtepunt. Met zijn innovatieve ontwerpen ontwikkelde Mackintosh ontwikkelde zich tot het gezicht van de Glasgowse stijl. Zijn vroege interieurs zijn beïnvloed door een aantal voorgangers, waaronder de witte interieurs in de schilderkunst van de negentiende eeuw en de invloedrijke interieurontwerpen van Godwin die voortkwamen uit de invloed van Japanse esthetiek. Ook heeft Mackintosh op meer directe wijze invloed uit Japanse kunst en cultuur ondergaan binnen zijn netwerk, onder andere door zijn contact met Hermann Muthesius. Zijn samenwerking met leden van de Wiener Secession heeft een impuls gegeven aan de Weense kunstenaars. Het contact met Joseph Hoffmann zorgde voor een stimulans in Mackintosh’ ontwikkeling, wat uiteindelijk heeft geresulteerd in de geometrische decoraties van Hill House.Show less
