This thesis employs structural analysis to compare the structure of negotiations around the Kurils dispute in two points of time; 1956 and 2016. It applies a framework to compare structural aspects...Show moreThis thesis employs structural analysis to compare the structure of negotiations around the Kurils dispute in two points of time; 1956 and 2016. It applies a framework to compare structural aspects like Best-Alternatives-To-Non-Agreement and negotiation linkage while highlighting and explaining differences. One central aspect of this thesis is Russia's pivot to Asia which has had drastic effects on the territorial dispute like increasing the value of the islands but at the same time increasing costs associated with non-agreement. In the conclusion, the evolved aspects of negotiations are summed up and it is argued that while the dispute remains in a deadlock, the dispute itself is gaining importance again in Japan-Russia relations. Furthermore, both countries have gained no strong incentive to compromise on their original positions (those held since 1956).Show less
The aim of this thesis was to measure the influence that certain actors hold over US-Japan relations and to investigate the power imbalance in the alliance between the US and Japan. More...Show moreThe aim of this thesis was to measure the influence that certain actors hold over US-Japan relations and to investigate the power imbalance in the alliance between the US and Japan. More specifically, how these notions could be observed during Hatoyama’s term as prime minister, a time of crisis for US-Japan relations, caused by disagreement over the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, a military base in Okinawa. This study used process tracing as its theoretical framework by creating a causal mechanism, which explains the intervening process by certain entities or actors between an event and its outcome. This was done by challenging the dominant narrative on Hatoyama’s term as prime minister, which blames his downfall on his own incompetence, and providing a different, competing explanation to explain the process in between the DPJ’s electoral victory in 2009 and Hatoyama’s resignation.Show less
Raaijmakers, Christiaan Antonius Ludovicus Maria 2014
