This thesis discusses the initial mental health care response and subsequent development of postdisaster mental health policies after the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji earthquake and 2011 Great East Japan...Show moreThis thesis discusses the initial mental health care response and subsequent development of postdisaster mental health policies after the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji earthquake and 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. It seeks to discover which actors had which roles in the progress, and how responsibility and accountability have shifted. To accomplish this goal, a causal process tracing method was used which analyzes the causal mechanisms that shaped the development of post-disaster mental health policies after the 1995 and 2011 disasters. Afterwards, a comparative analysis was used to compare the policy shaping process from both periods. By doing this, we can ascertain if lessons regarding post-disaster mental health care response have been learned, and if so, in what way these lessons have had an effect on the post-disaster mental health care regulation. After the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji earthquake, the Japanese government was heavily criticized for their delayed action, while in contrast the local government, volunteers from the civil society and NPOs immediately came to action. At that time, there was not as much knowledge regarding post-traumatic stress disorder in Japan, and precautions were scarce. After the initial response and the first studies showing many victims battling mental health problems, the government developed post-disaster mental health policies. The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake triple disaster was unprecedented in scope, and mental health care measures employed since the 1995 disaster were not sufficient. Local governments from across the country, volunteers and NPOs offered their immediate help, while the central government was struggling in Tokyo with inadequate leadership, political power games and inflexible regulations. In the wake of the destruction regulations were again implemented based on the lessons learned, but a real recognition of mental health care still seems far away. A large focus remains on reconstruction of houses, infrastructure and financial revitalization, while the mental health of the victims seems forgotten. The national government should take up more responsibilities to protect not only the physical, but also the mental health of its citizens, and finish large projects such as permanent housing and community building in the affected areas that will provide the victims with a relief of stress and uncertainty.Show less
This thesis focusses on Chinese dairy company takeovers in Australia. In particular the Chinese company ‘Mengniu Dairy Company’ taking over the Australian companies ‘Lion Dairy & Drinks Pty Ltd...Show moreThis thesis focusses on Chinese dairy company takeovers in Australia. In particular the Chinese company ‘Mengniu Dairy Company’ taking over the Australian companies ‘Lion Dairy & Drinks Pty Ltd’ and ‘Bellamy’s Organic Ltd.’. The question this thesis answers is the following: Are Chinese dairy company takeovers in Australia beneficial to the Australian dairy industry? The two case studies will help to answer this question. By using case study analysis, process tracing, and preference attainment, this thesis will add a completely new debate to the academic literature. In the end, this thesis argues that Chinese dairy company takeovers in Australia are beneficial to the Australian dairy industry in the short term, because of the influx of foreign capital. However, they are not beneficial in the long term, because Australia will loose its food sovereignty and food security networks to China.Show less
This thesis addresses the Izumo-class Multi-Purpose Operation Destroyers (MPODs) in the context of Japan’s changing security policy. It argues that critique from the Chinese government towards the...Show moreThis thesis addresses the Izumo-class Multi-Purpose Operation Destroyers (MPODs) in the context of Japan’s changing security policy. It argues that critique from the Chinese government towards the MPODs are the result of the Abe administration’s lack of transparency on the development of the ships. Japan’s increased military presence to meet the demands of Japan-US security alliance, in particular during the Trump administration, further heightened China’s concerns towards the MPODs, exacerbating the Sino-Japanese security dilemma. This thesis employs case study methodology to track the changes in the discourse surrounding the de facto carriers, and divides the narrative into the two US administrations that influenced Abe’s security policy choices: the Obama and Trump administration. This is done to demonstrate whether changes in the security policies of the US also influenced China’s perspective towards the ships. The findings of this study are based of sources ranging from Chinese state press to Japanese defense papers, and help understand how key events surrounding the MPODs increased tensions between China and Japan.Show less
This thesis analyzes the trends in Japan’s policy vis-à-vis the South China Sea territorial disputes. It does so by ordering among others speeches and statements of the Prime Ministers of Japan in...Show moreThis thesis analyzes the trends in Japan’s policy vis-à-vis the South China Sea territorial disputes. It does so by ordering among others speeches and statements of the Prime Ministers of Japan in a systematic way to recognize changes in trends. It concludes that although there is a slight shift towards a more bilateral oriented policy, there is no break with previous policy.Show less
This paper investigates how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been seen by the international community when it comes to dealing with North Korea since 2009. Western media and think tanks...Show moreThis paper investigates how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been seen by the international community when it comes to dealing with North Korea since 2009. Western media and think tanks often characterize the PRC as a ‘spoiler’ in dealing with the DRPK. This study will show that with regard to Beijing’s enforcing United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) for example, it is indeed often acting in a way that undermines these sanctions. On the other hand, Beijing’s mediating and consistent urging of all parties to resume dialogue often fails to be mentioned. This study tests the PRC's multilateral stance as well as its direct interaction with North Korea, mainly with regard to endorsement of sanctions. It will also clarify the PRC’s strategic and security objectives; having a stable North-Eastern neighbor can only be achieved through the restauration of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington as well as urging for a détente with Seoul. Abiding with every penalty that the international community urges Beijing to enforce, will only run counter to Beijing’s wish in maintaining the status-quo. This paper will present the reader with the fact that Beijing’s actions have changed through time: they should not be seen through a narrow scope, but rather through a much wider one, which befits Beijing’s own interests; something that academic literature has for the most part failed to present objectively.Show less
The thesis comprises the main motives for Shinzo Abe and Barack Obama to commit to apology events and speeches in 2016 at Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor respectively, as well as a more detailed look at...Show moreThe thesis comprises the main motives for Shinzo Abe and Barack Obama to commit to apology events and speeches in 2016 at Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor respectively, as well as a more detailed look at the circumstances that allowed for the to take place, as well as the role of public opinion and support for the two political leaders.Show less
State-owned media serve as important propaganda tools for the Chinese Communist Party. The propaganda of today is represented through media framing and influence not only public opinion, but also...Show moreState-owned media serve as important propaganda tools for the Chinese Communist Party. The propaganda of today is represented through media framing and influence not only public opinion, but also promote the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party. However, a worrisome trend has surfaced, namely the use of sensationalism by the state-owned media to frame political events. Even though many studies have shown interest in the media organs of the Chinese government, few studies have focused on the effect it has on Sino-Japanese relations and none have done a thorough media analysis focusing on China’s side. In addition, not much research has been conducted in examining Japanese Prime Shinzo Abe in the Chinese media. This thesis therefore examines two contrasting media reactions in response to Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s behavior, namely the exaggerated negative coverage in 2015 and the subsequent sudden positive coverage in 2017. The main method used in this thesis is the appliance of qualitative frame analysis on selected state-owned media newspaper articles. This will not only observe the framing the Chinese government does, but will also present China’s state-owned media as highly unpredictable. This thesis concludes that the negative frame of 2015 changed by the end of 2017 to a more positive frame of Abe. The Chinese public responded accordingly to this, having a worse view on Japan in 2015, but a better view by the end of 2017. The state-owned Chinese media, therefore, still serve as powerful tools of propaganda for the CCP.Show less
This paper primarily challenges realists’ viewpoints of Chinese actions during the Diaoyu/Senkaku territorial disputes in 2010 and 2012. Through economic interdependence theory, realists regard the...Show moreThis paper primarily challenges realists’ viewpoints of Chinese actions during the Diaoyu/Senkaku territorial disputes in 2010 and 2012. Through economic interdependence theory, realists regard the Chinese acts as a form of geopolitical bargaining and claim that China is becoming more aggressive and assertive. Liberalists’ perspectives on the other hand, fail to explain why the dispute has escalated. Alternately, realists’ viewpoints overlook a number of factors and overestimate the role of the Chinese government. Two case studies will point out that the Chinese government has unjustly been accused of i) imposing an embargo on rare earth elements to Japan in order to gain a geopolitical leverage in the Diaoyu/Senkaku dispute in 2010 and ii) did not shape popular discontent primarily for the sake of coercing Japan in the bargaining process during the Diaoyu/Senkaku dispute in 2012.Show less
Since the Japanese government purchased three of the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku islands in 2012 and subsequently nationalized them, relations with China and Taiwan sharply deteriorated. After a year...Show moreSince the Japanese government purchased three of the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku islands in 2012 and subsequently nationalized them, relations with China and Taiwan sharply deteriorated. After a year the Chinese government was still cancelling important meetings with Japanese officials, while the Taiwanese East Asian Relations Association had managed to sign a fishery agreement with the Japanese Interchange Association in April 2013. This fishery agreement extended to the seas around the disputed islands, but the agreement did not touch upon sovereignty. The fact that the Chinese government still cancelled important meetings with Japanese officials showed that even after a year Sino-Japanese relations were still affected by the dispute of the 2012 and that the Chinese government did not take official measures to solve the dispute. However, Taiwan acted differently than China and signed a fishery agreement with Japan in April 2013. This shows that Taiwan took another approach regarding the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands than China. This is remarkable, because most academic sources had worked on the assumption that Taiwan and China would be taking a similar approach to handling these disputes and thus only Japan and China were ever considered to be main actors within the dispute. Through the fishery agreement of 2013 however Taiwan has proved to be an equally significant and independent contribution in the attempt to reach a solution for the disputes. This thesis will argue that the fishery agreement of Japan and Taiwan can significantly change the dynamics in the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands disputes.Show less
When questioned about the European Union’s (EU) austerity policy in Europe’s ongoing debt crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel responded that the term ‘austerity’ "makes it sound like something...Show moreWhen questioned about the European Union’s (EU) austerity policy in Europe’s ongoing debt crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel responded that the term ‘austerity’ "makes it sound like something truly evil. […] I call it balancing the budget”. This quote highlights the paradox that is the central thematic concern of this thesis: how economic issues and policies are represented as objectively-determined technical concerns, abstracted from and unrelated to political and ideological disputes. This thesis aims to relate the critical study of political discourse in economic crisis to a critique of the dominant social perception of economics as a scientific study: ‘scientific’ in the positivist sense as being founded upon empirical analysis, exclusive of ideational or normative dimensions. Influenced by the Gramscian concept of ‘cultural hegemony’ and related critical theories of discourse, I argue that the hegemonic scientific representation of economics - in political, media and academic discourses - constitutes an important subject for critical analysis because of its correlation with the de-politicisation of economics.Show less
On March 25 2013 the EU-Japan Economic Partnership (EPA) negotiations were officially started. This happened after the EU and Japan had experienced a hiatus of nearly two years (following the end...Show moreOn March 25 2013 the EU-Japan Economic Partnership (EPA) negotiations were officially started. This happened after the EU and Japan had experienced a hiatus of nearly two years (following the end of the 2001 Action plan in May 2011) during which it was not sure whether another official document between the two would ever be signed. Even at the moment of writing this thesis, now that negotiations have started and both the EU and Japan aim to finish the negotiations by the end of the year, it remains to be seen whether or not the finalization of the agreement will become a reality. Thus far most of the negotiations have been characterized by the EU and Japan trying to harmonize their tariff-, non-tariff barriers and import regulations. These barriers and regulations have hindered their mutual trade relations for the past decades in key industries such as the automobile and electronics industry. Because of the protective nature of both the EU and Japan towards these key industries a comprehensive agreement has yet to be reached, although some deals have been made in selected areas, such as safety regulations in cars. This skepticism is what is reflected in the majority of scholarly articles published on the topic as well. However, from the perspective of neo-realist theory this does not make sense. Both the EU and Japan have had stagnating economies for the past years and both want to improve their global economic power; the EU in the Asian region and Japan in the western world. The EU recently signed a FTA with South-Korea and Japan is trying to finalize a similar agreement with the US. The same problems that hinder the EU and Japan for the past years should have hindered these agreements as well, but for some reason they have not. The neo-realist perspective of relative gains trumping absolute gains is thus not completely accurate on this topic. What I want to find out in this thesis is to what extent non-governmental actors (NGAs) have influenced the development of the EU-Japan EPA negotiations. In order to do this I will look at one of the most influential industries for both the EU and Japan: the automobile industry. If the negotiations have been significantly influenced by NGAs, meaning recommendations of said actors have systematically found themselves implemented in governmental policies on the matter, the primarily neo-realist perspective that has found itself implanted in the majority of conclusions of scholarly articles on the topic is not accurate. If my expectations turn out to be true, a shift towards neo-liberalism is more appropriate as it includes the influences of said NGAs.Show less
The structural inequalities of the world-system and a neoliberal system of academic capitalism allow core states to attract students from peripheral states, thereby perpetuating their dominance...Show moreThe structural inequalities of the world-system and a neoliberal system of academic capitalism allow core states to attract students from peripheral states, thereby perpetuating their dominance over them through corresponding brain gain and drain. While international student mobility (ISM) within the global knowledge economy has remained largely on the fringes of academic debate, human capital movement from periphery to core has traditionally been viewed as a contributor to brain drain in peripheral states. Neoliberal scholars have recently countered the idea of brain drain with ‘brain circulation’ and claims of a mutually beneficial relationship between core student-receiving states and peripheral student-sending states (especially in terms of development). Guided by a world-systems theory approach, this paper tests such claims in the context of ISM to the United States (US), which hosts more international students than any other. It finds reasons to suggest that the idea of periphery brain circulation, while conveniently compatible with the motives of neoliberal ISM-promoters, does not reflect reality. Furthermore, it calls for the reconceptualization of the terms brain drain and brain circulation, concluding that the former refers to the effect of ISM in peripheral states, whereas the latter refers to that in core states.Show less
