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Since ancient times, humanity has put its collective wisdom toward the effort of achieving peace in the world. And yet, wars nonetheless occur over and over again. Why does the crisis of war never go away? Is it possible to realize peace in the world? First published in 1966, this introductory text on international politics by eminent Japanese political scientist Kōsaka Masataka (1934–1996) has gone through more than 50 printings in his home country and remains in print today. In this work, framed by his interest in the problems of war and of peace, Kōsaka eschewed simply schematizing or idealizing international relations, let alone—as prewar Japanese diplomats and politicians had—giving up on developing an accurate understanding of the issue by simply dismissing it as too complex to understand. Kōsaka drew on the specific cases of arms reduction, economic exchange, and international mechanisms to analyze ongoing issues that are intertwined with national interests and ideologies. By doing so, he painted a systematic portrait of the problem of peace and how to achieve it.

This uniquely interdisciplinary volume analyzes the challenges posed by the heterogeneity of the world where radically different players are crammed into increasingly limited political, commercial, social, and ecological space. The rapid rise of Communist Party-ruled China is posing serious challenges to the postwar politico-economic architecture dominated by the United States. Russia, once expected to become a partner of the liberal Western international order, has started behaving in an increasingly unilateral fashion. The developing world is more characterized by failed governance rather than convergence to liberal democracies as was hoped by many Western authors. Given links provided by low-cost carriers, the Internet, and trade and investment, we simply cannot shield ourselves from influences, whether benign or malign, from neighbors on this planet. The authors, including political scientists, economists, social physicists, and experts on complexity theory and informatics, examine how interactions among actors with different properties can cause problems, and they analyze risks resulting from the interactions. While employing a variety of approaches to address topics such as economic interdependence among democracies and authoritarian states, the development assistance regimes, internal conflicts in developing countries, and cyber security, the whole volume presents a clear overview of challenges and risks the world is facing. This work makes a valuable contribution to students of social sciences as well as to practitioners interested in the emerging global order

"For decades, Japan's foreign policy has been seen by both internal and external observers as abnormal in relation to its size and level of sophistication. Japan as a 'Normal Country'? is a thematic and geographically comparative discussion of the unique limitations of Japanese foreign and defence policy. The contributors reappraise the definition of normality and ask whether Japan is indeed abnormal, what it would mean to become normal, and whether the country can - or should - become so. Identifying constraints such as an inflexible constitution, inherent antimilitarism, and its position as a U.S. security client, Japan as a 'Normal Country'? goes on to analyse factors that could make Japan a more effective regional and global player. These essays ultimately consider how Japan could leverage its considerable human, cultural, technological, and financial capital to benefit both its citizens and the world"--Publisher.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction: What Is a 'Normal Country'? -- 1 Embracing Normalcy: Toward a Japanese 'National Strategy' -- 2 Change and Continuity in Japan's 'Abnormalcy': An Emerging External Attitude of the Japanese Public -- 3 A 'Normal' Middle Power: Interpreting Changes in Japanese Security Policy in the 1990s and After -- 4 Conservative Conceptions of Japan as a 'Normal Country': Comparing Ozawa, Nakasone, and Ishihara -- 5 Chinese Discourse on Japan as a 'Normal Country' -- 6 The Limits to 'Normalcy': Japanese-Korean Post-Cold War Interactions -- 7 Japan's Relations with Southeast Asia in the Post-Cold War Era: 'Abnormal' No More? -- Contributors