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Andrew L OROS, Temporal Identities and Security Policy in Postwar Japan, Social Science Japan Journal, Volume 24, Issue 2, Summer 2021, Pages 415–417, https://doi.org/10.1093/ssjj/jyab014
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Extract
Japan continues to be an intriguing case for scholars of international relations, both in terms of its continuing policy evolution and through the ability to apply or develop new theories and methods in the study of international relations (IR) using the case of Japan. The scholarly world is not bereft of books examining postwar Japanese security policy. It is thus especially important to be able to articulate what the new contribution is of yet another book on the topic. Fortunately, Ulv Hanssen does this clearly and manages to make advances in our thinking about Japan even in a crowded marketplace. His primary contribution is advancing scholarly discussion of constructivist IR theory and methods, but he also usefully underscores and augments two broad empirical claims that have been raised in previous scholarship: (a) that postwar Japanese have held a mix of distinct views related to security policy, not a single identity; and (b) that there are multiple ‘pasts’ to which Japanese policymakers and the public seek to respond when debating over new policy directions.