“Discovering” normative power as a state strategy in the framework of security, foreign, and defense policy: the case of Japan

Abstract

Various factors influence the (trans)formation of security, foreign, and defense policies of countries. One of them is normative power, a concept that has gained significance in academic debates in the last decade. However, normative power as an emerging though theoretically disputed concept remains a relatively under-researched area in academia. With the exception of research by mostly European scholars, this particularly holds true for case studies of Asian countries. This article contributes to the body of knowledge on normative power by analyzing the case study of Japan, from the standpoint of a country that has increased and then applied its normative power as an important means through which traditional (interest-based) foreign, security and defense goals can be pursued. In the analysis of Japan's aspirations to become recognized as a global normative power advocate, we analyze the impact of the end of the Cold War and the Gulf War on the country's perception of its strategic environment, and subsequent efforts to redefine its role in promoting a new norms-based framework. We also identify three areas in which Japan has been able to strengthen its hard security while simultaneously reinforcing its normative power: its security alliance with the United States, its multi- and bilateral (military) cooperation with other states, and its ability to bolster both its hard and its normative power in an emerging multipolar international system.