Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Research Articles

Between regional cooperation and strategic reorganization: An examination of the change in perceptions in Japanese security policy

ABSTRACT With Japan’s new connectivity initiative, the Free and Open Indo-Pacific, alongside several previous doctrines, Tokyo has started to shift its regional security policy focus towards democratic states in the Asia-Pacific. Qualitative case studies on bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific assess these changes as reflecting a more proactive security policy initiated under the Abe administration (2012–2020). While Tokyo’s security policy towards Southeast Asia has certainly changed both qualitatively and quantitatively since 2012/2013, explaining this change by referring solely to Prime Minister Abe’s foreign policy agenda falls short. Rather, Japan’s new strategy is the result of a change in perceptions among executive officials in the foreign and defense ministries that had already been initiated in the 2000s. This study looks at this development and examines the role of the Prime Minister’s Office of Japan (Kantei), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), and the Ministry of Defense (MOD) in initiating the change and assesses Japan’s Pacific strategy through an interview-based qualitative case study. Using the concept of “foreign policy analysis” and based on official publications and interviews with representatives of the MOD, the MOFA, and Kantei advisors, this study expands the qualitative aspect of existing research and shows that the origins of this new regionalism are found primarily in the changing perceptions of executive officials. It also points to the importance of analyzing administrative executives at the interface among Kantei, the MOFA, and the MOD, which can shed new light on the reasons behind Japan’s regional strategy shift.

Prince Wan Waithayakon’s Attempt for Rapprochement with the People’s Republic of China at the 1955 Asian-African Conference at Bandung

Abstract After the end of the Second World War, newly emerging nations were being divided up geopolitically into ideological camps – the so-called “Free World” led by the United States and the ‘Communist Bloc’ under the leadership of the Soviet Union. At the same time, there was rising demands for self-determination by national leaders who did not wish to commit exclusively to either ideological camp, as they perceived this to be a form of neo-imperialism. A leading group within this third way of thinking was the Colombo Group. In the midst of this intense three-way struggle, post-war Thailand under the leadership of Premier Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram was heavily influenced by the US in the earliest stages of the Cold War. In the attempt to renegotiate and re-balance Thailand’s position in the heightened political tension of the region, the premier sent the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Wan Waithayakon, to represent Thailand at the Asia-Africa Conference – initiated through the cooperation of the Colombo Group earlier in May 1954 – in April 1955. At this conference Prince Wan exercised independent diplomacy by meeting and negotiating with the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in an attempt to re-balance Thailand’s relations with world powers in both the Free World and the Communist Bloc. This meeting would have significant ramifications for Thailand’s diplomacy throughout the Cold War and has impacted the kingdom’s relations with the People’s Republic of China up to the present day.

Comparative analysis of the structure of simple sentences in Russian and Chinese diplomatic documents

This article is devoted to the study of complex structures of simple sentences in Russian and Chinese diplomatic documents of the late XX - early XXI century in order to identify similarities and differences. The main purpose of the work is to identify similarities and differences in the complex structure of simple sentences in Russian and Chinese, as well as to analyze the causes of their occurrence. The article analyzes the various structures of simple sentences in Russian and Chinese, identifies differences and similarities in the complex structure of simple sentences in diplomatic documents of both countries. The factors influencing the formation of these structures were also identified. Special attention is paid not only to the style of the documents, but also to the specifics of the language itself. The research material was bilingual documents from the period from 1994 to 2023, collected from the websites of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Russia and China. Transformational, structural and comparative methods are appropriate in the analysis of the material. The novelty of the research lies in the initial comparative analysis of the structure of simple sentences in diplomatic documents of the two countries, taking into account the linguistic features of the Russian and Chinese languages.The results of the study showed that although complex structures of simple sentences are widespread in diplomatic documents of both countries, the results of the study showed that the structures themselves and the factors of their formation differ. Comparative analysis allows for a better understanding of the unique features and peculiarities of the languages of each cultural tradition, which can be useful for various fields related to intercultural interaction and diplomatic communication. The results obtained can be applied in linguistics, translation studies, intercultural communication and diplomacy for a deeper understanding of linguistic expressiveness and communicative strategies in diplomatic practice.

Japan’s Diplomatic Reactions to the Cyprus Conflict of 1974

In the 1970s, both Japan and Türkiye experienced significant events. Japan, having rapidly recovered from World War II, emphasized peace diplomacy alongside economic progress. Events like the Osaka World Expo in 1970, themed “Progress and Harmony for Mankind” reflected Japan’s commitment to stability. Diplomatically, Japan worked to strengthen ties with the United States, successfully reuniting Okinawa in 1972 through peaceful means. In contrast, Türkiye witnessed political turmoil and social unrest throughout the 1970s, leading to the military coup of 1980. One of the defining moments for Türkiye during this period was the Cyprus Conflict of 1974, resulting in the division of Cyprus into the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus. Despite nearing the 50th anniversary in 2024, complete peace has not been achieved on the island. This study aims to analyze Japan’s diplomatic response to the Cyprus Issue and Cyprus Conflict of 1974. It will explore whether Japan pursued a stance of peace diplomacy and adopted a balanced policy or took a strong stance in favor of or against either side. Utilizing official government statements, Record of Diet Proceedings, Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, and the Diplomatic Bluebook published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the study employs descriptive content analysis. The analysis seeks to provide insights into Japan’s diplomatic position during the Cyprus Issue, Cyprus Conflict of 1974 and after.

Nigeria’s Foreign Policy in a Democratic Setting: An Appraisal of the Fourth Republic

Foreign policy deals with the pursuit of a nation’s national interest in its interactions with other nation. Nigeria attained independence in 1960 and since then has continued to play active roles in the area of foreign policy decision making. The military epochs in Nigeria’s foreign policy were replete with incessant challenges which culminated in the excommunicated of the nation from the common wealth of nations. The swearing in of Obasanjo was perceived as the dawn of a new era in Nigeria’s foreign policy, however democracy has presented new challenges for leaders since the inception of the fourth republic, the study therefore examines the challenges of Nigeria’s foreign policy in a democratic setting with a focus on Obasanjo’s administration in the fourth republic. The secondary data collection was employed in the study. The descriptive and explorative research design was used in the study. Findings revealed that there were incessant challenges; however, some of these challenges were surmounted. The study therefore recommends that the foreign affairs ministers should take more proactive decisions that will uplift the national integrity of the nation when making foreign policy decisions in Nigeria. Keywords: Foreign policy, Democratic era, Governance, decision making, international system, military regime, democratic administration.

Asia Anew Initiative: Main Aspects of Türkiye’s Asia Opening

The center of gravity in the world has shifted from the Atlantic to Asia over the last decade. The Asian continent has emerged as the geopolitical and geo-economic hub of the world, undergoing a remarkable transformation. This transformation is reshaping the global balance of power. In this context, it is apparent that the dominant theme of the 21st century at the global level is the “Rise of Asia.” This rise is primarily driven by economic dynamics, yet its supplementary elements in political, military, and cultural spheres are increasingly apparent. Initially perceived as being predominantly centered around China, it is now widely recognized that the entire Asian region is undergoing developmental strides, particularly in economic terms, positioning Asian countries as significant future actors. The Asia Anew Initiative, launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye, represents the country’s comprehensive, long term, holistic, and systematic vision for Asia. This commentary will analyze Türkiye’s overall perspective on the Asian continent and discuss the main dynamics of the initiative.

The Union of Russian Emigrants in Paris: Adaptation and Pro-Russian Activities (with Reference to the Sûreté Générale)

This article presents the results of the examination of the activities of the Union of Russian Workers of France / Union of Soviet Citizens in France in Paris which existed from 1925 to 1929 and acted as one of the most numerous unions of Russian emigrants. Drawing on materials from the archive of the Historical Service of the French Ministry of Defence, prepared by Sûreté Générale in the name of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, the author of the article identifies the purpose of creation and the tasks that the participants of the associations set themselves. The microhistorical approach and the study of the everyday life of Russian emigrants demonstrates that the primary goal was to help compatriots in adapting their life in exile. An analysis of the activities of the members of the union to improve the lives of compatriots made it possible to identify a number of successful examples of the help of the members of the union in solving urgent problems of emigrants. Additionally, the article demonstrates various ways of providing material assistance to those in need, as well as attempts to develop the intellectual culture of Russian emigrants and increase their competitiveness for employment in France. The measures taken by the members of the unions were aimed, among other things, at encouraging Russian emigrants to return to Russia. According to the author, such actions were soft cultural propaganda in favour of the Soviet Union, and these attempts to return emigrants to their homeland yielded results. The article also presents examples of the activities of the members of the union that did not contribute to the successful stay of Russian emigrants in France. The paper presents an example of the activity of the members of the union in appropriating the property of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, inciting emigrants to rebellion and organising demonstrations demanding the transfer of the church to the USSR Embassy. The result of this activity was a more thorough supervision of the activities of the organisation by the employees of the Sûreté Générale and the repatriation of a few active members of the union. It is concluded that this activity hindered the life of the Russian colony in Paris and did not contribute to its security in France.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) Jepang kepada Indonesia pada Masa Orde Baru (1966-1998)

The History of Japan and Indonesia Relations: Japanese ODA to Indonesia during the New Order Era (1966-1998). Official Development Assistance (ODA) is a foreign aid used by the member nations of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). ODA is used to contribute to the economic development and prosperity of developing countries. Japan as one of the DAC member countries provides ODA to said developing countries, with a special focus on the Asia region - Indonesia being one of the priority recipients. This research focuses on Japan’s ODA history, and the history of Japanese-Indonesian relations spanning the New Order era from 1966 to 1998. The methodology of research is qualitative, and based on historical data with the aim to explain Japan’s ODA strategies with regards to Indonesia as well as the reason behind it. The resources used to acquire data are primary sources from official websites of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and secondary sources such as books and journals describing Japan’s ODA to Indonesia. The findings of this research indicate the implementation of Japan’s ODA to Indonesia serves several national interests, as well as identifies interdependencies between the countries. Whereas Japan provides ODA to Indonesia with the goal of improving the country’s image on the world stage, as well as promoting mutual economic growth through investment and trade, Indonesia is also dependent on Japan’s ODA for economic growth and infrastructural development - in summary the welfare of the country. In summary both countries benefit from the ODA aid and have developed closer ties thanks to its continuation.

Koreagate Revisited: ROK Government Lobbying on the Human Rights Issue

ABSTRACT Republic of Korea (ROK) lobbying in the United States during the 1970s, which blew up into the Koreagate scandal, is a widely known but understudied episode in US-ROK relations. Utilizing declassified documents from the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this article argues President Park Chung Hee was pressured by Congressional condemnation of his human rights abuses and he sought to tame criticism through lobbying. To this end, ROK diplomats actively lobbied Congress in an attempt to guide the narrative of human rights hearings, temper legislation to cut military aid and force withdrawal of US troops from Korea, and silence critics.

The rise of digital platforms as a soft power apparatus in the New Korean Wave era

By employing digital soft power as a theoretical framework, this article examines the increasing role of domestic digital platforms in the New Korean Wave and their contributions to cultural diplomacy. It discusses the ways in which digital soft power becomes the primary vehicle in cultural diplomacy related to the Korean Wave. As there are tensions and conflicts between these private platforms and the Korean government, this article critically analyzes the crucial relations between these two major parties in executing cultural diplomacy and digital soft power. As its methodological framework, the utilization of social media by the Korean government, particularly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was used. It selects the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Facebook posts between 1 January and 31 December of 2022 to determine the ways in which the Korean government utilizes social media as a soft power tool. It develops discourse analysis in tandem with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Facebook posts to determine several major strategies the Korean government has advanced in the digital platform era.

Savel Rădulescu – Member of the Titulescu Team and Expert in the Optants Question

The diplomat Savel Rădulescu (1895 – 1970) is regarded as one of Romania's financial experts during the Interwar Period and between 1944 and 1945. His present-day visibility can be attributed to his distinguished career, which included serving as Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1932 – 1936), having been a close associate of Nicolae Titulescu, and his criticism of the Soviet Union's abuses in Romania after 23 August 1944. The first objective of this research is to provide a concise biography of Savel Rădulescu, including his family background, education, professional career, skills, expertise, connections with friends and those in power, etc. Numerous archival documents contain crucial and diverse information about Rădulescu. The second and main focus of the research will be to present and analyse his role in the Romanian-Hungarian dispute over the Optants Question, closely examining his responsibilities and how he carried them out. As the author of a doctoral thesis on Romania's financial policies between 1914 and 1922, S. Rădulescu had already gained the trust of Vintilă Brătianu and Nicolae Titulescu by 1925. Rădulescu's significant contribution as a financial advisor to the Romanian Legation in London (1925 – 1928) in the matter of the optants was decisive in his employment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in October 1928, where he served as a financial and economic advisor and director of the Economic Division. Savel Rădulescu's appointments to Titulescu's team in London or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were not by chance and were due in particular to exceptional skills and abilities. Keywords: Savel Rădulescu, Hungarian Optants Question, Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nicolae Titulescu

A Kingdom of Possibility

A Kingdom of Possibility

The stance and factors of international organizations towards countries from a Chinese perspective

ABSTRACT The degree and scope of constraints imposed by International Organizations (IOs) on States are increasing, and identifying the factors affecting the IOs' stances on States is helpful to enhance the state's discourse power and influence in the international community. First, by coding the records of Regular Press Conferences of the Speaking Office of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the period of 2018–2022, we obtained a dataset of IOs' stances on China-related events. Second, we constructed political relation, economic relation, and humanistic relation indicators to complement the influence factors, adopted the Bayesian logit model, and applied the Monte Carlo Markov chain algorithm and Gibbs sampling to analyze the probability of IOs' positive stances towards China. The result shows that IOs' category, length of establishment, functional position, and relationship with China are all related to their tendency of making a statement about China. In terms of the heterogeneity of event types, forum-type IOs are significantly inclined to give positive assessment compared to service-type IOs on events focusing on China's own development. Further analysis reveals that the model for analyzing and predicting the attitudes of IOs is more effective when the international situation is in a stable period.

Unsettling settler-colonialism in Gender and Development: reflections from Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT In November 2020, the first woman Indigenous Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nanaia Mahuta, was appointed in Aotearoa New Zealand. Mahuta has reinforced the message of taking a values-based Indigenous-centred approach to foreign policy and development. She has also recognised the mana of wāhine (the unique spiritual authority of women), “not defined by western feminist thinking, but the values that have long underpinned our culture, histories and traditions”. Her appointment reflects the complicated intersections of Indigeneity, colonialism, Western feminist discourse, and foreign policy in a settler-hegemonic state, and the possibilities (and constraints) for reimagined futures. How, then, can the teaching of gender and development (GAD) be attentive to these politics of settler-colonialism in Aotearoa? How can the complexities of the colonial project be reflected in GAD, and how can GAD be responsive to settler-hegemonic and Indigenous spaces? This paper will explore these questions and look at GAD’s role in perpetuating or unsettling settler-colonialism.

Establishment of Diplomatic Relations Between Czechoslovakia and the Holy See After the Creation of Czechoslovakia in the Fall of 1918

The present study deals with the establishment and development of diplomatic relations between Czechoslovakia and the Holy See immediately after the creation of Czechoslovakia in the fall of 1918 which underwent a dramatic and turbulent change. The most acute questions to discuss included the filling of Czech and Slovak bishopric thrones, the Church administration in Slovakia and the matters of Church education while the filling of the bishopric thrones in the Czech lands and Slovakia proved to be of crucial importance for the proper functioning of the Church administration in Czechoslovakia. The study is based on source material, mainly of diplomatic nature, from the Archive of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague and the Vatican archives, the study reconstructs the character, form and transformation of diplomatic relations between the young Republic and the headquarters of the Catholic Church in Rome at the turn of the 1910s and 1920s. Extensive archival funds have been confronted with numerous literature sources, including contemporary history texts.

Promoting Kenya’s National Interests through Strategic Communication: Challenges and Opportunities

Purpose: Throughout history, nations have sought to protect, promote and advance their national interests. Countries use various elements and instruments of national power in pursuit of those national interest. These includes military, diplomatic, economic and information. Like other nations, Kenya employs these instruments in various ways. Strategic communications, forms a key element of the information aspect of national power. Despite the importance of strategic communications in the pursuit of national interests, this paradigm has not been fully acknowledged nor been substantially leveraged on. This study therefore had the key objectives of determining the role of strategic communications in selected case studies in promotion of national interests, examining the role of strategic communications in promoting Kenya’s national interests and identifying opportunities and challenges of strategic communications in promoting national interests.
 Methodology: This study adopted a pragmatic research methodology. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies were adopted. The qualitative research offered the usual narrative information collected through interviews. While information acquired through questionnaires and interviews offered quantitative data necessary data on the role of strategic communication in promoting Kenya’s national interests. Being a cross-sectional research study, the researcher used interviews for gathering data, and questionnaires for data collection. This study used purposeful sampling to choose 86 respondents in ‘Job Group’ ‘P’ and above from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Security and National Administration and the Ministry of Information Communication Technology and Digital Economy based in Nairobi. The quantitative data gathered from the questionnaires was coded, edited, organized, and analyzed with the assistance frequency tables, whereas the qualitative data obtained from the open-ended questions of the interviews is thematically analyzed in accordance with the research objectives.
 Findings: The findings reveal that the Government of Kenya has attempted to institutionalize strategic communications in various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). This study further shows that if well capacitated, coordinated and provided with requisite leadership, these institutions provide opportunities that would be useful in the synchronization of the instruments of national power. The study identified various opportunities as well as challenges encountered in the utilization of strategic communications in promoting Kenya’s national interests.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: This study was informed by Institutional and Realism theories. The Institutional theory has been identified as one of the most prominent theoretical perceptions of organizational and management research while Realism is considered a longstanding theory, critical in understanding social phenomena from different perspectives. The study recommended the entrenchment strategic communications in the National Security Council (NSC) by setting up an office of strategic communications and coordination under the NSC. Moreover, there is need to ensure implementation of the National Communication Policy and Strategy while ensuring harmonization through a whole government approach that can lead to policy coherence.

Rules of the Regency Council in the Resources of the Archive of New Records

Archives occupy a special place in academic research. The aim of the paper is to present sources for research on the functioning of the Regency Council in the resources of the Archives of New Records in Warsaw (AAN). The documentation collected in the AAN is dispersed (it is stored in several archival units: the Civil Cabinet of the Regency Council, the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Provisioning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and private files) and most often complements each other. The aforementioned documents allow for the presentation of both the organization of governments, their personnel, as well as the analysis of the “governing process” and the connections between the Regency Council and subordinate institutions, social organizations, and the occupation authorities.

Establishing Border Commissariats on the Russian-Chinese Border in the 2<sup>nd</sup> Half of the 19<sup>th</sup> – Early 20<sup>th</sup> Centuries

In the mid-19th century, the Russian government started pushing forward the implementation of a policy to move its population eastward. This was done to strengthen the country’s position in the East and required coordination with China to establish state borders. The legal formalization of the boundaries resulted in the development of new mechanisms of border diplomacy for further interaction between both countries. However, there has been relatively little study of the approaches and tools used in Russian-Chinese diplomacy during this time. This article summarizes the history of establishing border commissariats on the Russian-Chinese border in the 2nd half of the 19th – early 20th century. The study is carried out using the narrative, structural, and functional method, the method of variance, and normative comparison. As a result, it finds out that in the 2nd half of the 19th century, diplomatic functions were shared between the Governor-General, border commissars, and diplomatic officials reporting to the Governor-General. The border commissar was a civil position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was represented by a civilian with the rank of state adviser. The Commissioner’s powers were subordinated to and supervised by the Far East region's Governor-General (military position), who overlooked diplomatic relations. Four border commissariats were set up in the Transbaikal, Amour, South Ussuri and Uryankhay regions. The author concludes that there was no unified system of border commissariats. Although the commissars shared professional duties, they acted independently and dealt with foreign policy issues specific to their region. Overall, the commissars' activities helped maintain socio-political stability in the Eastern border regions of the Russian Empire.

Rhetorical Strategies and Speech Acts Analysis: A Linguistic Research on Indonesia’s Minister Speech Advocating for Palestine

This research is aimed at finding out the use of rhetorical strategies and speech acts in the speech delivered by the minister of foreign affairs during United Nations General Assembly regarding the conflict between Palestine and Israel. This research applies qualitative method. The data taken was in the form of text from H.E Retno LP Marsudi’s speech that emphasized the stance and the concern from Indonesia as a country which supports the freedom of the Palestine as well as condemning any kinds of genocide The result of this research showed that there were two linguistic features employed in the H.E Retno LP Marsudi’s speech i.e rhetorical strategies and speech act with the proportion of 32% for each Pathos Ethos, and 37% for Logos. Besides, the 5 speech acts were also found in this research with the proportion of 13% for assertive and declarative, 31% for directive, 25% for expressive, and 19% for commissive. This is to prove that rhetorical devices are considered to contribute to the overall persuasiveness and impact of the speech to help the speaker conveying the message effectively and build a comprehensive engagement to the audience.

The Indian Media’s Interface with Diplomacy

Diplomacy and its institutions have been constantly changing. The manner in which diplomacy was practised in the earlier centuries is vastly different from how it is being practised in the twenty-first century. These changes range from the emergence of the training of messengers, the start of record keeping of diplomatic exchanges, the establishment of resident embassies, codification of formal diplomatic processes, widening domain of actors and issues, the use of multilateral conferences, use of summitry and many others. This evolution has been both a result of and further resulted in changing the larger socio-political-economic dimensions that the world has undergone. Among the myriad contextual changes, the revolution in communications, information and media technology has been phenomenal. This has brought into focus terms like the CNN effect and Vietnam War Syndrome where it is argued that media has had an influence in directing foreign policy choices of countries. Hence, this article seeks to analyse the media’s interface with the most important institution of diplomacy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It specifically focuses on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India. Has the news media acted either as an impediment or an accelerator to diplomatic practice? Has the information overload caused the diplomatic fraternity to face a loss of autonomy in any manner? With the objective of seeking an answer to these questions from diplomacy’s perspective, the article explores the evolution of the External Publicity Division of the MEA, India. The External Publicity Division as it is generally known has been the nodal division leading the institutions’ interface with the media. The actuality of media’s interface with diplomacy in India’s case will be set in the backdrop of the existing literature in the fields of media, diplomacy and foreign policy.