EXTERNAL LEVERAGE, LINKAGE, AND POLITICAL TRANSITION IN MYANMAR

International University of Japan博士（国際関係学）/ Ph.D. in International Relations2023China’s influence over and the West’s pressure on Myanmar have existed since 1988. The former emanated from the Myanmar’s overdependence on it, whereas the latter began with punitive actions intended to encourage Myanmar’s democratisation. However, the SLORC/SPDC regime engendered ‘transition towards a somewhat democracy’ in 2011, while maintaining strong links to China, but had low levels of these with the West. In addition, the constitutionally-elected government (2011–2016) also facilitated remarkable political reforms and transferred power to a pro-democracy civilian government following the 2016 general election. Accordingly, it is worth examining why political transition materialised in Myanmar, despite low links to the West and close ties to a powerful authoritarian neighbour (PAN) or Black Knight (BK). The current study employed a qualitative research design by using the single casestudy method based on different timeframes (1988–2011, 2011–2016, and 2016– onwards). The study conducted an in-depth analysis on qualitative and quantitative data from primary and secondary sources. Certain qualitative data were collected through face-to-face interviews while using survey data from five distinctive quantitative works. The study argues that, despite low links to the West and close ties to a PAN/BK, a somewhat democratic transition can materialise, as the ruling regime engendered the transition in an attempt to lessen the country’s overdependence on the latter. Specifically, the SLORC/SPDC adjusted its policy from overdependence to interdependence. Accordingly, the country’s domestic factors also became favourable iv to pursuing this policy. Despite its high organisational capacity, the SLORC/SPDC became concerned about state and regime insecurity as long as it solely depended on China. Since the SLORC/SPDC’s successor, the USDP, possessed medium organisational capacity and low regime uncertainty, it engendered unprecedented political reform, but was unable to retain its power. Accordingly, people’s attitudes towards and perception of the political system became a prominent implication. The pro-democracy party, the NLD, conducted a reversal of its policy preferences to ameliorate its regime uncertainty due to its low organisational capacity. In sum, this study not only academically investigates the political transition from the perspectives of existing theories and concepts, but also contributes to an existing conceptual framework. Keywords: Democracy, democratisation, political transition, political culture, linkage, leverage, organisational capacity.thesi

Cultural Configurations for International Innovativeness: A review and theoretical proposal

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Foreign policy change under authoritarian leaders: analysis of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy in the post-Cold War era

International University of Japan博士（国際関係学）/ Ph.D. in International Relations2023The purpose of this research is to explain foreign policy change under authoritarian settings. Analyzing the case of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy, this research proposes a model to explain why and how foreign policy change takes place under authoritarian leaders. The model suggests that leaders’ perceptions of their environment become a decisive factor inducing authoritarian leaders to (re)consider their regime survival strategy. Concern with regime survival, in turn, shapes foreign policy goals which then manifest into a distinctive foreign policy behavior of a leader. Ultimately, the behavior of a leader translates into certain foreign policy outcomes. Despite the abundance of case studies on foreign policy making in nondemocracies, the literature, being empirical in nature, lacks conceptual explanations of foreign policy change in authoritarian regimes. Whereas, existing models of foreign policy change presuppose decentralized decision-making, which is more relevant to democratic regimes than authoritarian ones. By providing advancements in the conceptual understanding of foreign policy change in authoritarian regimes the model proposed in this research contributes to the literature on foreign policy change. It also contributes methodologically to the understanding of perceptions by offering a Leadership Trait Analysis (LTA) as a method to operationalize perceptions of the leaders.thesi

International Technology Transfer in Emerging Markets: A Case of Nepal

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Revisiting Educational Kuznets Curve: An Analysis of Educational Inequality based on Absolute and Relative Inequality Measures

This paper shows that even if educational inequality is measured by the Gini coefficient, we could produce an educational Kuznets curve under certain conditions. Using the Barro and Lee data set, it examines the evolution of the education Gini coefficient under different sets of conditions. The paper presents an educational Kuznets curve when the proportion of those with no formal education is very small or when they receive informal education equivalent to a small amount of formal education.departmental bulletin pape

Why Has Inequality in the Philippines Declined? A Two-stage Hierarchical Inequality Decomposition Analysis by Location and Education

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The Initial Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Regional Economies and Income Inequality in Indonesia: A Bi-dimensional Inequality Decomposition Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted an enormous impact on the Indonesian economy. In 2020, the country contracted by 2.7%. But, the impact has been spatially heterogeneous. Based on provincial GDP by industrial sectors, this study examines how structural changes caused by the pandemic have affected the determinants of inter-provincial inequality in Indonesia by conducting a bi-dimensional inequality decomposition analysis. It also investigates how the pandemic has affected provincial economies by performing a panel data regression analysis. According to the regression analysis, the pandemic appears to have affected the convergence speed of provincial economies. Provinces with larger GDP shares of the tourism sector were affected more severely by the pandemic. Meanwhile, the impact of the financial sector on provincial growth was not affected. According to the decomposition analysis, after the outbreak of the COVID-19, the tourism sector reduced its contribution to inter-provincial inequality. On the other hand, the IC and financial services sectors were not affected by the pandemic and raised their contributions. When Indonesia will recover from the pandemic, it is likely that the tourism sector will regain its position as an important determinant of inter-provincial inequality. However, the most important sectors in determining inter-provincial inequality will be IC, financial and business services sectors, particularly in the Java-Bali region. With the rapid advancement of IC, financial and e-business technologies, the roles of these high-inequality sectors are likely to increase unless policies that could facilitate spatial dispersion of these services activities are implemented.departmental bulletin pape

Impact of Rising Sea Levels in Japan: A Study into the Price Dynamics of Residential Real Estate

This paper provides an exploratory look at whether climate risk was incorporated in land prices. The data sample explored land transactions located in seven wards in Tokyo. The initial results indicate that land unit price was lower by 7% for land parcels located near live water bodies. Variables like area characteristics and land use zoning were statistically significant in explaining for the variation in land unit prices, lending support to the hypothesis that more informed buyers priced in climate risk in the land prices.departmental bulletin pape

The Pitfalls of the Certificate-Based User Authentication Scheme on Korean Public Websites: Implications for Cross-Platform and Cross-Browser Compatibility and End-User Computing

The Korean government has employed a certificate-based user authentication scheme powered by Microsoft Internet Explorer and ActiveX plug-ins for the past two decades. Users must obtain accredited digital certificates, install all required plug-ins on their machines, and undergo all user authentication procedures. Public websites lack cross-platform and crossbrowser compatibility and discriminate against those who do not use Windows and Internet Explorer. Most stakeholders mistakenly take a series of authentication procedures for granted and endure an inconvenient, burdensome, vulnerable, and fallible user authentication scheme. Given limited awareness of web accessibility and cybersecurity, they unwittingly make electronic copies of security code cards, store accredited digital certificates on a hard disk or flash drive, and mechanically click “Yes” or “OK” whenever a dialog box pops up. This monolithic end-user computing environment, despite its crucial pitfalls, contributed to the early diffusion of online public information and services; indeed, it was a double-edged sword. Although most ActiveX or non-ActiveX plug-ins were removed from public websites by 2021, the troublesome certificate-based authentication scheme remained almost unchanged for a long time (1999-2020). This case study illustrates the influences of the weird user authentication scheme on web accessibility and end-user computing and the importance of international technology standards.departmental bulletin pape

Education and Expenditure Inequality in Indonesia and the Philippines: A Comparative Analysis in an Urban and Rural Dual Framework

Using nation-wide household surveys, this study investigates the roles of education in expenditure inequality in two archipelagic Asian countries: Indonesia and the Philippines. Since disparity between urban and rural areas is one of the main determinants of expenditure inequality and there is a large difference in educational endowments between urban and rural areas, an analysis is conducted in an urban-rural framework. Both countries achieved a notable reduction in expenditure inequality in the 2010s. In Indonesia, the reductions of disparity between education groups and tertiary education group’s within-group inequality in urban areas were the main contributors to the reduction of overall expenditure inequality. In the Philippines, the reductions of expenditure disparities between urban and rural areas and between education groups were the main contributors to the reduction of overall expenditure inequality. In 2018, Indonesia and the Philippines had the same level of expenditure inequality. But, as compared to developed countries, their expenditure inequalities are still very high. In Indonesia, expenditure inequality among those with secondary education is the major determinant of overall expenditure inequality. Thus, reducing secondary group’s within-group inequality is necessary. At the same time, tertiary group’s within-group inequality should be decreased in urban areas. In the Philippines, expenditure inequality among those with tertiary education is the major determinant of overall expenditure inequality. Thus, reducing tertiary group’s within-group inequality is imperative. At the same time, disparity between education groups should be decreased in both urban and rural areas.departmental bulletin pape