Historicising intervention: Strategy and synchronicity in British intervention 1815-50

Copyright @ 2013 British International Studies Association.This article identifies three key themes in British intervention for purposes of liberal reordering in the period 1815–50, namely the ‘opening-up’ of new market spaces (discussed in relation to Uruguay/the Argentine Confederation in the 1840s), a cosmopolitan humanitarianism evident in the campaign for the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade that ran throughout this period, and the political-ideological contest between constitutionalist and absolutist forces and represented here by intervention in the Iberian Peninsula in the late 1820s to1830s. In developing a strategic perspective upon military/naval intervention the analysis shows its utility to have been subordinate to more fundamental sociopolitical, cultural, and institutional determinants. With regard to understanding the outcomes of specific intervention the analysis shows the importance of systematically evaluating developments in the domestic political environments of both intervening and target state as well as the military campaign itself and the need for sufficient general alignment or synchronisation in the timeline of developments in each of these three domains. This model helps to explain that whilst liberal interventions are not necessarily bound to fail, they frequently prove more difficult, complex, and protracted than the interveners expect

Business and Politics in Early 20th Century Japan

The paper by Masato Kimura seeks to clarify the contributions and limitations of Japanese business diplomacy by looking at the business mission to Britain and the US in 1921-22, and the Japanese Economic Mission to Europe and the United States of 1937. The paper argues that Japanese business diplomacy, while of significance particularly in building up international human networks, was insufficiently influential to prevent political and military conflict.Peter von Staden's paper focuses on the Iron and Steel Promotion Law of 1917 as a case study to explore the significance of the shingikai (deliberative councils) as a forum for formal and significant debate on isses of importance to both business and government. The paper argues that business interests saw the shingikai as a locus where conflicting interests could be resolved, calling into question the widespread assumption of across-the-board covert decision-making in the Japanese government-business relationship.Japanese business diplomacy, economic mission, Europe, Japan, United States, Japanese Iron and Steel Promotion Law, 1937, shingikai (deliberative councils), Japanese government, conflict, covert decision-making, business, politics, early twentieth century.

Studies in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902-1923)

Daniels examined British media views of Japan by sampling local and national dailies, with emphasis on The Times and The Economist and magazines like Punch, The Graphic and The Illustrated London News. While the metropolitan papers were broadly supportive, some provincial journalists, favouring free trade, were critical of Japan and the alliance.British trade, first world war, British overseas investment, Anglo-Japanese tariff agreement, Takahashi, Japanese immigration, British Press, cartoons, illustrations, trade relations, American hegemony, open door in China, Washington Conference (1921), Paris Peace Conference (1919), China, Korea, Russia, League of Nations.

San Francisco: 50 Years On - Part Two

Buckley describes how Britain took the independent step of recognizing the People's Republic of China, a step which led to problems about China being invited to the San Francisco conference. After China's entry into the war in Korea, Hong Kong's trade was squeezed through trade embargos imposed by the United States and its exposed security system was vulnerable, had it not been for the presence of the US 7th fleet in the Taiwan Straits. Ferretti shows that the leading ideas of Yoshida Shigeru on relations between Japan and the People's Republic of China did not change after the failure of the Dulles-Morrison Agreement as he continued to pursue normalization with the PRC. He had the idea of joining the Colombo Plan and entering the markets of Southeast Asia by establishing a preferential bilateral axis with Britain but this was ultimately rejected by Britain at the time of Yoshida's visit to Europe in 1954. Meaney describes External Affairs Minister Percy Spender's views on the need for a Pacific Pact. When it became clear from discussions with Dulles early in 1951 that the treaty with Japan would not be punitive or restrict her rearming, Australia called for some sort of security agreement with the United States. This came to fruition as the ANZUS Pact which was signed and ratified more or less simultaneously with the San Francisco treaty. Trotter discusses New Zealand's reaction to the Australian initiative over the need for a security pact. While she had considerable reservations, most notably over relations with Britain, she appreciated the need for security guarantees and joined the ANZUS Pact.San Francisco Peace Treaty, Peoples Republic of China, Korean War, Hong Kong, US 7th Fleet, Taiwan Straits, Colombo Plan, American-Japanese Security Pact, ANZUS Pact, Yoshida Shigeru, Percy Spender, John Foster Dulles, Herbert Morrison, Southeast Asia, Japan, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, United States.

Changing Conceptions of the Opium War as History and Experience

Academic and popular accounts of the Opium War have gone through nearly two centuries of change in focus, view, and scope. My study probes this extensive historiography by tracing the evolvement of our understanding of the war through various phases among which we saw the rise of the “China-centered approach” and the beginning of a new trend towards combining government archives with personal records such as memoirs, personal correspondence, and private journals in research. Based on the observation, I will indicate, despite their undeniable achievements, most of the existing scholarships have paid little attention to the ordinary people in China whose lives were deeply affected by the war. It is high time that we pay more attention to human experience of the Chinese people in order to understand not only the war itself but also the history it helped shape

The concurrent conferences: The Washington Naval Conference and the Far Eastern Affairs Conference of 1922

The Washington Naval Conference and the Far Eastern Affairs Conference of 1922 occurred concurrently and were the first major post-World War I conferences to address post-war issues. The Washington Naval Conference sought to avoid the outbreak of future hostilities by reducing the total tonnage of capital ships in each signatory nation’s fleet to only that of a defensive force. The Far Eastern Affairs Conference sought to modify and modernize the relations of its signatories in China to create stability by removing many of potential sources of future conflicts due to conflicted diplomatic privileges. Both conferences had successes and failures diplomatically but both worked concurrently to create a system of treaties that helped create peace and stability in Europe and Asia for a decade. This examination of both conferences is unique because it uses materials from during the conferences and written afterwards to provide a new examination of these events

FROM FREE TRADE TO PROHIBITION: A CRITICAL HISTORY OF THE MODERN ASIAN OPIUM TRADE

The article begins by exploring America\u27s current war on drugs and how it represents a misuse of its power and misperception of the global narcotics trade. It continues and puts forth that Asia\u27s opium production may soon increase to levels that will defeat the war on drugs now being waged by the United State and United Nations and goes into the the extent of Opium production in Asia. It then looks at a history of Opium trade, including the era which began prohibition and then the cold war, which began the expansion of the Asian opium trade. The article then discusses bilateral suppression. In 1972, President Nixon began the war on drugs, which actually stimulated the global market. Opium trade and production increased through the 1980\u27s and 1990\u27s. The article concludes by stating that production of drugs responds in unforeseen ways to reform, and before starting such reform, anti-narcotics agencies need to consider the full range of outcomes