Scientists: messing with the universe?

Discussion of the scenarios outlined in Martin Rees' book 'Our Final Hour' (1 page)

Trends in Industrial Concentration in Japan, 1983-92

Based on weighted and unweighted averages of concentration ratios and the Herfindahl index for 436 sectors, the number of concentrated industries, and time trends, the structure of the Japanese economy proves highly oligopolistic over the 1983-92 period. Regression results show that concentration is related to growth, market size, scale economies, and the degree of 'openness' of the Japanese market. Moreover, increased concentration does not necessarily imply an import-bias. Japanese industries with higher concentration levels are likely to import more than less concentrated industries.

Long live pacifism! : narrative power and Japan’spacifist model

International relations research acknowledges that states can have different security policies but neglects the fact that ‘models’ may exist in the security policy realm. This article suggests that it is useful to think about models, which it argues can become examples for emulation or be undermined through narrative power. It illustrates the argument by analysing Japan’s pacifism—an alternative approach to security policy which failed to become an internationally popular model and, despite serving the country well for many years, has even lost its appeal in Japan. Conventional explanations suggest that Japan’s pacifist policies were ‘abnormal’, and that the Japanese eventually realized this. By contrast, this article argues that narratives undermined Japan’s pacifism by mobilizing deep-seated beliefs about what is realistic and unrealistic in international politics, and launches a counter-narrative that could help make pacifism a more credible model in world politics