New Directions in Japanese Grand Strategy: Conceptualising ‘Strategic Partnerships’

This thesis examines the newly-adopted mechanism of bilateral ‘strategic partnerships’ as a tool of diplomacy within the broader context of Japanese grand strategy. It posits that these new forms of security alignment have become an integral part of Japan’s ‘external mobilisation’ aimed at addressing the ‘increasingly severe security environment’ with which the country is now confronted with. It takes an inter-disciplinary approach drawing on Organisational Theories to supplement existing International Relations (IR) approaches, which are deemed insufficient for fully capturing and comprehending the nature, purpose, and dynamics of this novel form of alignment. In creating a new conceptual model of ‘strategic partnerships’ on these bases, it then applies it as an analytical framework to two important and contrasting cases study dyads – Japan-Australia and Japan-South Korea – to test the explanatory power of the model and reveal deeper insights into key empirical examples of Tokyo’s strategic-partnering policy. It concludes that the model significantly advances our understanding of these relationships, as well as demonstrating how they form part of a wider strategic context within which Japanese grand strategy must be conducted

Analysing coalition warfare from the intra-alliance politics perspective : the Normandy campaign 1944

This article sets forth a framework for analysis designed to enhance our understanding of the political management of coalition warfare. The framework, based upon literature appertaining to 'intra-alliance politics' and International Relations (IR) theories, is applied to the case study of the Normandy Campaign of 1944. Utilising this framework we are able to consider many of the thorny issues of coalition politics and determine how these can be managed successfully to maintain Allied cohesion. Throughout the analysis the merits of the 'realist' and 'pluralist' views on maintaining Allied cohesion are appraised. The article concludes that, while both afford convincing explanations for overcoming tensions within the coalition, the pluralist approach proves superior in accounting for Allied unity. Overall, the article demonstrates that the intra-alliance politics framework is a useful device for understanding the political dynamics of the Normandy Campaign in 1944 and that it is also potentially applicable to other instances of coalition warfare; past, present, and future