Japan

occupation / innovator as

political scientist

nationality

American

is a reactive state. It does not play a leadership role in the world, and reacts to rather than shapes international relations because of domestic constraints imposed by the bureaucracy and interest groups.

It was Kent Calder who, in a 1988 article, first put forward a conceptual way to understand Japan's susceptibility to foreign (US) pressure with the idea of Japan as a reactive state. By focusing on foreign economic policy, he demonstrated how Japan reacts to rather than shapes international relations. More specifically, the argument is that, due to domestic constraints, particularly those imposed by the bureaucracy and interest groups, Japan is contained in any attempt to play a leadership role in the world, and instead it simply reacts to US pressures in determining its policy.

Kent CalderThinkers

Kent Calder