Can Japan Be a Force for Stability?

Few states have benefited more from the stability of the liberal international order since 1945 than Japan. But it has been a beneficiary rather than a vocal advocate for the importance of this order, preferring instead to pursue a low-profile diplomatic posture, focusing on economic growth and free from the ideological commitments that would have required an assertive defense of the order. Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however, Tokyo has since 2012 become a much more outspoken defender of an order increasingly threatened by the populist reaction against globalization and the emergence of new, disruptive, demagogic leaders.

John Ikenberry, a leading theoretical proponent of liberal internationalism, and Yoichi Funabashi, former editor-in-chief of Asahi Shimbun, have assembled an impressive group of seasoned and younger American and Japanese scholars to analyze this shift. In chapters on foreign and security policy, Japan’s role in international organizations, trade, nuclear non-proliferation, welfare policy, populist politics, historical debates, constitutional reform and the media, this timely book outlines Japan’s past contributions while identifying what it might do to mitigate the threats to international stability. Japan’s internal challenges mean it is not immune from the populist contagion, and the chance to play such a mitigating role may be limited.

The book identifies what Japan might do to mitigate the threats to international stability.

The Crisis of Liberal Internationalism: Japan and the World Order By Yoichi Funabashi and G. John ikenberry Brookings Institution Press, 2020, 340 pages, $39.99 (Paperback)