Research

 

David’s research examines Japanese foreign and security policymaking, focusing especially on the evolution of Japan’s security policy doctrines and the role of political leadership in Japanese diplomacy. He is interested in how Japanese political actors have been searching for new polices to address a more challenging Asia-Pacific security environment and is currently is pursuing several projects focusing on Japan and its engagement with the region.

Japan’s evolving security policies: An Abe Doctrine?

Is there an ‘Abe Doctrine’? And, if so, what are its central elements? This project explores the competing characterizations of Japanese security doctrine under Prime Minister Abe Shinzo. The aim is to determine where an Abe Doctrine fits within the longer-term development of Japanese security policymaking and whether it is characterized primarily by continuity or change.

Japan, ASEAN and human security

How has Japan’s approach to human security evolved over the past two decades? What has driven its policies? This project examines Japan’s application of the human security concept in the country’s engagement with Southeast Asia, especially in terms of its relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) nations.

Strategic partnerships in the Asia-Pacific: Japan and Australia

The Australia-Japanese strategic partnership has become increasingly close over the past decade and is now sometimes called a ‘quasi-alliance’. The relationship, moreover, is illustrative of a wider trend towards the use of ‘strategic partnerships’ in the region. But what kind of partnership are Japan and Australia building? And what makes it ‘strategic’? This project examines how this partnership has evolved and considers the implications of the relationship for the emergence of new forms of security ‘alignment’ in the Asia-Pacific.

 

Photo by David Edelstein on Unsplash