Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs

Publisher:: Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication date:: 2021-09-06

ISBN:: 2347-7970

Issue Number

Latest documents

Pursuit of Autonomy: An Assessment of Japan’s Latent Counterspace Capabilities
Pacifism has been the cornerstone of Japan’s identity in the post-1945 era. In the light of its changing threat perception in the post-Cold War period, Japan has been increasingly pursuing autonomy in the security domain while stretching the limits of its pacifist identity. It has hence sought to build a strong technological base to support its latent military capabilities. This article attempts to contextualise Japan’s pursuit of autonomy in outer space amid growing security competition in the domain. It discusses the legal and organisational changes that have allowed for a growing involvement of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces in operating space assets. The potential counterspace applications of major technological capabilities shown by Japan in the civilian and commercial space sectors are assessed. The article surmises that Japan, which has a global reputation as a benign space power, can continue to refine its latent counterspace capabilities amidst a pursuit of autonomy, without straying much from its pacifist traditions.
Democracy and Military Oversight in Crisis: The Failed Civilianisation of Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence
In 1998, Indonesia endeavoured to civilianise its defence department after decades of military-dominated rule. This civilianisation project was widely seen as a crucial element of democratisation itself. But the initiative ended in disillusionment: by 2014, the ministry was again placed under a conservative former general, and in 2019, it came under the control of Prabowo Subianto, an ambitious ex-military leader with strong ties to the pre-1998 autocratic regime. As a result, the reform drive in the ministry came to a halt, and civilians were marginalised again. This article argues that several factors account for this reform failure: first, the ministry’s long subordination to the military prior to 1998; second, the lack of will and power on the part of civilian ministers between 1999 and 2014 to pursue meaningful reforms; and third, a larger roll-back of democratic reforms beginning in the 2010s. Embedding these latest developments in a larger historical context, the article demonstrates that the defence ministry has been a barometer of Indonesia’s fluctuating democratic quality over time.
Book review: Kanti Bajpai, India versus China: Why They Are Not Friends
Kanti Bajpai, India versus China: Why They Are Not Friends. New Delhi: Juggernaut Books, 2021, 284 pp., ₹599 (Hardbound). ISBN 978-93-9116-508-6.
Book review: Ashley J. Tellis, Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia
Ashley J. Tellis, Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia. Washington DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2022, 303 pp., (electronic). ISBN: NA.
Book review: Dhanasree Jayaram, Climate Diplomacy and Emerging Economies: India as a Case Study
Dhanasree Jayaram, Climate Diplomacy and Emerging Economies: India as a Case Study. Abington: Routledge, 2021, 154 pp., ISBN 978-0-367-63402-5.
Pursuit of Autonomy: An Assessment of Japan’s Latent Counterspace Capabilities
Pacifism has been the cornerstone of Japan’s identity in the post-1945 era. In the light of its changing threat perception in the post-Cold War period, Japan has been increasingly pursuing autonomy in the security domain while stretching the limits of its pacifist identity. It has hence sought to build a strong technological base to support its latent military capabilities. This article attempts to contextualise Japan’s pursuit of autonomy in outer space amid growing security competition in the domain. It discusses the legal and organisational changes that have allowed for a growing involvement of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces in operating space assets. The potential counterspace applications of major technological capabilities shown by Japan in the civilian and commercial space sectors are assessed. The article surmises that Japan, which has a global reputation as a benign space power, can continue to refine its latent counterspace capabilities amidst a pursuit of autonomy, without straying much from its pacifist traditions.
Disrupting the Saviour Politics in the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in the Global South: Grassroots Women Creating Gender Norms in Nepal and Sri Lanka
Saviour politics permeates some understandings of global gender norms by those who construct the Global North as the origin of global gender norms, and less attention is given to how saviour politics functions within the Global South, wielded by some privileged women against grassroots women. We argue that grassroots Global South women, despite their marginalisation, are global gender norms actors and deserve greater decision-making power on the local and international stages. We show how the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) and the broader WPS agenda focus on global gender norms construction in Nepal and Sri Lanka. We rely on qualitative methods. We highlight work done by grassroots women from diverse castes, ethnicities, religious backgrounds, abilities, education and social locations that construct global gender norms. This article adds to the WPS, Global South-Global North relations and global gender norms building.
From Jakarta to Oceania: Indonesia’s Cultural Diplomacy with the South Pacific
The South Pacific region has become a top foreign policy priority for Jakarta. This essay explains Indonesia’s utilisation of the cultural approach in its diplomatic engagement with the South Pacific. Cultural dissemination as a tool of international relations is scantly studied even though its use in diplomacy has successfully forged mutual understanding between people of discrete backgrounds. Indonesia uses a cultural approach to catch up diplomatically in its neighbouring, but previously overlooked, region and to address its ‘poor image’ problem that has persisted there for more than three decades. The cultural approach is intended to complement political and economic approaches. This study aims to bridge the gap in the literature vis-à-vis the role of culture in shaping foreign policy goals. Indonesia undertakes this ‘soft diplomacy’ based on its long-term orientation toward its national identity, politico-business and strategic interests. The Indonesian government is optimistic that cultural diplomacy will succeed in enhancing Indonesia’s status in this zone.
Book review: Bhubhindar Singh and Sarah Teo (Eds.), Minilateralism in the Indo-Pacific: The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, Lancang Mekong Cooperation Mechanism, and ASEAN
Democracy and Military Oversight in Crisis: The Failed Civilianisation of Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence
In 1998, Indonesia endeavoured to civilianise its defence department after decades of military-dominated rule. This civilianisation project was widely seen as a crucial element of democratisation itself. But the initiative ended in disillusionment: by 2014, the ministry was again placed under a conservative former general, and in 2019, it came under the control of Prabowo Subianto, an ambitious ex-military leader with strong ties to the pre-1998 autocratic regime. As a result, the reform drive in the ministry came to a halt, and civilians were marginalised again. This article argues that several factors account for this reform failure: first, the ministry’s long subordination to the military prior to 1998; second, the lack of will and power on the part of civilian ministers between 1999 and 2014 to pursue meaningful reforms; and third, a larger roll-back of democratic reforms beginning in the 2010s. Embedding these latest developments in a larger historical context, the article demonstrates that the defence ministry has been a barometer of Indonesia’s fluctuating democratic quality over time.