Review: Asia: U.S.-Japan Relations in a Changing World
| Date | 01 December 2002 |
| Published date | 01 December 2002 |
| Author | Tsuyoshi Kawasaki |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200205700418 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
Reviews
international
relations
programmes
to
rethink their curriculum.
On
the
other
hand,
in
terms
of
the
wider
intellectual
goal
of
putting
East
Asia
at
the
centre, the
book
is
a
missed
opportunity.
This
is
a
rather
standard international
relations
history,
albeit
about
countries
that
are
often
left
out
of
such
histories.
Thus
Cohen's
work
shifts
the
point
of
focus
without
really
rethinking
the
whole
field
of
vision.
This
book
does
not
explore
the
ways
in
which
looking
at
international
relations
in
Asia
might
inspire
questions
about
how
the
field
is
constituted
or
what
is
neglected
by
the
focus
on
political
and
economic
contact.
Nor
is
there
much
mention
of
recent
work
in
world history
that
suggests
the
long-term
centrality
of
East
Asia
to
global
economics
and
politics.
But
the
author's
ambition,
even
if
not
entirely
realized,
and
the
results
of
his
efforts
are
both
to be
applauded.
Michael
Szonyi/University
of
Toronto
U.S.-JAPAN
RELATIONS
IN
A
CHANGING
WORLD
Edited
by
Steven
K.
Vogel
Washington
DC:
Brookings
Institution
Press,
2002,
x,
286pp,
us$46.50
cloth
(ISBN
0-8157-0630-8),
US$18.95
paper
(ISBN
0-8157-
0629-4)
This
volume
provides
a
two-part
evaluation
of
the
50-year
history
of
the
United
States-Japan
relationship.
First,
it
surveys
eight
dimensions
of
the
bilateral
relationship:
politico-military
and
macroeconomic
relations,
domestic-international
political
linkages,
and
the
roles
of
the
media
and
international
organizations,
as
well
as
financial
affairs
and
technological
competition.
These
eight
empirical
chapters
are
infor-
mative for
general
readers
and
refreshing
for
academic
readers
as
they
attempt
to
elaborate
causal analyses.
There
is,
however,
a
surprising
lack
of
full
and
coherent
treatment
of
trade
issues
(although
a
few
chapters
deal
with them
in
passing)
-
surprising
because
of
the long
record
of
United
States-Japanese
trade
disputes.
There
is
also
a
surpris-
ing
lack
of
Japanese
perspectives:
all
the
authors
are
American
(although
Japanese
scholars
were
consulted) and
only
three
chapters
cite
Japanese-language
sources
extensively.
This
'American
flavour'
is
partly
a
reflection
of
current
American
concerns:
not
trade,
but
the
strategic
bargain
struck
in
1951
when
Japan signed the
San
Francisco
Peace
Treaty
and
the
United
States-
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Autumn
2002
661
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