Review: In Brief: The New Multilateralism in Japan's Foreign Policy
| Date | 01 March 1997 |
| Published date | 01 March 1997 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209705200119 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
178
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
clearly
part
of
the
English
School's
repertoire, and
the
book
is
an
impor-
tant
contribution
to
the
renaissance
which
the
school
is experiencing
these
years.
Most
likely,
the book
will
create
camps,
one
of
which
will
likely
receive
it
somewhat
like
this:
'How
wonderful
-
at
last
someone
has
got
the
guts
to
write
a
book
like
this.'
In
other
camps,
the
reception
is
likely
to
be
quite
different and
to assume
different
forms, varying
from
silence to
benign indulgence
to
utter
resistance.
In
my
view,
the book
deserves
better
responses
then
silence
and
benign
indulgence.
Probably
based
on
experience,
Suganami
is
aware
that
many
scholars
have
their
immune
systems
on
alert
for
attempts
to
philosophize
and
that
they
are
ready
to
denounce
enquiries
such
as
this
as
'hairsplitting'
and
'logic-
chopping.
(p
2).
In
my
opinion,
Suganami's
book
has a
natural
place
in
future
reading
lists
on contending
theories
of
the
causes
of
war.
After
reading
the book
I
was
left
with
the
clear
impression
that
it
has
the
potential
to
become
a
classic.
Knud
EricJorgensen/University
of
Aarhus
IN
BRIEF
THE
NEW
MULTILATERALISM
IN
JAPAN'S
FOREIGN
POLICY
Dennis
T.
Yasutomo
New
York:
St
Martin's
Press,
1995,
X,
230pp,
US$39.95
Despite
the promise in
the
title,
this
book
does
not
examine
the
full
range
ofjapanese
foreign
policy.
Instead,
it
focusses
on the
evolution
of
Japanese
policies
on
official
development
assistance. Yasutomo has
orga-
nized
this discussion
in
three
parts:
the
first
examines
Japanese
develop-
ment
assistance
in historical context; the second
looks
atJapanese
diplo-
macy
in
multilateral
development institutions, including
the
World
Bank
and
the regional development
banks.
The
third
section
includes
a
useful
case
study
on
the
multilateralization
ofJapanese
aid
to
the former
Soviet
Union
and
a
reflective
concluding
essay
on
the
transformation
of
Japanese
diplomacy
in
the
post-Cold
War
era.
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