Many countries use aid as a political tool, but Japan is unique in that foreign aid is one of its most important foreign policy tools. Drawing from literature on donor motivations for aid-giving, this paper argues that the neo-realist view of aid-giving offers the best explanation for why Japan provides aid. More specifically, Japan’s aid-giving is motivated by its pursuit of economic and strategic goals. This underlying motive for aid-giving necessarily impacts how Japan provides aid and how it uses aid to respond to human rights violations in recipient countries.

The South China Sea is a sea with strategically important shipping lanes, an abundance of maritime resources, and potentially large amounts of oil and gas deposits. Because of the significance of the sea, China has claimed almost all of it, which has caused the Association of Southeast Asian Nation members (ASEAN) whose countries surround the sea (Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines) to take a stance against the encroachment. The most important non-Chinese claimant in the dispute is the Philippines, which shares a mutual defense treaty with the United States. The dispute has been analyzed from a bilateral perspective between China and the Philippines. A theoretical analysis of the dispute has been conducted through a Neorealist paradigm. How the two countries define international law and engage in diplomatic and military policies has also been closely examined. China has not sought foreign intervention whether from a nation or international organization, while the Philippines has preferred as much multilateralism as possible. A recent Scarborough Shoal dispute between the two countries has changed the dynamic of the dispute, and in examining the event and its outcome an inevitable conclusion of military action has been reached.

Cette thèse présente une critique de la théorie néoréaliste et néo-institutionnaliste capable d’expliquer la transformation de l’OTAN depuis 1991 d’une organisation de défense collective en une organisation de sécurité collective, ainsi que de rendre intelligible l’alternance des moments de solidarité et de tensions entre pays membres (et entre pays membres et partenaires). Le travail s’appuie sur des études de cas tirés de l’histoire de l’Alliance Atlantique post-guerre Froide et permet d’observer la régularité d’un double phénomène : l’inefficacité des actifs institutionnels OTAN sur les questions de haute sécurité et leur efficience sur les questions de basse sécurité. Lorsque les thèmes de dialogue sont trop stratégiques (risques de coûts politiques/budgétaires/humains, perceptions sécuritaires), les acteurs (pays membres et partenaires) reviennent tendanciellement à des postures nationales. Lorsque les thèmes de dialogue sont moins sensibles (moindres coûts politiques/budgétaires/humains, perceptions sécuritaires basses), les acteurs acceptent plus facilement les concessions dans le cadre institutionnel. Notre modèle vise à comprendre la progressive globalisation de l’OTAN à travers deux catégories d’actions : élargissements/créations de partenariats et interventions extérieures. La thèse propose aussi en prenant acte des forces et faiblesses des actifs institutionnels de l’OTAN de démontrer qu’elle produit principalement de la sécurité globale par la voie de son réseau sécuritaire (progressivement construit depuis 1991) plus que par la voie militaire classique (semi-échec des opérations extérieures de haute intensité). La globalisation de son réseau sécuritaire est étudiée à travers l’ensemble des actifs institutionnels bilatéraux et régionaux créés après 1991 pour intégrer les relations entre pays membres et partenaires. Une partie spécifique de l’étude est consacrée aux rapports américano-européens à l’intérieur de l’Alliance Atlantique. La globalisation de son champ d’intervention est aussi étudiée à travers l’analyse de l’ensemble des opérations et missions menées par l’OTAN depuis 1991. Enfin, la thèse se veut une tentative de renouvellement des théories néoréalistes et néo institutionnalistes à la lumière du nouveau paradigme de la globalisation sécuritaire. / This thesis presents a criticism of the neo-realist and neo-institutionalist theory, contributing to an explanation of the reasons for the transformation of NATO since 1991 from a collective defense organization to a collective security organization and to make intelligible the alternation of moments of tension and solidarity between member states (and between member states and partner states). This work is based on study cases drawn from the history of the post-cold War Atlantic Alliance and enables to examine the regularity of a double phenomenon: the ineffectiveness of NATO institutional assets on high security issues and their effectiveness on low security issues. When discussion topics are too strategic risks of political/budgetary/human costs, security perception), actors (member states and partners), tend to go back to national positions. When discussion topics are less sensitive (lesser political/budgetary human costs), actors tend to accept more easily to make concessions in the institutional framework. Our model is focused on the comprehension of the progressive globalization of NATO through two types of actions: enlargement/partnership creation and external interventions. This thesis is taking into account strengths and weaknesses of NATO institutional assets, in order to show that the organization produces mainly global security by the means of its security network (gradually built since 1991), more than through the classic military way (half-failure of high intensity outside operations). The globalization of its security network is studied through the whole of bilateral and regional institutional assets created after 1991 in order to integrate relations between member states and partner states. A specific part of the study is dedicated to American-European relations inside the Atlantic Alliance. The globalization of its intervention field is studied through the analysis of overall operations and missions carried out by NATO since 1991. To conclude, this thesis aims at renewing neorealist and neo-insttitutional theories in the light of the new paradigm of security globalization.