Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Since taking office in 2001, Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi has pressed for greater expansion to the mission of the Japan Self Defense Force (JSDF), first by endorsing deployments in support of counter-terrorism operations in the Indian Ocean, and eventually the domestically unpopular decision to deploy to Iraq. Recently, an update to the 1996 National Defense Program Outline was published that accelerated the shift in the mission of the JSDF away from a pure self-defense force capable of operating with the United States in defense of Japan's sovereignty to that of an internationally recognized force capable of conducting operations in varying environments throughout the globe. Japan's accelerated military involvement in world affairs has provoked concerns among neighbors, whose perceptions are often quite different from those of the United States or Japan. Japan's legacy of militarism has created resistance to change among regional partners. In order for changes to succeed without upsetting the regional balance of power, Japan must improve not only the capability, but also the international trust and standing of the JSDF. This thesis provides information to allow policy makers to better understand the challenges that the Government of Japan faces in response to changes in security strategy. / Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

The 2014 cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment is an example of a disruptive event where a nation state utilized cyber tools in order to coerce a target into changing their course of action. Cyber attacks, something that might be perceived as a looming futuristic threat, became reality for Sony and its employees under the course of a few months in late 2014. The coercer’s attempt to change the behavior of the company eventually failed and North Korea who was attributed as coercer was imposed with new sanctions. This paper takes on the task of evaluating the Sony case against both the traditional theory of coercion and specific factors of cyber coercion in order to determine how the failure can be explained. The findings implicate that the failure can be explained by the traditional theory but needs to be complemented with the specifics of cyber coercion due to the difficulties in assessing the credibility of cyber attacks. Further studies are advised in the area of cyber coercion and a comparative approach would do particularly well in assessing causal explanations in a more comprehensive way.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Thesis advisor: Kenji Hayao / This paper uses a case study approach to analyze changes in Japan's post-Cold War security policy. While many observers feel that these changes are the result of the 1997 Defense Guidelines Review, the argument forwarded here is that it is the result of a series of unique domestic circumstances in Japan. It traces these factors starting with the Persian Gulf War and then the War on Terrorism and the current North Korean nuclear crisis. Finally, this paper assesses the prospects for the future of Japan's security policy. While Japan will continue to be a strong ally for the United States, there are distinct limits on how far it will go to provide for collective security. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2004. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Depuis la crise financière et économique de 2009, la politique étrangère de la Chine est présentée comme assertive et à même de déstabiliser l’Asie-Pacifique. Cependant, s’inscrivant dans un cadre néoréaliste classique, nous considérons que du fait d’un complexe d’insécurité lié à l’absence de parité avec les Etats-Unis, la Chine met en œuvre une stratégie de « maintien de la stabilité » dans la péninsule coréenne afin de garantir la poursuite de son ascension. La Chine est confrontée à un paradoxe de l’ascension, ses capacités matérielles s’accroissent mais son insécurité ne se réduit pas. Les universitaires chinois soulignent l’écart de puissance avec les Etats-Unis, présentent leur pays comme une puissance fragile et partielle, et considèrent la stratégie de rééquilibrage américaine comme une stratégie d’endiguement. Ce complexe d’insécurité conduit la Chine à éviter toute instabilité qui conduirait à un effondrement du régime nord-coréen sources de nombreuses incertitudes stratégiques. La péninsule coréenne est profondément déséquilibrée à partir de 2008 du fait de la transition politique à Pyongyang, et de l’arrivée au pouvoir des conservateurs à Séoul. La Chine met alors en œuvre une stratégie de stabilisation qui se traduit par un soutien inconditionnel à son voisin, au détriment de ses relations avec Séoul et Washington. Avec le retour d’un équilibre partiel entre les deux Corées fin 2012, la Chine maintient sa priorité à la stabilisation mais peut désormais tenter d’affaiblir l’influence américaine et d’isoler le Japon. Pékin met alors en scène un changement tactique suite au troisième essai nucléaire nord-coréen, et adopte une politique coréenne équidistante. / Since the financial and economic crisis of 2009, China's foreign policy has been presented as more assertive and likely to destabilize the Asia-Pacific region. However, using a neoclassic realist framework, we consider that because of an insecurity complex due to the lack of parity with the United States, China’s foreign policy is characterized by the implementation of a strategy of "maintaining stability" in the Korean peninsula in order to guarantee its continued ascent. China is facing a rise paradox, its capabilities are increasing but its insecurity is not reduced. Chinese academics emphasize the power gap with the United States, present their country as a fragile and partial power, and consider the US rebalancing strategy in the Asia–Pacific as a containment strategy. This insecurity complex leads China to avoid instability in the peninsula since it could provoke the collapse of the North Korean regime and open a Pandora's Box. From 2008, the Korean peninsula has become deeply unbalanced due to the political transition in Pyongyang, and the election of a conservative president in Seoul. China implements its stabilization strategy which results in an unconditional support to its neighbor at the expense of its relations with Seoul and Washington. The partial rebalancing between the two Koreas in late 2012 enables China try to weaken the US and Japanese influence in the region while maintaining its priority to stability. Beijing staged a tactical change following the third North Korean nuclear test, and adopts an equidistant Korea policy.

Este trabalho trata da política externa da República Popular Democrática da Coreia (RPDC-Coreia do Norte) e os efeitos sobre a dinâmica regional do Nordeste Asiático. Especificamente, analisa a mudança de liderança na RPDC, efetivada com ascensão de Kim Jong-Un ao cargo de Supremo Líder em 2011, e os consequentes impactos que essa transição trouxe para as dinâmicas regionais político-securitárias que envolvem a República Popular da China, o Japão, a Coreia do Sul, a Rússia e os EUA. Desse modo, busca atender a dois objetivos básicos. Primeiro, procura avaliar de que forma a ascensão de Kim Jong-Un ao poder altera o quadro político e econômico interno, bem como o perfil de inserção internacional da Coreia do Norte. Segundo, analisa de que modo essa ascensão impacta sobre os padrões de cooperação e conflito que caracterizam o Nordeste Asiático desde o final da Guerra Fria. Para atingir seu objetivo geral, esta pesquisa é guiada por três objetivos específicos. (I) estabelecer uma análise teórico-conceitual acerca dos padrões de cooperação e conflito que caracterizam as relações interestatais no Nordeste Asiático desde o final da Guerra Fria. (II) Segundo, avaliar de que modo o Governo Kim Jong-Un representa uma alteração no quadro securitário, político e econômico interno, bem como na inserção internacional do país. (III) A partir das análises estabelecidas, analisar os impactos que a ascensão de Kim Jong-Un gera sobre a dinâmica regional tendo como base o equilíbrio nuclear e os padrões de cooperação e conflito que prevalecem desde o final da Guerra Fria. / This thesis deals with the foreign policy of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK-North Korea) and the effects on the regional dynamics of Northeast Asia. Specifically, it analyzes the change of leadership in the DPRK, made possible by Kim Jong-Un's rise to the position of Supreme Leader in 2011, and the consequent impacts that this transition has brought to the regional political-security dynamics involving the People's Republic of China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States. In this way, it seeks to meet two basic objectives. First, it seeks to assess how Kim Jong-Un's rise to power alters the internal political and economic framework, as well as North Korea's international insertion profile. Second, to analyze how this rise has impacted on the patterns of cooperation and conflict that have characterized Northeast Asia since the end of the Cold War. To achieve its overall goal, this research is guided by three specific objectives. (I) to establish a theoretical-conceptual analysis of the patterns of cooperation and conflict that characterize inter-state relations in Northeast Asia since the end of the Cold War. (II) Second, to assess how the Kim Jong-Un Government represents a change in the domestic security, political and economic framework, as well as the country's international insertion. (III) From the analysis established, analyze the impacts that the rise of Kim Jong-Un generates on regional dynamics based on the nuclear balance and patterns of cooperation and conflict that have prevailed since the end of the Cold War.

This thesis analyzes how the need for ontological security (OS), the ‘security of being’,impacts the foreign policy decision-making of states. Traditional security studies focus primarily on physical threats to the state. By contrast, an OS framework argues individuals feel secure when they are able to maintain communal narrative. This narrative in turn becomes the lens through which policymakers, and thus states, analyze events, while also becoming a potential source of conflict if challenged. Therefore, while physical security is still important, one is better positioned to account for perceptions of physical (and non physical) threats, and subsequent policies seemingly contradictory to traditional security studies, by employing an OS framework. While this will be explored within the context of the DPRK, the applicability of such a framework is far greater, holding key insights for International Relations and Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA). DPRK narrative formed out of the postcolonial nationalism of Japanese occupation, culminating into the hyper-nationalist ideology of Juche. North Korea’s seemingly ‘abnormal’ behavior might in turn be indicative of its unique national narrative and history of colonization and humiliation, leading to a different set of behavioral expectations than states whose narratives do not encompass such stories or reference points. While not all states are expected to act in the same manner as North Korea, the framework would expect them to defend and promote their respective national narratives. Moreover, while narratives can double as sources of legitimacy, as seen increasingly in the DPRK, this in no way detracts from, and merely compounds, the emphasis on narrative maintenance. Examining the historical record, it is argued the OS framework is consistently better at accounting for DPRK policies than traditional security studies. Therefore, more broadly in FPA, by taking seriously group narrative as a key component of OS, one can better account for perceptions and foreign policy decision-making.

In 1990's, the North Korean leaders opened the military nuclear program in order to avoid the collapsing trend which affected many totalitarian regimes at that time. Thanks to the specific geographical position, Inter-Korean dispute became a very important issue of foreign policy of many great powers such as United States of America, People's Republic of China, Japan, or Russian Federation. This nuclear program is generally considered as a tool of threatening in order to maintain the regime and secure the food and energy assistance. In this thesis, the North Korean threatening policy is applied to various concepts dealing with the deterrence theory introduced by many authors.

Ein „Schurkenstaat“ weniger? Nach langen Verhandlungen haben die Vereinigten Staaten Nordkorea im Herbst 2008 von ihrer schwarzen Liste der Terrorunterstützer gestrichen und locken jetzt sogar mit einem Friedensvertrag. Es bleibt jedoch abzuwarten, welche Früchte die Nordkoreapolitik des neuen US-Präsidenten Obama tragen wird.

This paper aims to find out how media in different countries in the same part of a continent portray the latest development in the Korean conflict. To achieve this, the articles published by two newspapers, The Japan Times and The Korea Times, in the last five months have been analysed. The theory used to analyse the published articles is the agenda setting theory. This paper has found that geography, in the sense of proximity to the conflict, do affect what stories the newspapers publish and how they portray the story.