Conventional theories about security communities expect that if a region yields high levels of socio-economic interdependence, regional stability is achieved. What we observe in the East Asia region since the 2000s contradict to the theoretical expectations. The aim of this thesis is to explain this empirical puzzle. Security community theory is insufficient for two reasons: first, pre-existing security community may become weaker; and, second, nationalism may influence the level of integration. Building on frame theory, the thesis addresses the question: under what conditions do nationalistic discourses influence the integration level of a security community? I argue when elites’ discourses about foreign relations include ranking frames, they have a deteriorating effect on the integration level of a security community. Ranking frames make the elites’ agenda more competitive towards the other member of the security community and trigger an othering process in a country. With a theory development purpose, I conduct a structured focused comparison of the Sino-Japan relations at two time periods: 1978-82 and 2008-12. Focusing on the political elites’ discourses in Japan, I investigate a systematically developed dataset. My findings suggest that the nationalist discourses containing ranking frames may plausibly explain the process of disintegration of a security community.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-324972 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Hattori, Nakako |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för freds- och konfliktforskning |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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