Tribulations in the Middle East

Like their Meiji-era predecessors of a century ago, Japan's current leaders must balance their initiatives abroad with domestic considerations. As American interests spread across Eurasia and increasingly come into conflict with Islamist forces, the looming war in Iraq is viewed in some quarter...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAsia-Pacific review Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 21 - 29
Main Author YAMAUCHI, MASAYUKI
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 01.05.2003
Subjects
British Empire
Diplomacy
Eighteenth Century
Foreign aid
Foreign Policy
International relations
Iraq
Japan
Middle East
Middle Eastern Cultural Groups
Military history
Peace keeping
Public Opinion
Regional studies
U.S.A
United States of America
War
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Summary:Like their Meiji-era predecessors of a century ago, Japan's current leaders must balance their initiatives abroad with domestic considerations. As American interests spread across Eurasia and increasingly come into conflict with Islamist forces, the looming war in Iraq is viewed in some quarters as the culmination of a "clash of civilizations," pitting the industrialized West and its allies against the Muslim world. In this article, University of Tokyo professor Masayuki Yamauchi recalls an eighteenth-century war, precipitously embarked upon, in which Britain vied with Spain for trading rights with colonies in the New World. Present-day US public opinion is then contrasted with popular anti-war sentiment in other countries. Discussing the unintended victims of war, Yamauchi highlights the plight of the Kurds, caught between a rock and a hard place, and concludes by hinting at possible humanitarian and law-enforcement roles for Japan in a post-war Iraq.
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ISSN:1343-9006
1469-2937
DOI:10.1080/13439000301603