What Can Strategic Culture Contribute to Our Understanding of Security Policies in the Asia-Pacific Region?

• Published in: Contemporary security policy Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 310 - 328
• Main Author: Haglund, David G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 04.05.2014; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Asia Pacific Region; Causality; Cultural studies; Culture; Derivative Securities; Dilemmas; Foreign policy; Great powers; Military strategy; National security; Norms; Path Dependence; Policy analysis; Policy making; Regional Security; Security Policy; War; Asia-Pacific region
• ISSN: 1352-3260; 1743-8764
• DOI: 10.1080/13523260.2014.927674

This article reflects on application of the concept of strategic culture to supply analytical and policy-relevant guidance to those who ponder the future of security relations in the Asia-Pacific. Argued here is that, notwithstanding some obvious problems with the concept, there is utility in the application of strategic culture to the analysis of regional security challenges. To claim that strategic culture may not be equally applicable to all states in the Asia-Pacific region is not the same as saying it has no applicability at all, especially if the states to which it is applicable are important regional actors. This article suggests that both an old approach derivative of national character, and a new one associated with path dependence, might together prove fruitful for policy analysts and policy-makers alike, as they wrestle with what many assume to be the fundamental question of the coming half-century in the Asia-Pacific, namely whether a great power war in the region can be averted. Although there is much variation in the manner with which authors apply the master concept of strategic culture to their specific Asia-Pacific cases, each takes seriously the utility of a cultural approach to national strategic choice. So while the quest for reliable causality and predictive capability on a region-wide basis may remain that of the will-o'-the-wisp, there can be no gainsaying that, on a case-by-case basis, the authors show that the approach can demonstrate valuable insights into the policy dilemmas of cultural provenance and content confronting the Asia-Pacific.