"For decades after World War II, Japan chose to focus on soft power and economic diplomacy alongside a close alliance with the United States, eschewing a potential leadership role in regional and global security," says Andrew L. Oros. Since the end of the Cold War, and especially since the rise of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan's military capabilities have resurged. Despite openness to new approaches, however, three historical legacies—contested memories of the Pacific War and Imperial Japan, postwar anti-militarist convictions, and an unequal relationship with the United States—play an outsized role. Japan's future security policies will most likely continue to be shaped by these legacies. The lecture will be based on Oros's book Normalizing Japan: Politics, Identity, and the Evolution of Security Practice.

Andrew L. Oros is a professor of political science and the Director of International Studies at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, USA. His research focuses on the international and comparative politics of East Asia and the advanced industrial democracies, with an emphasis on contending approaches to managing security as well as the links between domestic and international policy.