WIN-WIN! with ODA-man: legitimizing development assistance policy in Japan
Official development assistance (ODA) constitutes one of Japan’s most important foreign policy instruments as it builds Japan’s global network and supports allies in the Southeast Asian region and beyond. In the context of a rising China and an increasingly severe fiscal and demographic situation at home, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) promulgated a domestic-oriented legitimation campaign featuring a popular anime character rebranded as ‘ODA-man’ to increase public understanding of and support for Japan’s ODA. Drawing on interpretivist analysis of performances at a development cooperation promotion festival, anime videos on the MOFA YouTube channel and interviews and examining the use of rhetorical strategies, this article provides an in-depth study of the promotion of one of the central instruments in Japan’s foreign policy repertoire. Though he comes off as goofy and benign, ODA-man’s messages are serious ones that reproduce dominant economic and security narratives about Japan and the world. Analysis points to both innovation and path dependency in Japan’s foreign policy repertoire; while ODA-man may be new the story he is telling, and the way that he is performing it, is very much familiar. The article further illuminates important trends in the public legitimation of foreign policy in Japan.
China's Evolving Approach to UN Peacekeeping in Africa
China’s new, assertive role in UN peacekeeping, especially in Africa, represents a significant shift in Beijing’s peace and security posture that is not yet fully reflected in official discourse and rhetoric, but that reflects China’s new confidence with its global power status. Every significant adaptation in its peacekeeping policy has reflected an important shift in the country’s practical foreign and security policy. Tracing and tracking China’s peacekeeping policy and practice is thus a useful proxy for analysing the evolution of its peace and security considerations. In this report Senior Research Fellows Kari Osland and Cedric de Coning consider the medium- to long-term trajectory of China’s peace and security practices by analysing its recent activity in Africa, focusing on how China has used its contributions to the UN peacekeeping missions in Mali (MINUSMA) and South Sudan (UNMISS).
Framtida til europeisk utanrikspolitikk etter Brexit
Storbritannias utmelding frå EU har skapt stor uvisse rundt utanrikspolitisk samarbeid i Europa. Har E3-samarbeidet ei framtid etter Brexit?
Brothers in Arms and Faith? The Emerging US-Central and Eastern Europe ‘Special Relationship’
In this policy note, we explore the nature, strength and tensions of the contemporary US-Central Eastern Europe relationship. We describe the expanding US-CEE ‘brotherhood in arms’: growing trade relations, intensified military cooperation, and rekindled diplomatic ties. Further, we unpack the striking and largely ignored dimensions of the US-CEE ‘brotherhood in faith’: the many ways in which the United States and Central and Eastern Europe are tied together by overlapping ideologies of national conservatism and a particular version of Christian ‘family values’. This involves addressing the complexities of an increasingly influential and ambitious Visegrád Group, whose key players – Poland and Hungary – may be brothers, but are by no means twins. It also means raising some broader, burning discussions about the future of NATO and the meaning of ‘Europe’. Universalist, multicultural and postnational? Or conservative, Christian and sovereigntist?
Det skjulte maktspelet – ubåtar i skandinavisk farvatn
Under den kalde krigen og fram til i dag har Sverige og Noreg følgt med på aktiviteten under vatn i Austersjøen og i norske fjordar. Har vi lært noko? Og veit vi eigentleg nok om denne skjulte aktiviteten?
Can trade preferences stimulate sectoral development? The case of Namibian and Botswanan beef exports to Norway
- De tollfrie kvotene har gitt høy fortjeneste for handelsbedriftene og eksportørene i Botswana, Namibia, Norge og mellomledd i Storbritannia, men utviklingseffektene er uklare og vanskelig å få øye på. - Konsolideringen av handel mellom små leverandører (Namibia, Botswana) og små markeder (Norge) gir noen unike fordeler til begge parter; gitt eksportørenes skala-ulemper i internasjonal handel og importlandets behov for regulering av importen. - Men en slik strategi kan ikke nødvendigvis kopieres andre steder, på grunn av de høye kostnadene for å komme inn i markedet, spektret av utfordringer i forhold til dyresykdommer, og faren for for sterk avhengighet av bestemte markeder.