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Japanese National Identity And National Security, Christopher Gene Phillips

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This thesis examines the interrelation between national security and nationalism in Japan. Beginning from the stance of classical realism as put forth by Hans Morgenthau, the essay takes a "culturalist" view as its starting point. The culturalist view, in accepting the basic assumptions of classical realism as given, understands that all states act freely and rationally to maximize their interests, defined in terms of power. Power, as Morgenthau points out, is not a fixed concept, its definition being subject to the vicissitudes of time and culture. The culturalist model attempts to understand how each civilization understands power by examining its …