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Peacebuilding In Mindanao: Japan's Role In A Complex Conflict, Maria Thaemar C. Tana

Japanese Studies Program Faculty Publications

Japan’s peacebuilding engagement in Mindanao has steadily evolved in the past years due to changes in Japan’s foreign and security policies, strengthening its strategic relationship with the Philippines, and domestic dynamics within both the Philippines and Japan. This chapter analyzes this evolution using James Mahoney and Kathleen Thelen’s framework of gradual institutional change, which explains how institutions undergo small, slow, and incremental changes through a “layering” process involving adding new policies on top of existing ones or subtly altering the interpretation of established rules. This chapter examines Japan’s peacebuilding efforts in Mindanao, focusing on key developments and factors that contributed …