Protests Against U S Military Base Policy In Asia

Since the end of World War II, protests against U.S. military base and related policies have occurred in several Asian host countries. How much influence have these protests had on the p;olicy regarding U.S. military bases? What conditions make protests more likely to influence policy? Protests Against U.S. Military Base Policy in Asia answers these questions by examining state response to twelve major protests in Asia since the end of World War II—in the Philippines, Okinawa, and South Korea. Yuko Kawato lays out the conditions under which protesters' normative arguments can and cannot persuade policy-makers to change base policy, and how protests can still generate some political or military incentives for policy-makers to adjust policy when persuasion fails. Kawato also shows that when policy-makers decide not to change policy, they can offer symbolic concessions to appear norm-abiding and to secure a smoother implementation of policies that protesters oppose. While the findings will be of considerable interest to academics and students, perhaps their largest impact will be on policy makers and activists, for whom Kawato offers recommendations for their future decision-making and actions.

"The United States maintains overseas military bases to deter aggression, fight wars, reinforce security alliances, and protect trade routes. Many American and host state officials consider these bases as key to national, regional, and global security. However, many citizens in host states imagine their security differently: they see these bases as undermining important values and they organize protests to demand changes in base policy. If these protests influence base policy, how do they do so, and with what consequences? When they fail to influence policy, what explains the failure? To answer these questions I examined thirteen protests from the Philippines (1947-1991), Okinawa, Japan (1950-1995), and South Korea (2000-2003)"--Abstract.

Anti-U.S. base protests, played out in parliaments and the streets of host nations, continue to arise in different parts of the world. In a novel approach, this book examines the impact of anti-base movements and the important role bilateral alliance relationships play in shaping movement outcomes. The author explains not only when and how anti-base movements matter, but also how host governments balance between domestic and international pressure on base-related issues. Drawing on interviews with activists, politicians, policy makers and U.S. base officials in the Philippines, Japan (Okinawa), Ecuador, Italy and South Korea, the author finds that the security and foreign policy ideas held by host government elites act as a political opportunity or barrier for anti-base movements, influencing their ability to challenge overseas U.S. basing policies.

This book sheds light on the process in which the sub-state actor of Greenland has expanded its autonomy and strengthened its de jure participation in the national security of Denmark. By focusing on the case of the US Thule Air Base in Greenland, the largest military base in the Arctic, the authors endeavor to show that in the relationship between great powers, small countries and local actors within them, it is possible for local actors (sub-national entities) to have an influence on higher-level actors in the field of diplomacy on the national security level. For that purpose, the book examines political trends involving Greenland, Denmark, the US and Russia by using the multilateral multi-archive approach. The authors also take up the cases of Okinawa (Japan) and Olongapo (the Philippines) as reference points that provide additional insight into the interaction between the US policy regarding overseas military bases and the host countries’ polities. The competition involving political and economic interests of a number of countries in the Arctic region has been intensifying in recent years, causing significant concern in the international community. Due to the accelerated melting of sea ice and the increase in the accessibility of natural resources and water lanes, the security situation in the Arctic has been changing rapidly, and this book helps meet the need for understanding the political and military factors behind those changes.

The Routledge Handbook of Civil Society in Asia is an interdisciplinary resource, covering one of the most dynamically expanding sectors in contemporary Asia. Originally a product of Western thinking, civil society represents a particular set of relationships between the state and either society or the individual. Each culture, however, molds its own version of civil society, reflecting its most important values and traditions. This handbook provides a comprehensive survey of the directions and nuances of civil society, featuring contributions by leading specialists on Asian society from the fields of political science, sociology, anthropology, and other disciplines. Comprising thirty-five essays on critical topics and issues, it is divided into two main sections: Part I covers country specific reviews, including Japan, China, South Korea, India, and Singapore. Part II offers a series of thematic chapters, such as democratization, social enterprise, civic activism, and the media. As an analysis of Asian social, cultural, and political phenomena from the perspective of civil society in the post-World War IIera, this book will be useful to students and scholars of Asian Studies, Asian Politics, and Comparative Politics.

Literature is an important vehicle to further knowledge of other cultures, and English translations of Okinawan literary works have had a major impact on the field of Okinawan studies. Yet the riches of Okinawa's literature have yet to be adequately mined. Islands of Protest attempts to address this lacuna with this new selection of critically acclaimed modern and contemporary works in English. The anthology includes poetry, fiction, and drama, drawing on Okinawa's distinct culture and subtropical natural environment to convey the emotions and tensions present in everyday life. Tōma Hiroko's poem "Backbone" juxtaposes the natural environment of aquamarine beaches and subtropical flora and fauna with the built environment of America's military bases. Stories by two of Okinawa's most dynamic contemporary authors display wide breadth, from the preservation of island dances and burial practices in Sakiyama Tami's "Island Confinement" and "Come Swaying, Come Swinging" to the bold, disquieting themes of violence and comfort women in Medoruma Shun's "Hope," "Taiwan Woman," and "Tree of Butterflies." The crown jewel of the anthology, Chinen Seishin's play The Human Pavilion, is based on an infamous historical incident in which Okinawans were put on display during a 1903 industrial exhibition in Osaka. In his 1978 masterpiece, Chinen depicts the relentless pressure on Okinawans to become more Japanese. Given the controversial presence of U.S. military forces in Okinawa, this book is particularly timely. Disputes between the United States and Japanese governments over construction of a new marine airbase at Henoko have led to the resignation of Japan's prime minister, the election of an anti-base governor, and repeated protests. Islands of Protest offers a compelling entrée into a complex culture, one marked by wartime decimation, relentless discrimination, and fierce resistance, yet often overshadowed by the clichéd notion of a gentle Okinawa so ceaselessly depicted in Japan's mass media.

"When do we see social movements against the American military overseas, and what explains their varying intensity? Despite increasing interest in the global network of U.S. military bases on foreign soil, we still do not understand why some host communities mobilize against the American bases in their backyards, while others remain compliant. This book addresses this puzzle by investigating the contentious politics surrounding twenty U.S. military bases across Korea and Japan - faithful U.S. allies and two of the largest U.S. base hosts in the world. In particular, it looks at municipalities hosting these bases and differing levels of community acceptance and resistance over time. Drawing on fieldwork interviews, participant observation, and protest event data (2000-2015), the book shows that activists in base towns successfully build broad-based anti-base movements when they (1) take advantage of quotidian disruption (i.e., major changes at these bases), (2) adopt culturally resonant - but surprisingly mundane - protest frames, and (3) ally with local political elites. These activist strategies, however, sometimes end up reinforcing the widely presumed inevitability of the American presence. Ultimately, this book sheds light on marginalized actors in international politics - far removed from elite decision-making processes that shape interstate base politics, and yet living with their consequences - who sometimes manage to complicate the operations of America's military behemoth. In doing so, the book also reminds readers that American military bases overseas, often discussed in the rather abstract terms of American power projection, have concrete local and human consequences"--

This book sheds light on the mechanisms of base politics that surround US overseas military bases, comparing several countries across different regions. Analysing cases from Japan, Greenland, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Singapore, the contributors paint a detailed and complex picture of the role and impact of US bases. In times of war they project military power, and in times of peace they deter the emergence of general and latent threats. Furthermore, they are used to secure access to resources, and as a means of politically and economically influencing small and mid-size countries. From the viewpoint of the countries that host them, military bases allow the host many benefits of the US security umbrella, but can cause internal problems, including accidents and noise pollution that accompany the functioning of a base, as well as constraining their own sovereignty. Military bases do not simply serve to bring America strategic and security benefits - as symbols of the hierarchical structure of the international system, they influence power relations in the entire world. An invaluable resource for scholars of International Relations with an interest in the practical and theoretical challenges of the US’s relationship with its allies.