| This study attempts to analyze three Japanese alliance cases (the Anglo-Japanese alliance, the Axis alliance, and the U.S.-Japan alliance) from three perspectives: the international systemic point of view, domestic politics level, and psychological point of view. It is based on the belief that Japan's alliance policy is revealed most clearly through a comprehensive analysis focused not only on the international system but also on domestic politics and personal level of analysis.;In comparing the three cases, this study will attempt to develop typical patterns of Japanese alliance policy behavior. Finally, assuming substantial changes at any of the three analytical levels, this study will forecast the potential consequences of these changes and thereby postulate future Japanese alliance systems.;The conceptual framework of each level of analysis is constructed to illuminate the rationale for Japan's entry into a specific alliance. This study will examine the implications of each of these perspectives for analyzing Japan's alliance making. International system level analyses deal primarily with the nature of international order and changes in its structure, and also present Japan's cost/benefit calculations in considering a specific alliance commitment. From the domestic politics standpoint, Japan's alliance policy will be explained as the result of interaction among competing political, economic, and bureaucratic interests. Finally, the personal level analyses will attempt to establish the "internal structure" of each alliance system in terms of the operational code beliefs of a key policy-maker of each case. |
