Introduction: Dimensions of Sino–Japanese rivalry in a global context

Abstract

This special issue analyzes the evolving notion of Sino–Japanese rivalry and its effects on concrete foreign policy measures of both states in a global context. China’s emergence as a great power and Japan’s attempts to ‘normalize’ its foreign relations took place alongside both countries increasing their political engagement in world regions beyond Northeast Asia. As a result, there has been increasing mutual monitoring of and increasing concern expressed about the intentions and actions of the respective other on these different levels of world politics. This has largely been neglected in the literature. This special issue closes the gap in the literature by providing answers to the following questions: Is there a Sino–Japanese rivalry in the first place? Which factors define this rivalry? Are there different levels and/or kinds of rivalry? Which factors influence Sino–Japanese rivalry in different regions and on different levels of the international system? Do these factors differ across regional and institutional boundaries? Answering these questions requires us to conceptualize what is meant by rivalry as well as to focus on Sino–Japanese interaction in different world regions and on the level of international institution building. This special issue also contributes to the literature on interstate rivalry by challenging common understandings of the concept of rivalry and by adding new facets and interpretation of rivalry based on the concrete empirical cases. It will therefore provide a broadened perspective on the characteristics of Sino–Japanese relations, the mutual impacts of Japan’s and China’s globalizing foreign policies, and on our understanding of the determinants and mechanisms of interstate rivalries.

Keywords:

• Japan
• China
• rivalry

Acknowledgements

For great support for the project, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Shogo Suzuki, Timur Dadabaev, Nissim Otmazgin, Richard Samuels, Jeff Kingston, Tsuruoka Michito, Gabriele Vogt, Raymond Yamamoto, Alexandra Sakaki, Aurelio Insisa, Sabina Insebayeva, Yoram Evron, the staff members of the Graduate School of East Asian Studies (GEAS) at Freie Universität Berlin, particularly Katrin Gengenbach and Julia Stützer, and the reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kai Schulze

Kai Schulze is currently postdoctoral researcher at Freie Universität Berlin. 2014–2015 he was Louis Frieberg Postdoctoral Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Between 2010 and 2014 he was affiliated with the Institute for East Asian Studies and the Center for Area Studies at Freie Universität Berlin. Prior to joining the Freie Universität Berlin in 2010, he was a PhD student at the Institute of East Asian Studies (INEAST) at the University of Duisburg-Essen, and a visiting scholar at the German Institute of Japanese Studies (DIJ) in Tokyo.

Verena Blechinger-Talcott

Verena Blechinger-Talcott, is professor of Japanese politics and political economy and Director of the Graduate School of East Asian Studies at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Her research interests include Japanese politics and international relations in comparative perspective, particularly the role of institutions in shaping Japanese politics and political economy. Her recent publications include Wilhelm Vosse, Reinhard Drifte and Verena Blechinger-Talcott (eds.) (2014): Governing Insecurity in Japan. London, New York: Routledge (paperback 2017).