17.486 — Japan and East Asian Security

Explores Japan's role in world orders, past, present, and future. Focuses on Japanese conceptions of security; rearmament debates; the relationship of domestic politics to foreign policy; the impact of Japanese technological and economic transformation at home and abroad; alternative trade and security regimes; and relations with Asian neighbors, Russia, and the alliance with the United States. Seminar culminates in a two-day Japanese-centered crisis simulation, based upon scenarios developed by students.