Mieczysław (Mietek) Boduszyński (@MietekB) is Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations at Pomona College in California. He previously served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State with postings in the Balkans, Japan, and the Middle East. He has authored a book on the Balkans, and has a forthcoming book on U.S. policy responses to the Arab Spring.
Japan-Libya Relations: A Window on Japan’s Diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa
The story of Japan’s relationship with Libya, which Tokyo often maintained even as other countries were shunning former Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qadhafi as a pariah, predates the latest outreach by many decades. This story provides a fascinating window into Japanese diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) more broadly. More specifically, the story of Japan-Libya relations shows how Tokyo often pursued its own interests in the MENA region despite the preferences of the United States, with which Japan has a longstanding security alliance.
Japan and the Middle East: Navigating U.S. Priorities and Energy Security
How have Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to recalibrate Japan’s foreign policy affected his approach to the Middle East? Japanese policy in the region has often been forced to balance between U.S. priorities and Tokyo’s own energy security needs. As the authors argue in this article, even on those rare occasions when Japan has shown signs of a more activist foreign policy in the Middle East, the pendulum tends to swing back to a cautious, energy security-focused approach that reflects caution, neutrality, and the avoidance of military entanglements.
