CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020
| Author | Ekstrom, Marin Mae |
|---|---|
| Title | A Trifold Analysis of the Southern Kurils Dispute |
| Summary | The territorial dispute over the Southern Kurils has been one of the most contentious issues for modern Russo-Japanese relations. In 1945, the Soviet Union declared sovereignty over the then-Japanese islands following Japan’s surrender in the Second World War. However, Japan argues that Russia, the successor state to the Soviet Union, has illegitimate grounds for claiming the Southern Kurils and demands a handover of the islands. The thesis applies three analytical lenses to understand why the dispute has yet to be resolved, despite the Russian and Japanese governments’ numerous efforts to establish a formal settlement. The thesis first uses neoclassical realism to examine the material and structural dimensions of the dispute, and then utilizes ontological security to determine how national identity, both internally derived and externally projected, influences Russia and Japan’s positions toward the Southern Kurils. Although neoclassical realism and ontological security illuminate certain aspects of the case, the thesis applies two-level games to fill in the gaps that the other theories do not fully account for. The two-level games framework links domestic influences to Russia and Japan’s policies at the international level, which helps clarify why Russia and Japan continue to hold bilateral negotiations over the Southern Kurils, even though there are strong domestic disincentives for both countries to resolve the dispute. |
| Supervisor | LaRoche, Christopher David |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/ekstrom_marin-mae.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University