Description
The growing cracks within the liberal international order raise a crucial question: to what extent were liberal norms ever truly internalised by states that claimed to uphold them? Much recent debate has focused on the external challenges posed by authoritarian powers, yet scholars suggests the more fundamental weakness may lie within the liberal camp itself (Gao 2023; True 2010). This paper interrogates Japan as a revealing case of this internal conflict. Long regarded as a “civilian power” and a model of good international citizenship, Japan has promoted cooperation, diplomacy, and pacifism as defining elements of its post-war foreign policy identity (Clasen, 2024; Maull et al. 2023; Abbondanza, 2021). However, its engagement with liberal norms such as human rights, gender equality, and refugee protection has remained selective and largely symbolic (Adachi, 2020; Motoyama, 2020; Flowers, 2009; Gurowitz, 1999). While this selective adherence has been widely noted, the paper moves beyond national-level explanations to situate Japan’s case within the broader structural fragility of liberal internationalism itself. Drawing on discourse analysis of Japan’s Bluebooks, White Papers, prime ministerial speeches, and key policy frameworks such as the Human Rights Diplomacy Initiative and the Women, Peace and Security Guideline, the paper examines how Japan’s liberal self-image has been constructed and maintained despite limited domestic institutionalisation, revealing the underlying contradictions of liberal norm appropriation.
