Role Quests in the Post-Cold War Era: Foreign Policies in Transition

334 Pages·1997·17.121 MB·English

by  Philippe G. Le Prestre

Role Quests in the Post-Cold War Era
Foreign Policies in Transition
Role Quests in the Post-Cold War Era examines change in foreign
policy through a comparative analysis of the Great Powers' reac-
tions to transformations in international relations after the Cold
War. Contributors describe and explain the efforts of the United
States, the Soviet Union/Russia, China, Japan, Germany, France, the
United Kingdom, and Canada to redefine the role they play in for-
eign policy when faced with an environment that has become
internally and externally more uncertain.
A state's articulation of its national role betrays its preferences
and image of the world, triggers expectations, and influences its def-
inition of the situation and of available options. Extending Kal
Holsti's early work on the usefulness of the concept of role, Role
Quests in the Post-Cold War Era examines the nature, evolution,
and origins of role conceptions, key aspects of the concept that are
largely ignored in a literature obsessed with the quest for immediate
relevance. Contributors present the major foreign policy debate
that took place in each country at the end of the Cold War and,
through an analysis of major speeches, examine the relative weight
of identity and international status in the definition of the national
role.
Uncovering the different roles that states claim for themselves
increases the possibility of international cooperation in the mainte-
nance of international order. This study helps assess the importance
of identity in national role conceptions and the need to identify
potential conflicts arising from the clash of roles masquerading as
interests, and clarifies existing contradictions in prevailing roles.
PHILIPPE G. LE PRESTRE is professor of political science, Univer-
site du Quebec a Montreal.
This page intentionally left blank
Role Quests in the
Post-Cold War Era
Foreign Policies in Transition
EDITED BY
PHILIPPE G. LE PRESTRE
McGill-Queen's University Press
Montreal & Kingston • London • Buffalo
© McGill-Queen's University Press 1997
ISBN 0-7735-1532-1 (cloth)
ISBN o-7735-i533-x (paper)
Legal deposit first quarter 1997
Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper
This book has been published with the help of a grant
from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of
Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
McGill-Queen's University Press is grateful to the
Canada Council for support of its publishing program.
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Role quests in the post-cold war era : foreign policies
in transition
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7735-1532.-! (bound). -
ISBN 0-7735-1533-x (pbk.)
i. International relations, i. Le Prestre, Philippe G.
JXI395.R57 1997 32.7 C-97-900084-X
Typeset in Sabon 10/12
by Caractera inc., Quebec City
Contents
Figures vii
Tables viii
Acknowledgments xiii
i Author! Author! Defining Foreign Policy Roles after the
Cold War 3
PHILIPPE G. LE PRESTRE
2, The Soviet Union/Russia: Which Past for Which
Future? 15
JEAN-FRANCOIS THIBAULT and JACQUES LEVESQUE
3 Articulating the New International Role of the United States
during Previous Transitions, 1916-1919, 1943-1947 40
JEAN-RENE CHOTARD
4 The United States: An Elusive Role Quest after the
Cold War 65
PHILIPPE G. LE PRESTRE
5 Japan: A Great Power Despite Itself 88
ALEX MACLEOD
6 Germany: To Be or Not to Be Normal? in
PAUL LETOURNEAU and MARIE-ELISABETH RAKEL
vi Contents
7 France: The Straitjacket of New Freedom 131
CHARLES THUMERELLE and PHILIPPE G. I.E PRESTRE
8 Great Britain: Still Searching for Status? 161
ALEX MACLEOD
9 China: Role Conceptions after the Cold War 187
ONNIG BEYLERIAN with CHR1STOPHE CANIVET
10 Canada: A Reassertion of Its Role as a Middle Power 2.25
ANDRE P. DONNEUR and CAROLINE C. ALAIN
11 Change and Continuity in Foreign Policy Role Conceptions
after the Cold War 251
PHILIPPE G. LE PRESTRE
Notes 263
References 271
Contributors 305
Index 307
Centre d'etudes des politiques etrangeres et de securite,
Universite du Quebec a Montreal 317
Figures
5.1 Comparison of the Evolution of the Yearly Relative
Frequencies within the Categories of Peace-Loving Nation
(IDI), International Influence (5x3), and Contributor to
World Peace (DR3) for Japan, 1989-93 109
8.1 Comparison of the Evolution of the Distribution of Relative
Frequencies within the Categories of Contributor to the
International System (DRI), Bastion of Liberal Values
(IDI), and International Influence (STI) for Britain, 1989-
93 184
8.2 Comparison of the Evolution of the Distribution of Relative
Frequencies within the Categories of Regional Subsystem
Collaborator (DR3), Europe (IDZ), Membership of
Organizations (STIB), and European Community (st2c)
for Britain, 1989-93 r85
9.1 Role Occurrences in Speech Units 204
9.2 Speech Units per Role Assertions 206
9.3 Contingencies of Role Conceptions with DR3 208
Tables
i.i Identity, System, and Role 10
2.1 Attributes of the USSR and Russia Corpus, 1989-93 18
2.2 Duties and Responsibilities as Expressed in Soviet Speeches,
1989-91 23
2.3 Duties and Responsibilities as Expressed in Russian
Speeches, 1992-93 27
2.4 References to Status in Soviet and Russian Speeches,
1989-93 31
2.5 Identity in Soviet and Russian Speeches, 1989-93 35
3.1 Cases Reference: White House Conference, 19 August
1919 52
3.2 Reference to Selected Terms: White House Conference,
19 August 1919 52
4.1 Speeches Selected for the Content Analysis of us Foreign
Policy Roles, 1989-93 68
4.2 The us Prescriptive Role-Set, 1989-93 69
4.3 Number of DR Statements by Issue 73
4.4 Evolution of Lexical Categories in us Foreign Policy
Speeches, 1989-93 74
ix Tables
4.5 Roles Expressed in the 1989-93 us Foreign Policy
Speeches 75
4.6 Anti-isolationist Assertions in the Role Sample (DR) 75
4.7 Evolution of the Content of the Role Catalyst 77
4.8 Evolution of the Content of the Role Stabilizer 77
4.9 Evolution of the Content of the Role Tribune 78
4.10 us Role Matrix 78
4.11 Relative Importance of DR, ST, and ID Assertions in us
Speeches, 1989-93 79
4.12 Identity Expressed in us Foreign Policy Speeches,
1989-93 80
4.13 Sources of Influence Expressed in us Foreign Policy
Speeches, 1989-93 81
4.14 Evolution of Status Categories in us Foreign Policy
Speeches, 1989-93 83
5.1 Number and Origin of Selected Speeches Made by Japan's
Foreign Policy Makers, 1989-93 92.
5.2 Japan's Duties and Responsibilities, 1989-93 97
5.3 Distribution of Assertions of Japan's Duties and
Responsibilities, Status, and National Identity,
1989-93 zoo
5.4 Main Components of Japan's National Identity,
1989-93 100
5.5 Japanese References to Asia-Pacific and Western Countries,
1989-93 102
5.6 Main Components of Japan's International Status,
1989-93 104
5.7 The Nature of Japan's External Relations (STI) 104
5.8 Japanese References to the Regions of the World 105
5.9 Japanese References to the Three Great Powers 105
5.10 Japanese Perceptions of Their Country's Rank in the World
(ST2.) IO6
5.11 Japan's International Influence (5x3) 106