Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
Japan’s peacebuilding engagement in Mindanao has steadily evolved in the past years due to changes in Japan’s foreign and security policies, strengthening its strategic relationship with the Philippines, and domestic dynamics within both the Philippines and Japan. This chapter analyzes this evolution using James Mahoney and Kathleen Thelen’s framework of gradual institutional change, which explains how institutions undergo small, slow, and incremental changes through a “layering” process involving adding new policies on top of existing ones or subtly altering the interpretation of established rules. This chapter examines Japan’s peacebuilding efforts in Mindanao, focusing on key developments and factors that contributed to them. It contends that, despite changes in scope and activities, Japan’s peacebuilding program in Mindanao demonstrates policy continuity, emphasizing non-military diplomatic tools and civilian power.
The chapter first provides a background on the Mindanao conflict, followed by a discussion of Japan’s peacebuilding efforts in Mindanao and an explanation of how these efforts evolved through institutional change. It then summarizes the chapter’s findings and conclusions.
Recommended Citation
Tana, Maria Thaemar Camañag. "Peacebuilding in Mindanao: Japan's Role in a Complex Conflict." Philippines-Japan Relations in the Twenty-First Century, Routledge, 2024, pp. 55–66, https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003486954-7.
