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Many Waseda University students may think that social issues are somewhat difficult to approach. In the new corner, "Lectures by Experts'', we will focus on specific problems facing society and ask four Faculty to give us hints on how to solve them.

The theme for 2023 is "How to Keep the Peace?". The first guest is Chikako Ueki Professor (Faculty of International Research and Education Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies), a researcher on "Causes and Prevention of War. Following the first part, in which Ueki talked about Ueki's answers to the theme, in the second part we asked Ueki's about Ueki's specialty, Ueki's current research, and Ueki's message to Waseda University students.

By exploring the sources of dissatisfaction in rising countries, we hope to help prevent wars.

Please tell us more about Prof. Ueki's specialty, ``The causes and prevention of war.''

I am researching why wars occur and how to maintain peace. Although I do not limit my target countries or regions, my classes and seminars focus on international relations in the Asia-Pacific region, which is deeply relevant to Japan. In particular, we focus on the U.S.-China relationship, which has a global impact, and are closely monitoring the bilateral relations between Japan, the U.S., and China.

Specifically, I use the case study method (*) to repeatedly ask questions about what is happening in this region and why. To uncover what is happening, you need to know why. The main purpose of the research is to consider ways to protect regional stability and peace by curbing the causes of conflict and promoting factors for cooperation and peace.

(*) A method of explaining phenomena by verifying whether causal relationships, correlations, etc. derived from theory actually exist in cases.

Since I was a student, I have been interested in the relationship between countries that maintain the status quo and rising countries, with a focus on "international relations and security." Focus was on the threat perception of countries that maintain the status quo. In the past, I was interested in Britain's perception of Russia in the 19th century and Britain's perception of Germany in the early 20th century, but recently I am mainly researching the relationship between the United States and Japan in the 1980s, and the relationship between the United States and China since the late 1990s.

Meanwhile, starting this year, I plan to study the perceptions of emerging countries. Even in World Wars I and II, wars for supremacy began with the dissatisfaction of rising powers exploding. Rising countries develop under the prosperity of countries that maintain the status quo, but somewhere along the line the balance is disrupted and conflict arises. I would like to find out what is the source of this dissatisfaction.

Currently, I would like to research current China. I intend to clarify the mechanisms by which dissatisfaction is fostered, with reference to Japan in the 1920s on the eve of World War II.

Do you often have discussions with people from overseas during your research?

As a researcher, I often participate in study sessions with embassies. The United States is particularly active, holding study sessions when government officials visit Japan. This is a great opportunity for the United States to understand Japan's policies and understanding of the current situation, and for Japan to understand what the other party is interested in, increasing transparency. Recently, study sessions and study groups with other countries such as the UK, Australia, and India have also increased.

“Women’s” roundtable with U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy (January 2015)

We have also been invited as an expert representative to the IISS Asian Security Conference (Shangri-La Conference) hosted by a British research institute. Most of the attendees were top government and military officials, including participating countries such as Japan, the United States, and China. This is a valuable opportunity for each country to give speeches on security, and participants can ask questions directly from the floor.

Although we have a lot of interaction with and conduct joint research with overseas researchers, the reality is that exchanges with Chinese researchers have not made much progress since the coronavirus pandemic. Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, to which I belong, runs a double degree program with Peking University's School of International Relations, and many Chinese students study there. I hope that a situation will come when students and researchers can freely travel between the two countries and have face-to-face discussions.

Develop your ability to present "Good Questions"

Please tell me about Professor Ueki's seminar.

Since this is a seminar on "International Relations and Security in the Asia-Pacific," there are many students who are researching Japan's security policy, Japan-China relations, and US-China relations. There is also a wide range of research topics, including nuclear weapons issues and space policy. The seminar has students from various countries and regions such as Japan, the United States, South Korea, China, Russia, Ukraine, and Australia, and they actively discuss world affairs.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, we also held seminar camps. It is an annual event for participants to be divided into two teams and play a game called the ``crisis simulation game,'' in which each team makes policy recommendations in the event of a crisis. We have previously conducted scenarios such as the ``crisis on the Korean Peninsula.'' We have also held joint seminars with students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgetown University in the United States, deepening discussions in English. We are looking forward to reopening again.

October 2017, seminar camp at Waseda University Karuizawa Seminar House

What skills do you want your students to acquire through classes and seminar activities?

This is the basis of all learning, but I want students to develop the ability to come up with answers to problems, that is, the ability to formulate hypotheses based on theory, derive predictions from them, and verify them. It can also be said to be the ability to use that as a starting point to come up with an answer when you have a question that doesn't make sense in your daily life.

Speaking of research, if verification is based on scientific data, the results of the analysis should be the same no matter what background the researcher has. If students with these skills can go on to work around the world after graduation, I hope that misunderstandings between countries will decrease and the world will become a little bit better.

Lastly, please give a message to students who will survive in the international society in the future.

Unlike natural disasters, war is something that humans do, so it is not impossible to prevent it. I hope to make many friends around the world and continue discussions so that wars caused by ``misperceptions'' will be reduced. I believe that students living in Japan, where freedom of speech and academic freedom are guaranteed, have a great role and responsibility in discussions.

What's important is to get into the habit of digging deeper into your questions and continually asking "Good Questions." Nowadays, the hurdles for political participation are lower. If you have a question about security policy, etc., please don't leave it alone, and I would like you to acquire a wide range of knowledge, provide evidence, and express your opinion.

Interview and text: Kenichi Marumo
Photography: Kota Nunokawa
Image design: Ryo Uchida