I think it has been quite a long time since I last wrote about my research and updated everyone. Although I have been keeping busy with lots of activities lately, like my continued work at Peace Boat, involvement with the new peace action network US for Okinawa, research on East Asian security issues with a professor at ICU, college alumni events and other stuff, I still devote quite a lot of time doing research on my thesis. Of course, it should be this way since it's the reason I came to study at ICU as part of Rotary's World Peace Fellowship Program!
On Monday, I turned in a pretty comprehensive outline of my thesis along with its tentative title, "Beyond Japan's Peace Constitution: A survey of peace constitutions from around the world and a study of the transnational social movement connecting them." Over the past few months since I last wrote about it, the structure of my thesis has taken form as I have read a lot, gathered research material and analyzed it and thought about my own ideas on peace constitutions. Although not changed too much since my initial research proposal, the abstract is nearly finalized. The study combines international relations, constitutional law, security studies and public policy, which I hope will all be useful for a future employer! The thesis is a thorough examination of peace constitutions that will define—beyond Japan's constitution—the various kinds of peace constitutions around the world and look at their impact on war & peace, military build up, development aid & assistance and other foreign policy tools that states have to engage with and resolve conflicts between and among each other. The study has three main objectives: it seeks to understand what peace constitutions are and the elements that form the various kinds; to look at the current transnational social movement behind the adoption of them; and to analyze, through short case studies of Japan, Germany and Costa Rica, the impact of them on foreign policies promoting and maintaining peaceful relations, non-military aggression and sustainable development. Wow! Even just writing that makes me worry about all the work I still need to do!
The main thrust of my research has been amassing a collection of constitutions that have references to the state's role to be a force for peace, to renounce waging war and to commit the state to promoting human rights. So far, I have surveyed nearly 100 state constitutions and found approximately 37 that make some kind of reference to the state's commitment to peaceful state relations and how it can achieve those aims. I have also collected data on these countries' military expenditures and development aid to compare them with other neighboring countries in their respective regions to see if they are generally more pacific. With this part of my research, I already feel that I have accomplished one of my research goals by finding (many!) other peace constitutions besides Japan's to substantiate my case that, although it may not be the only peace constitution of its kind in the world, Japan's peace constitution and others like it do and can make a difference in improving pacific relations among states.
In addition to the constitutional collection part of my research, I have also been interviewing various leaders and activists in the Global Article 9 Campaign, which is the group that I interned with this past summer. As I have mentioned before in previous posts, I think that this campaign is a major driving force for expanding the international public's knowledge of what a peace constitution is and can be. For this reason, I feel lucky to have access to members of this social movement for peace constitutions to get a first-hand account of the movement's beginnings five years ago and its evolution since. Working there as an intern last summer has helped me build the close relationships necessary to learn more about this movement and gain even more insight about peace constitutions and their work. I just have a few more interviews to go!
As I begin writing, I will continue to post more about my research and expound more about my analysis of peace constitutions and my ideas on their positive role in our world. But since I've only just begun writing, I'm sure I'll need lots of words of encouragement from you! So, feel free to send me an email if you're interested to hear more about my studies and ideas! I would love to share more with you, plus it would be good practice for clearly and succinctly writing out my thoughts and ideas!
JRG
On Monday, I turned in a pretty comprehensive outline of my thesis along with its tentative title, "Beyond Japan's Peace Constitution: A survey of peace constitutions from around the world and a study of the transnational social movement connecting them." Over the past few months since I last wrote about it, the structure of my thesis has taken form as I have read a lot, gathered research material and analyzed it and thought about my own ideas on peace constitutions. Although not changed too much since my initial research proposal, the abstract is nearly finalized. The study combines international relations, constitutional law, security studies and public policy, which I hope will all be useful for a future employer! The thesis is a thorough examination of peace constitutions that will define—beyond Japan's constitution—the various kinds of peace constitutions around the world and look at their impact on war & peace, military build up, development aid & assistance and other foreign policy tools that states have to engage with and resolve conflicts between and among each other. The study has three main objectives: it seeks to understand what peace constitutions are and the elements that form the various kinds; to look at the current transnational social movement behind the adoption of them; and to analyze, through short case studies of Japan, Germany and Costa Rica, the impact of them on foreign policies promoting and maintaining peaceful relations, non-military aggression and sustainable development. Wow! Even just writing that makes me worry about all the work I still need to do!
The main thrust of my research has been amassing a collection of constitutions that have references to the state's role to be a force for peace, to renounce waging war and to commit the state to promoting human rights. So far, I have surveyed nearly 100 state constitutions and found approximately 37 that make some kind of reference to the state's commitment to peaceful state relations and how it can achieve those aims. I have also collected data on these countries' military expenditures and development aid to compare them with other neighboring countries in their respective regions to see if they are generally more pacific. With this part of my research, I already feel that I have accomplished one of my research goals by finding (many!) other peace constitutions besides Japan's to substantiate my case that, although it may not be the only peace constitution of its kind in the world, Japan's peace constitution and others like it do and can make a difference in improving pacific relations among states.
In addition to the constitutional collection part of my research, I have also been interviewing various leaders and activists in the Global Article 9 Campaign, which is the group that I interned with this past summer. As I have mentioned before in previous posts, I think that this campaign is a major driving force for expanding the international public's knowledge of what a peace constitution is and can be. For this reason, I feel lucky to have access to members of this social movement for peace constitutions to get a first-hand account of the movement's beginnings five years ago and its evolution since. Working there as an intern last summer has helped me build the close relationships necessary to learn more about this movement and gain even more insight about peace constitutions and their work. I just have a few more interviews to go!
As I begin writing, I will continue to post more about my research and expound more about my analysis of peace constitutions and my ideas on their positive role in our world. But since I've only just begun writing, I'm sure I'll need lots of words of encouragement from you! So, feel free to send me an email if you're interested to hear more about my studies and ideas! I would love to share more with you, plus it would be good practice for clearly and succinctly writing out my thoughts and ideas!
JRG
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