On November 10th, 2022, Prof. Kazushige Kobayashi, Associate Professor at Ritsumeikan University, gave a lecture on a collaborative research project that he has been working on with Keith Krause, Oliver Jütersonke, and Xinyu Yuan at Ritsumeikan University. 

The lecture was composed of four sections. In the first section, Prof. Kobayashi explained the overview of their research—the research topic, the research question, and the gap in the literature. He explained that although the Western influence over the norms and practices of the United Nations-led peacebuilding efforts has been potent, what Prof. Kobayashi and colleagues call “alternative actors”—actors that do not conform neatly to the traditional Western approach to peacebuilding—have been changing the norms and practices of peacebuilding in recent years. However, most scholarly research defines peacebuilding as based on Western conceptions of norms and practices and excludes non-Western ones. Furthermore, most research relies on binary frameworks, such as “liberal vs. illiberal approaches to peacebuilding,” that omit non-Western forms of peacebuilding and obscure the complex reality on the ground. Prof. Kobayashi emphasized that it is crucial to look beyond such binaries and dig deeper into multiple directional flows of norms and practices. He also explained that he and his research team investigated peacebuilding efforts by Japan, China, and Russia—the largest contributors to the UN Peace Keeping Operations—as case studies to study how Western norms and practices of peacebuilding have been challenged.  

The second section of the lecture explained the theoretical and methodological approaches Prof. Kobayashi and colleagues use. It is explained that the research team uses “the matrix-based approach” to categorize different countries’ interpretations of norms such as the respect for human rights. The approach is useful as it allows comparison across different countries. However, since the approach is nuanced, it was crucial to augment this deficiency with qualitative data analysis using interviews and policy documents.

In the third section, Prof. Kobayashi shared their research findings with the audience. Japan's peacebuilding strategy is characterized as one of conformity and contestation and win-win cooperation based on mutual benefits. As a major OECD donor, Japan seeks to rhetorically conform to mainstream liberal peace norms such as participatory governance and political rights, but its actual practices deviate from them. Similarly to Japan, China believes that prioritization of economic development rather than political reforms leads to peace. It uses a dual strategy, such as expanding its contribution to UNPKO while promoting bilateral cooperation. Moreover, Prof. Kobayashi argued that Beijing does not explicitly reject or delegitimize liberal concepts such as human rights; it contests the interpretations of those terms. Unlike Japan and China, Russia does not place an emphasis on development; it instead uses military forces to manipulate conflict dynamics. Prof. Kobayashi underscored that none of those countries dismiss liberal norms directly; instead, they prioritize different aspects and interpretations of them. 

Finally, the lecture concluded with a vibrant Q&A session, during which members of the audience asked interesting questions, such as those regarding the challenges Prof. Kobayashi faced in conducting interviews with government officials in Japan and Russia, how he and his team conducted discourse analysis, and the problem of using the seemingly innocuous term “non-West.” 

Written by Yusy Widarahesty and Daichi Morishige (Doctoral Students at the Graduate School of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University)