ABSTRACT
This chapter examines UN peacekeeping policy in Japan and Australia. International peacekeeping operations (PKO), which were initiated as a replacement for the totally ineffective post-World War II collective security environment, have played a vital role in the maintenance of international peace and security, even in the current post-Cold War period. The continuing significance of UN peacekeeping operations for conflict resolutions can be recognised by the fact that there are currently more than 60,000 military and civilian police forces serving in sixteen operations around the world.1
Both Australia and Japan have adopted a ‘UN-centred policy’, and therefore always aspire to be a positive contributor to peacekeeping operations. However, this chapter points out a significant difference in the historical records, culture, and basic political approach towards peacekeeping operations between Japan and Australia. This difference stems from their own diplomatic positions in international affairs and several domestic factors that influence troop mobilisation, peacekeeping and national character. However, despite these disparities, are there any possibilities for collaborative peacekeeping operations between Japan and Australia? This chapter begins by introducing the two key foreign policy approaches to UN peacekeeping for contributing states, and will then apply them to the cases of Japan and Australia. Finally, it explores the cases of cooperation in peacekeeping operations between Japan and Australia, and suggests further possibilities in this area for the future.
