ABSTRACT
In the context of the discussion in earlier chapters, we now turn to a quantitative inquiry into the processes of expansion, competition, and conflict. The conceptual model guiding this analysis derives from the framework presented in Chapter 1, which in turn is a further specification of the lateral pressure model developed in the World War I study (Choucri and North 1975) focusing on the major European powers. As indicated, the focus of the World War I study was on the interactions of the major European powers in their dealings with each other, whereas our treatment of the Japan case amounts to a case study – a study of the special circumstances of growth and transformation of a country with a rapidly advancing technology combined with a population that was (and still is) large (and growing) relative to the extent of its territory and resource availabilities.
