The current international order is facing major structural changes. In the United States, political and social divisions are deepening, and the foundations of U.S.–Japan relations, particularly the basis for cooperation in non-military fields, are becoming increasingly unstable. At the same time, China is advancing the formation of new international standards and institutions through state-led development of advanced technologies and their industrial application, thereby promoting the “operationalization” of the international order.
This project understands these international changes as a phenomenon in which “managed ordering” and “partitioning” are progressing amid the coexistence of “competition” over order and institutional “voids.” It will examine developments on both the U.S. and Chinese sides and analyze how Japan can engage in shaping order in an age of “competition” and “voids,” while ensuring the sustainability of the U.S.–Japan alliance.

In doing so, the project will consider how Japan can construct and present institutional diplomacy through multilateral frameworks, which have long been one of its strengths. It will also examine how Japan should build and communicate the strategic narratives it needs to convey to the world.

To pursue these objectives, the project will establish the following three study groups and advance the project, “The Emerging Managed World Order and Japan’s Strategic Position: A Diplomatic Model of Connectivity and Coordination in an Era of Partitioning.” For details on each study group, please refer to the respective special webpages. This page introduces activities conducted across the study groups.