{"title":"Assumptions and Distortions: Dore on Equality in Japanese Schooling","authors":"M. White","doi":"10.5509/2019924701","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5509/2019924701","url":null,"abstract":"Ronald Dore's work on education in Japan centred on themes of selection and equality. In his work on Tokugawa education, Dore presaged some of the emphasis he gave in his later work on quality and social and moral content in modern education. The argument of The Diploma Disease\u0000 concerned the \"late development effect\" as a tool in understanding the emphasis on qualification and selection that led to Japan's postwar examination hypertrophy, and in understanding the distortions and inequities that ensued. \"Late ascription\"—tracking and determining one's life chances\u0000 with a single examination—was one such distortion, narrowing the gate to educational and occupational success, belying the notion that Japan demonstrates a pure \"meritocracy.\"","PeriodicalId":47041,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Affairs","volume":"92 1","pages":"701-713"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46111812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"American Grand Strategy in the Indo Pacific: Plus ça change?","authors":"T. Wilkins","doi":"10.5509/2019924741","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5509/2019924741","url":null,"abstract":"In an era of heightened great power competition, debates about American grand strategy in the Indo-Pacific region have returned to the fore. This review essay looks at three recent volumes that directly address such debates. After introducing the concept of grand strategy, Part I reviews\u0000 each of the books individually in sequence, outlining their scope, contents, and contributions. Part II then integrates the contributions of each of the volumes into a broader discussion relating to four pertinent issues: American perspectives on \"Asia\"; international relations (IR) theory;\u0000 American strategic culture; and the rise of China, before concluding. The books under review are to differing degrees orientated toward one of the core IR theory paradigms: realism (Green), liberalism (Campbell), and constructivism/ critical approaches (Kang). As such, read together, they\u0000 contribute to a multi-faceted theoretical understanding of US grand strategy in the Indo Pacific that will be of significant value to both scholars and practitioners.","PeriodicalId":47041,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Affairs","volume":"92 1","pages":"741-757"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5509/2019924741","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48492231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Legal Reform and Struggles Against Precarity: The Case of State Workers' Early Retirement in Vietnam","authors":"T. Nguyen","doi":"10.5509/2019924665","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5509/2019924665","url":null,"abstract":"This paper contributes to the literature on precarity in Asia by examining the way in which state law interacts with social, political, and ideological factors in shaping experiences of precarity. Different from studies of precarity that see law as a set of state regulations underpinning\u0000 the precarious economic and political status of individual workers, this paper adopts a socially grounded view of law that incorporates workers' understandings of and engagements with state law in commonplace settings. It also adopts a view of precarity as a complex dynamic of social, legal,\u0000 and political processes shaping and reproducing workers' experiences of insecurity and vulnerability at work, rather than a broad, identity-based category of non-standard and informal types of employment. Through an ethnographic study of former state workers' working experiences in Vietnam,\u0000 this paper sheds light on different aspects of workers' collective and individual struggles against precarity and workplace injustice, and the role that law plays in these struggles. It argues that law contributes to reinforcing workers' precarious experiences, which are underpinned by the\u0000 tension between their expectations grounded in the socialist era and the realities of workplace injustice and insecurity in a market economy.","PeriodicalId":47041,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5509/2019924665","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45747063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development, Discernment, and Death: Dore on the South Korean Economy","authors":"H. Lynn","doi":"10.5509/2019924715","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5509/2019924715","url":null,"abstract":"Ronald Dore's 1977 article in Pacific Affairs, \"South Korean Development in Wider Perspective,\" is a rare example of the scholar known for his writings on Japan applying his analytical lens on South Korea. What were some of this article's most notable areas of foresight and elision\u0000 related to development studies? This essay answers this question by interpreting connections to publications before and after 1977 to analyze areas of insight under the rubric of \"discernment\" and overlooked subjects under \"death.\" On one hand, Dore's essay was ahead of the curve in its deft\u0000 foreshadowing of post-developmentalist, varieties of capitalism, and developmental state approaches to economic development. On the other, Dore sidestepped the effects of death on economic development in three forms: literal— effects of changing mortality rates on investments in education\u0000 and human capital; industries related to death—wars, munitions production and arms expenditures; and the aftereffects of the death of a scholar—the revisiting and renewal of debates that can sometimes emerge as a result.","PeriodicalId":47041,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Affairs","volume":"92 1","pages":"715-728"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5509/2019924715","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46011335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Work of Ronald P. Dore and Pacific Affairs","authors":"Apichai W. Shipper","doi":"10.5509/2019924685","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5509/2019924685","url":null,"abstract":"This introductory essay discusses Ronald Dore's academic career and contributions. As an \"accidental Japanologist,\" Dore made enormous contributions to the understanding of Japanese society. As a sociologist, he rigorously employed a sociological approach to the study of comparative\u0000 political economy with profound moral-philosophical reflections. By doing so, he helped to correct our misunderstanding of education, development, and internationalization—topics of extensive discussion in the following essays. Among his numerous contributions to Pacific Affairs\u0000 between 1952 and 2008, Dore wrote three essays covering these topics during the 1970s. Amazingly, his ideas as presented in these essays still resonate today.","PeriodicalId":47041,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Affairs","volume":"92 1","pages":"685-700"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42282499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Thailand's 2019 Vote: The General's Election","authors":"Jacob I. Ricks","doi":"10.5509/2019923443","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5509/2019923443","url":null,"abstract":"Thailand’s March 2019 ballot was the first for the country since 2011, and for many it signaled the potential end of the military junta’s five-year rule. But was it truly a return to democracy? This essay argues that the election was far from a democratization event. Instead, it was a highly orchestrated exercise to ensure authoritarian longevity. The junta employed techniques of institutional engineering as well as managing the election’s outcomes in an effort to extend the premiership of Prayuth Chan-ocha despite increasing pressure for a return to civilian rule. The results of the election suggest that Thai society continues to exhibit deep divisions between those who support and those who oppose military interventions in politics. I further contend that the election should be seen as part of the continuing struggle by conservative forces in society to maintain their dominance in politics despite demands from other segments of the population for equal representation, a contest which is far from over.","PeriodicalId":47041,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5509/2019923443","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49078001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From Trade to Investment: ASEAN and AFTA in the Era of the \"New Regionalism\"","authors":"Jürgen Rüland","doi":"10.5509/2019923533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5509/2019923533","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47041,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5509/2019923533","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46188636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Asian Regionalism: Not so New, Not so Effective","authors":"M. Beeson","doi":"10.5509/2019923515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5509/2019923515","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47041,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5509/2019923515","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46467732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Southeast Asian Regionalism and Global Capitalism Revisited","authors":"P. Bowles","doi":"10.5509/2019923541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5509/2019923541","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47041,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5509/2019923541","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41736049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Japan's Agenda Setting to Lower the Voting Age from 20 to 18: Prioritizing Constitutional Revision over Democratic Legitimacy","authors":"Y. Takao","doi":"10.5509/2019923419","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5509/2019923419","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47041,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Affairs","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2019-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.5509/2019923419","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43857124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}