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Asian Affairs Georgetown Journal of ASIAN AFFAIRS POLICY FORUM The Civil Society Roots of BJP’s Ethnoreligious Nationalism and Majoritarian Nationalism Majoritarianism in Asia Soundarya Chidambaram Jeff Kingston Reactionary Nationalism and Democratic Far-Right Politics and Indigenous Ainu Development in Myanmar and Japan Activism in Japan Apichai W. Shipper Thisanka Siripala Japan’s Right-Wing Women and the “Comfort Women” Issue Tomomi Yamaguchi Identity Struggles in Asia Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Interstate Rivalry with an introduction by Sheila A. Smith Published by the Asian Studies Program in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Georgetown Journal of ASIAN AFFAIRS Volume 6 | 2020 The Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs is the flagship scholarly publication of the Asian Studies Program housed within the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Established in 2014, the Journal aims to provide a forum for schol- ars and practitioners in the field of Asian affairs to exchange ideas and publish research that further the understanding of the world’s largest and most populous continent. The views expressed in this issue do not necessarily reflect those of the Journal ’s editors and advisors, the Asian Studies Program, the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, or Georgetown University. editorial board Editor-in-Chief Seojung Kim Senior Editor Managing Editor Publishers Kelly Liu Ju Young Lee Stephanie Gage Caroline Yarber Associate Editors Assistant Editors Molly Henry Fan (Pauline) Bu James O'Brien Sue Kim Sirui She Qin (Maya) Mei Alexis Terai Anton Louthan advisory board Amitav Acharya Philip Kafalas Saadia Pekkanen American University Georgetown University University of Washington Charles Armstrong David Kang Jordan Sand Columbia University University of Southern California Georgetown University Harley Balzer Christine Kim David Shambaugh Georgetown University Georgetown University George Washington University Carol Benedict Diana Kim Gi-Wook Shin Georgetown University Georgetown University Stanford University Kurt Campbell Joanna Lewis Sheila Smith The Asia Group Georgetown University Council on Foreign Relations Victor Cha Kristen Looney James Steinberg Georgetown University Georgetown University Syracuse University Bruce Dickson Mike Mochizuki Elizabeth Stephen George Washington University George Washington University Georgetown University Evelyn Goh Andrew Nathan Robert Sutter Australian National University Columbia University George Washington University Michael Green Irfan Nooruddin Yuhki Tajima Georgetown University Georgetown University Georgetown University Touqir Hussain Michael O’Hanlon Andrew Yeo Georgetown University Brookings Institution Catholic University of America Christopher Johnson Lynn Parisi CSIS Freeman Chair University of Colorado [ii] Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs Contents Volume 6 | 2020 1 Editor's Note Policy Forum Identity Struggles in Asia: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Interstate Rivalry 5 Introduction Asia's Nationalisms: Understanding Time, Place, and Agency Sheila A. Smith 12 The Civil Society Roots of BJP's Majoritarian Nationalism Soundarya Chidambaram 20 Ethnoreligious Nationalism and Majoritarianism in Asia Jeff Kingston 28 Reactionary Nationalism and Democratic Development in Myanmar and Japan Apichai W. Shipper 36 Far-Right Politics and Indigenous Ainu Activism in Japan Thisanka Siripala 45 Japan's Right-Wing Women and the "Comfort Women" Issue Tomomi Yamaguchi Volume 6 | 2020 [iii] Research 55 Betraying Big Brothers: Comparing Civic Nationalism in Taiwan and Post-Euromaidan Ukraine Wei Luo 73 Preparing for Sky Wars: Evaluating the Airpower of China vis-à-vis ASEAN Eugene Yong and James Tong Interviews 93 Chinese Nationalism and Neo-Maoism An Interview with Jude Blanchette 99 China's Foreign Policy and U.S.-China Relations An Interview with Jessica Chen Weiss 104 Racial Politics and Policymaking in East Asian Democracies An Interview with Erin Aeran Chung 111 Clientalism, Institutional Change, and Civil Society Activism in Malaysia An Interview with Meredith L. Weiss Send inquiries to: SFS Asian Studies Program, Georgetown University Box 571040, 37th and O Streets, NW Washington, DC 20057 Email: [email protected] [iv] Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs Editor's Note Editor’s Note We consciously and subconsciously think about our identities throughout our lives. Despite the endeavoring and life-long journey to figure out our identities, we cannot easily conclude the journey with one definite answer. The unclear notion of who we are can sometimes be frustrating, but it can also be inspiring, urging us to continue exploring this question. This philosophical question about identity is not confined to only individuals. Groups of people also ask themselves this question and try to define themselves based on specific categories such as ethnicity, statehood, and religion. These group identity struggles are often tied to questions of who or what defines a nation, and further manifest themselves on the international stage in a variety of ways. In the summer of 2019, protesters in Hong Kong expressed their strong discontent with the extradition bill that challenged the principle of “one country, two systems,” and demanded a more democratic political system. More recently, the result of the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election demonstrated that increasing numbers of Taiwanese citizens support independence from mainland China. Another example is the ongoing conflict between Japan and South Korea regarding forced labor during the Japanese colonial period, which almost resulted in South Korea’s withdrawal from the General Security of Military Information Agreement in August 2019. Finally, in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party are pursuing anti-Muslim policies while advocating for Hindu interests. Yet, describing these struggles as people’s adventurous voyages to answer the existential question regarding identity is an overly romanticized portrayal of the brutalities behind such battles. Conflicts among groups with different identities can result in domestic turmoil involving violence, oppression, and discrimination. Interstate disagreements that occur as a result of nationalism also deepen uncertainty and distrust among states. These tensions are undoubtedly toxic to their relationships with allies and regional stability. Thus, despite acknowledging that tackling nationalism is an ambitious task, the Journal’s Editorial Board could not resist addressing the fundamental source of the various conflicts around the world. Considering the significance and complexity of nationalism, the Editorial Board presents our Policy Forum, “Identity Struggles in Asia: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Interstate Rivalry.” Through the various articles, theJournal contributors tackle the existential ques- tion with an intellectual aspiration to understand the various expressions of nationalism in Asia. In the introduction to the Policy Forum, Sheila Smith equips the readership with an overview of the emergence of nationalism and its implications in her article, “Asia’s Nationalisms: Understanding Time, Place, and Agency.” As an expert on Japa- nese politics and foreign policy, Dr. Smith explicates how the quest for liberation from colonial rule transformed into the complex identities intertwined with the region’s politics. Dr. Smith explores the nationalist cause and highlights how Asia’s nationalisms germinated in elites’ need for a nation has transcended to citizens. She further ties the Volume 6 | 2020 [1] Editor's Note complex origin of nationalism in the region to today’s disputes. In the first Policy Forum article, Soundarya Chidambaram expounds on the sustained popularity of the right-wing, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its exclusionary nationalist agenda. She questions the BJP’s electoral victory in 2019 and emphasizes the necessity of understanding the driving forces behind its victory. Chid- ambaram cautions against the temptation of interpreting the BJP’s increased power as a recent global trend of anti-minority, anti-immigration movements. She provides a comprehensive analysis of the Hindu nationalist movement guided by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a paramilitary voluntary group, to unravel her questions surrounding the BJP’s political agenda. Intolerance of diversity has also been a visibly increasing phenomenon in recent years in Asia. Jeff Kingston tackles the trend of majoritarianism, which refers to ethnic major- ities’ abandonment of accommodations for other minorities in ways that undermine their safety and political rights. For example, he discusses the use of social media and networks in spreading unproven accusations toward minorities. With his astute and overarching evaluation of majoritarianism in Asia, he addresses how the tyranny of the majority threatens the secular state that has been built upon a commitment to pluralism, tolerance, and diversity. Apichai Shipper then discusses reactionary nationalists in Myanmar and Japan. Reac- tionary nationalists, Shipper defines, are citizens demonstrating love for their country by punishing ethnic minorities or foreigners to maintain their common identity or national unity. Furthermore, he argues that reactionary nationalists in both heterogeneous and homogeneous societies impede their countries’ democratic development. Although Shipper demonstrates how reactionary nationalism in Myanmar and Japan has resulted in hatred and violence, he cautions readers from
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