Reluctant Remilitarisation

How and why the three losers of the Second World War reconsidered their pacifism, embraced a more active military role and transformed their armed forces after the Cold War Despite the enduring presence of pacifist constraints, Italy, Germany and Japan experienced a considerable shift in terms of security policies in the aftermath of the Cold War. They went from "security consumers" to active "security providers", reforming their force structure as well as their military doctrines. This book explores how the three countries modified the posture and structure of their militaries over the past three decades. While the three countries all had to overcome a pacifist constitution, a widespread view - in both elites and public opinion - that war was a taboo, and armed forces designed to defend and deter against large-scale threats, they all became more active security providers. However, each country followed a distinct path. The book reconstructs these paths, demonstrating how a mixture of external and domestic factors affected the pace and the extent of remilitarisation. The book also identifies critical junctures in such process, suggesting that any push to change is mediated by the need to come to terms with the cumbersome weight of the past. Fabrizio Coticchia is Associate Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political and International Sciences at the University of Genoa, Italy. Matteo Dian is Associate Professor of History and International Relations of East Asia in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Bologna, Italy. Francesco N. Moro is Associate Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Bologna and Adjunct Professor of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University SAIS Europe in Bologna, Italy.