Alternative Security Regimens of Minimalist Military Countries: The Cases of Japan and Costa Rica

Abstract

The problem the researcher hopes to answer is: what are the alternative security regimes of selected minimalist countries in the case of Costa Rica and Japan. The alternative security regime that Costa Rica and Japan adopt is the "comprehensive security regime". Costa Rica also adopts the "collective security" regime. It can be further classified into four - their economy, institutions and ideology, socio-political sector and relationship with other countries. The goals of this study are to explain the different meanings of security - traditional and alternative. The researcher also would like to explain how security evolved through time and to discuss a crisis resolved through alternative security regimes. The researcher combined three theories in order to scope her study. These theories are realist, liberalist and constructivist theory. The combined theory is only saying that states are being influenced by their national interest and by the social and political elements. This would determine their military behavior which is basically the adoption of minimal military strength. This adoption of minimal military strength would then result to alternative security regimes; because of the fact that security is not confined to protection against attacks rather it ranges into different alternatives and substitutes. To apply this theory in the study, the states that we will be talking about are Costa Rica and Japan. Their national interest includes their sovereignty, limited physical endowments, etc. and social and political elements include the constitutional and legal constraints, public opinion, etc. These national interests and social/political elements in turn influence Costa Rica's and Japan's underlying principle of their adoption of a minimalist military which in consequence lead them to adopt their alternative security regime which focuses on comprehensive and common security.