Members of the Center for Security Studies team, under the leadership of Dr. Kolmaš, were involved in solving the grant GA18-05339S titled “Japanese National Identity and Revisionism of Shinzo Abe,” awarded by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, from 2018 to 2020.
The project aimed to interpret political change in Japan through the lens of theories of national identity. The project explored how Abe’s government creates and defines itself in relation to various ‘Others,’ and how this definition impacts the boundaries within which Japanese foreign policy operates. By combining constructivist and post-structural theories, the project demonstrated that while Abe’s revisionism was broad and deep, certain societal constraints rooted in identity limited and continue to limit his influence.