The Color of Threat: Race, Threat Perception, and the Demise of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902-1923)

Security Studies, Forthcoming

47 Pages Posted: 4 May 2013

See all articles by Zoltan Buzas

Zoltan Buzas

Drexel University - Department of History and Politics

Date Written: May 3, 2013

Abstract

Race is understudied in International Relations generally and international security specifically. To mitigate this omission, I provide a racial theory of threat perception. I propose that, under certain conditions, racial prejudices embedded in racial identities shape threat perceptions and generate behavioral dispositions. In the first step, racial similarity deflates threat perceptions, while racial difference inflates them. In the second step, deflated threat perceptions facilitate cooperation among racially similar agents, while inflated threat perceptions facilitate discord among racially different agents. Using extensive archival and secondary sources, the article illustrates the explanatory value of the theory in the case of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902-1923).

Keywords: Race, racism, threat perception, identity, prejudice, security, Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Yellow Peril, Anglo-Saxonism

Suggested Citation

Buzas, Zoltan, The Color of Threat: Race, Threat Perception, and the Demise of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902-1923) (May 3, 2013). Security Studies, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2260449

Zoltan Buzas (Contact Author)

Drexel University - Department of History and Politics ( email )

Philadelphia, PA
United States

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