Race and International Politics

381 Pages·2012·2.64 MB·English

Race and International Politics:
How Racial Prejudice Can Shape Discord and Cooperation among Great Powers

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy
in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By
Zoltán I. Búzás, M.A.
Graduate Program in Political Science
The Ohio State University
2012

Dissertation Committee:
Alexander Wendt, Advisor
Ted Hopf
Randall Schweller
Ismail White
Copyrighted by
Zoltán I. Búzás
2012
Abstract

This dissertation is motivated by the fact that race is understudied in the
discipline, despite its historical importance in international politics, its ubiquity in
adjacent disciplines, and its importance in the “real” world. It attempts to mitigate this
problem by extending the study of race to the hard case of great power politics. The
dissertation provides a two-step racial theory of international politics according to which
racial prejudices embedded in racial identity can shape patterns of discord and
cooperation. In the first step, racial prejudices embedded in different racial identities
inflate threat perceptions, while prejudices embedded in shared racial identities deflate
them. In the second step, racially shaped threat perceptions generate behavioral
dispositions. Inflated threat perceptions predispose racially different agents towards
discord, while deflated threat perceptions predispose racially similar agents towards
cooperation. The theory works best when states have dominant racial groups, they hold
activated threat-relevant racial prejudices, and when threats are ambiguous.
Three empirical chapters assess the theory’s strengths and probe its limits. The
first shows how racial prejudices regarding fundamental difference and aggressive
intentions inflated American threat perceptions of Japan and, with British cooperation,
led to the demise of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902-1923). The second traces how
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racial prejudices regarding aggressive intentions and irrationality inflated American
threat perceptions of Chinese nuclear proliferation and, with Soviet cooperation, resulted
in the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963. The last one illustrates how racial prejudices of
immorality and aggressive intentions inflated American threat perceptions of Japanese
foreign direct investment in the 1980s and led to the 1988 Exon-Florio Amendment. The
dissertation concludes with a discussion of race and the legitimacy of the liberal
international system in the context of rise of the developing world.

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Acknowledgments

I wrote the dissertation during what is now called “The Great Recession,” when
much of the world struggled with debt. In a way, it is a child of its time. In the course of
writing it I accumulated so much intellectual and emotional debt that without regular
“bailouts” from generous friends and teachers I would not have been able to finish it. The
generous grant awarded by the Mershon Center for International Security Studies allowed
me to do archival research without accumulating financial debt. In classes offered by
Richard Herrmann, Jennifer Mitzen, and Daniel Verdier I learned even more than I
realized at the time. Fellow graduate students did much to make my graduate school
experience more productive and more fun. At the “Wendt workshop” they provided
useful feedback on various draft chapters. On the fun side, I particularly enjoyed
Thursday night soccer. For all this and more, I thank Bentley Allan, Austin Carson,
Aldous Cheung, Kevin Duska, Jason Keiber, Josh Kertzer, Tim Luecke, Eleonora
Mattiacci, Fernando Nunez Mietz, John Oates, Xiaoyu Pu, and Clement Wyplosz.
I was fortunate to have the support of an outstanding dissertation committee.
Randy Schweller has provided critical feedback and encouragement since the early days
of the dissertation writing seminar (PS 846). Ted Hopf’s expertise, careful reading of and
detailed feedback on every chapter made the dissertation incomparably better. Ismail
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White guided me patiently to the most relevant aspects of the race literature. Most
importantly, I am grateful to Alex Wendt. It was in one of Alex’s seminars that I got
interested in race and international politics. His gentle guidance, encouragement, and
generosity were critical ingredients not only of completing the dissertation, but of my
professional development more generally. As an academic, I will aspire to live up to the
high standards of professionalism, open-mindedness, and kindness Alex embodies.
Prior to the years spent at Ohio State, I have benefitted enormously from being
taught by several people. As an undergraduate, the classes of Ovidiu Pecican, Liviu
Tirau, and Sergiu Miscoiu sparked my interest in international politics. Daniel M. Green,
Matthew J. Hoffmann, Stuart Kaufman, and Mark Miller helped me take the first steps in
graduate school.
I am most thankful to my family. My parents, Ernest and Georgeta Buzas, have
been an infinite reservoir of emotional support. Our Saturday afternoon chats have
always put things in the right perspective. Mom’s occasional “Are you still not done
yet?” gently reminded me that I cannot retire from graduate school. My brother, Ernő,
was a good friend. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Erin Graham, to whom I owe
most. Erin read every page of the dissertation and provided detailed feedback, listened to
my long monologues on race during our evening walks, and made me laugh when I
needed it most. I am truly blessed to have had her in my life throughout this time.

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Vita

2004 ............................................................ B.A. European Studies and International
Relations, Babeş-Bolyai University (RO)
2006 ............................................................ M.A. Political Science, University of
Delaware
2007-2012 ................................................... Graduate Student Associate, Department of
Political Science, The Ohio State University

Fields of Study

Major Field: Political Science

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Table of Contents

Abstract .......................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... iv
Vita ............................................................................................................................... vi
List of Tables............................................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ............................................................................................................... ix
Chapter One: Introduction ..............................................................................................1
Chapter Two: A Racial Theory of International Politics ................................................. 31
Chapter Three: Race and the Demise of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, 1902-1923 ......... 91
Chapter Four: Race and the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty ......................................... 165
Chapter Five: Race and the 1988 Exon-Florio Amendment ......................................... 233
Chapter Six: Conclusion ............................................................................................. 295
References ................................................................................................................... 322
Appendix A: List of Texts Used in Chapter Three Content Analysis ............................ 357
Appendix B: List of Texts Used in Chapter Four Content Analysis .............................. 363

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List of Tables

Table 1. A Typology of Race Relations ......................................................................... 21
Table 2.1: Mapping the Race Debate ............................................................................. 41
Table 2.2: Hypotheses Linking Racial Identity to Threat Perception .............................. 70
Table 3.1: Japanese in the United States, 1880-1920 ...................................................... 97
Table 3.2: Power Indicators: US, Britain, and Japan .................................................... 121
Table 3.3: Content Analysis Frequency Test ................................................................ 154
Table 4.1: Content Analysis Threat Frequencies ......................................................... 225
Table 4.2: Alternative Explanation Keyword Frequencies ........................................... 226
Table 5.1: Japanese FDI Perceived as More Threatening than European and Canadian
FDI .............................................................................................................................. 250
Table 5.2: Direct Investment Position in the United States by Country of Ultimate
Beneficial Owner, 1980-90 ......................................................................................... 252
Table 5.3: The 1988 Trade Act Votes and COPE Ratings ........................................... 284
Table 6.1: Summary of Findings ................................................................................. 300

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List of Figures

List of Figures

Figure 2.1: The Causal Chain......................................................................................... 78
Figure 3.1: Content Analysis Frequency Test by Year ................................................ 155
Figure 3.2: Word Cloud of Concordance Test .............................................................. 157
Figure 4.1: Rising ‘Yellow Peril’ and Falling ‘Red Peril’ ............................................. 188
Figure 4.2: China More Peaceful After Going Nuclear ................................................ 218
Figure 4.3: Correlation between Race and the China Threat ......................................... 227
Figure 5.1: Voting on the 1988 Trade Act ................................................................... 284
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