CHANGING RELATIONS BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS IN JAPAN IN THE ERA OF "PARTICIPATORY ODA" AND THEIR RESULTS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF "GOVERNANCE BY NETWORK."

Abstract

Since the late 1990s, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in Japan and its agency, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), have attempted to involve Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) and private firms in Official Development Assistance (ODA) activities in the name of "Participatory ODA." Using "governance by network" research as a frame of reference, I propose this dissertation to answer the question of whether networks in Japanese "Participatory ODA" make a difference, as well as why the government began using many private actors such as NGOs. The framework of "governance by network" was originated in research on domestic policies in Western countries such as the Netherlands and the U.K. Despite this fact, the framework is applicable to Japanese foreign aid. This is firstly because Japanese political situations (i.e., ongoing decentralization and increasing number of groups which implement policies) are similar to those in the Netherlands and the U.K. This is secondly because foreign aid, located between other foreign policies and ordinary domestic policies, shares some characteristics with domestic policies. This dissertation illustrates that with respect to ODA, the government has as many policy tools as in domestic policies; it can, and must, in some cases, select suitable tools under political constraints. MOFA/JICA in Japan has had and still has organizational interests, not necessarily "national interest," in protecting ODA. Currently, ODA does not have an advantageous status in the budget, and the rate of citizens' support for this foreign aid is not as high as it used to be. Thus, MOFA/JICA is mobilizing private actors to garner the public support. In contrast to the assumption of the reactive state thesis that Japan is prone to international pressure, especially the American pressure, MOFA/JICA has enough autonomy to choose policy tools. Thus, one can associate MOFA/JICA's strategic reliance on networks in Japanese ODA with the results when networks are used; this link is implied in "governance by network" research. Using both quantitative and qualitative analysis, this dissertation demonstrates that Japanese "Participatory ODA" has resulted in public support, flexibility, innovation, and governmental steering, as "governance by network" research suggests.

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