"The narrative construction of political competence: challenging the expert/amateur binary in Japan’s foreign and security policy" - by CWP's Björn Jerdén

Whether expertise or amateurism is attributed to political leaders can play a pivotal role in their success. This article analyzes the dissemination of such reputations, focusing on the perceived foreign and security policy competence of Japanese leaders between 2009 and 2020. This period saw brief tenures as prime minister for Hatoyama Yukio and Kan Naoto, both of whom were criticized for their incompetence in managing Japan’s foreign relations and national security. In contrast, the late Abe Shinzō was widely acknowledged to be a skilled expert throughout his time in power. Our analysis thus represents a “least likely case” for challenging the assumption that reputation accurately reflects skill or performance. Through an examination the policy records of these three leaders, which relies inter alia on interviews with Japanese policymakers and foreign policy observers, the article proposes that reputations for expertise or amateurism persist due to the power of widely disseminated narratives.

Jerdén, B., Hagström, L. The narrative construction of political competence: challenging the expert/amateur binary in Japan’s foreign and security policy. Int Polit (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-025-00734-5

Björn Jerdén is Director of the Swedish National China Centre.

Björn has a PhD in Political Science from Stockholm University and a master’s degree in International Relations from Malmö University. He has been a guest researcher at National Chengchi University, National Taiwan University, National Chengkung University and Harvard University. From 2016 to 2020, Björn was the head of the Asia Programme at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.  

Areas of expertise

Security politics, great power politics, China, Japan, the United States

Publications

Björn's publications are available on the Swedish National China Centre's website.

Photo Credit: By 首相官邸ホームページ, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116698837