Description
Book SynopsisLeheny uses Japan's crackdown on child prostitution and its counterterrorist policy to argue that international norms can serve as political tools, allowing states to enhance their coercive authority.
Trade Review"David Leheny's book vividly illustrates how vague and not-so-vague fear is pervasive in post-Cold War and post-9/11 Japanese society." -- Takashi Inoguchi, Chuo University
"David Leheny's brilliant book shows how global norms are transformed in Japan by officials in the law enforcement and security fields who seek expanded state powers to target national problems and offer credible solutions. This analysis reveals the cultural politics through which solutions resonate with and amplify local constructions of threats, anxieties, villains, and scapegoats. Leheny's fascinating analysis at the interface of political science and anthropology makes a compelling case for constructionist approaches to transnationalism." -- Kay Warren, Brown University
"Insightful social science is rarely such fun. Think Global, Fear Local reveals how broadly accepted global norms against child prostitution and terrorism get transformed by anxiety-ridden Japanese policy makers into powerful weapons used to attack peripheral, though admittedly vexing, domestic demons. Leheny's wry wit and Runyonesque characterizations make this a delicious romp through the back alleys of contemporary Japan in the quest to learn how 'good norms go bad.' Read this book; you won't be disappointed." -- T. J. Pempel, Director, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
