【GGR Webinar】Book Launch: Japanese translation of Ill Winds by Larry Diamond

DateMarch 17, 2022

Time12:00-13:00

Placeonline

Event Outline

This book launch was hosted as a Zoom webinar on March 17, 2022. The general topic of the event was the launch of Dr. Maiko Ichihara’s Japanese translation of the book Ill Winds by Dr. Larry Diamond. Nevertheless, the current applications for the book’s proposal were also discussed both during the interlocution and in the questions’ section. Sections were divided into three main topics: overall review of the book, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and finally, the importance of this publication for the Japanese audience.

The speaker first explained the reasons behind the piece, stating that “I wrote this book most of all to call attention to the deepening crisis of democracy in the world,” and then disclosed the English subtitle “Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency,” with specific examples for each of those. When discussing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the peak concerns for the audience as well, the author expressed that it was not a surprise to see Moscow’s administration acting as it did last February. “It was clear, as Putin was building an army, and gathering intelligence and disinformation power, that it was going to become not only a threat to democracy but also to international security,” the speaker stated during the lecture.

The conversation then shifted towards Japan’s role in the conflict, which the author said had to be more active in defending democracy and deterring authoritarian actors, as he stated that: “friends of Japan in the US have been hoping for a stronger defense posture from Japan (…), to have a proactive role in securing peace and partnership with other democracies in the Asia-Pacific region.” Nevertheless, the author also pointed out that the US cannot continue on its current path towards democratic erosion. Finally, various questions were posed around the issue of democratic erosion and the rise of authoritarian forces, with several important figures in the Japanese academic environment attending and participating in the event.

Other quotes:

We also introduce other notable quotes in the following list:

“There is no greater tribute that can be paid to an author than to translate his work into another language”
“Japan is a very important country for democracy in the future”
“I wrote this book most of all to call attention to the deepening crisis of democracy in the world”
“I didn’t predict that Russia would invade Ukraine, but I did predict that Putin was becoming an angry and insecure leader in Europe (…)”
“It was clear, as Putin was building an army, and gathering intelligence and disinformation power, that it was going to become not only a threat to democracy but also to international security”
“I wanted to introduce a very important concept: the concept of sharp power (…) which is in- between hard power and soft power”
“The “waking up” process involves raising awareness of American complaisance, we are late to these issues (…)”
“We have documented at Hoover Institution, a wide rage of means with which China has sent agents to gather technological knowledge (…) and use it to military ends”
“This is the first time since the end of WWII that a major power has sought to invade another country with the purpose of affecting its sovereignty or controlling it directly”
“One important motive is that he (Vladimir Putin) feels threatened by having independent democracy on his border, in a big country that used to be a part of the Soviet Union and that Russia sees as culturally inseparable”
“My democratic friends in Hong Kong made a big mistake by even talking about separatism and independence (…) It just made it worse (…) so Taiwan must be very careful about how they preserve the status quo, but in the long run it will not be enough”
“There is a profound lesson for Japan, Australia, USA, Taiwan, I hope this is an important moment for QUAD to balance power in Asia (…) and straighten our defenses to deter China from doing something militarily terrible towards Taiwan”
“The mistake about Ukraine was to assume that arrogant, power-seeking authoritarian leaders won’t take such actions”
“No issue, perhaps since 9/11, has triggered such bipartisan support, and has brought together democrats and republicans in the US, as [the American response to] the Ukrainian invasion”
“The lesson to Japan is, first, it’s incredibly important that Japan looks for the weaknesses in terms of Chinese exertion of sharp power (…) and uses the necessary antidotes: awareness (…) radical transparency, ensure resources and integrity of institutions”
“Second: friends of Japan in the US have been hoping for a stronger defense posture from Japan (…) to have a proactive role in securing peace and partnership with other democracies in the Asia-Pacific region. A stronger Japan (…) would be a crucial factor”
“Technology can be used for good or evil (…) these technologies were very important in democratic uprisings, but during the past ten years they have had a negative effect on democracy”
“The main problem is that algorithms promote emotional messages – hatred, anger, rumor and other antisocial behavior – because these emotional conspiracy-theory promoting messages promote engagement”
“We need Social Media companies not to promote rumors and hate, and to promote rather than deteriorate democracies”
“You don’t have to see very far to see how nervous China and Russia are about the rise of democracies (…)”
“I don’t want to spend geopolitical capital on symbols and provocations, I want to boost deterrence (…) Theodore Roosevelt said that the US should speak softly and carry a big stick, we need to boost military capabilities”
“I think we are in a pivotal moment in world history. In my book I argue that we were reaching a pivotal moment, that moment arrived on Feb 24 when Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine (…) I think it could be a turning point for freedom (….) but we have to learn from our mistakes”