Under the guidance of Professor Taizo Yakushiji of Keio University, a group of eight young scholars and researchers from various academic fields was formed to explore the role of non-state actors, such as multinational corporations, nongovernmental organizations, interest groups, and the mass media, in today’s international relations. These various actors have been playing an increasingly important role in the decision-making process of nation-states and in international affairs, rendering obsolete the traditional models of international relations study that focus almost exclusively on the activities of nation-states. Accordingly, this study group searched for models that could incorporate this new reality more effectively into international affairs analysis.

Participants met for monthly workshops and prepared papers on issues including the role of non-state actors in international nuclear management, how domestic actors influenced Japan’s decision-making process leading to the Kyoto conference on climate change, the relationship between the government and non-governmental actors in Chinese environmental protection, the intellectual property regime and international interest groups, and international capital and taxation.