The Senkaku Islands dispute : Is peace as a final dispute resolution the best outcome or does Japan benefit more from an enduring territorial dispute?

Abstract

The thesis analyses the territorial dispute between China and Japan regarding the Senkaku Islands, looked mainly from the Japanese perspective. It is a qualitative study based on Johan Galtung's peace theory, game theory and enduring territorial dispute case studies. The main research question is whether a peaceful,final resolution would be less beneficial for Japan than an active unresolved dispute. The conclusion is that at the moment, Japan benefits more from an active dispute than from pushing for a solution.