The narrative construction of political competence: challenging the expert/amateur binary in Japan’s foreign and security policy
Journal: International Politics
Year: 2025

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 S