Abstract

This paper focuses on territorial disputes related civic activism in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. After the end of the Cold War bipolar rivalry, territorial disputes became one of the major sources of friction in the region. Civil society groups are playing an increasingly important role in shaping both discourses and policies related to these disputes in their respective countries. The extant academic literature traces this activism to nationalism directed at the other party to the dispute. Drawing its theoretical insights from the Ontological Security approach, this paper seeks to provide a more nuanced understanding of this activism.