With the rise of China and growing influence of Russia, authoritarian states are strengthening their presence, raising concerns over the impact on the international order. This working group aims to examine the ideological background and the characteristics of the regimes, as well as their relations with regional states. 

The circumstances in the Middle East and the Islamic world has become growingly complex with: the spread of extremism such as the “Islamic State,” tribal, regional, and ethnic conflicts; restructuring of the regional order led by Iran and Turkey; as well as the axis centering on Israel and Saudi Arabia. This working group aims to assess the new order in the Middle East and the Islamic world. 

The “Trump phenomena” in the United States, the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, as well as the rise of anti-liberal forces within the European Union are pointing to changes in the international order. This working group aims to examine the ideological underpinnings and divisions within the developed states, and their impact on alliances.

The security environment is significantly changing due to the rise of new and emerging technologies such as information communication technologies and artificial intelligence. In addition, there is a growing need to examine the new security issues relating to information and knowledge that go beyond the conventional forms of traditional security concerning war and peace, and non-traditional security issues such as climate change and infectious diseases. This working group aims to look at the new trends and their impact on current security.

The Indo-Pacific security environment is experiencing new uncertainties due to geopolitical conflicts, military modernization, crime and terrorism, natural disasters, and pandemics. Such issues not only threaten the security of states and their citizens, but also domestic and international transportation that is vital to trade, supply-chains, and exchange. This study group aims to analyze the impact of regional security risks in the Indo-Pacific on the transport sector, as well as specific transport security issues in the region. 

This subgroup within the “Working Group 4 on the Emerging Issues in Security Studies” aims to conduct assessments of the international security developments through high-resolution satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies.PublicationsYu KOIZUMI, "How Much More Can Russia Fight? Satellite Image Analysis of Spare Storage Equipment in the Eastern Military District of theRussian Armed Forces," ROLES INSIGHTS, No.6 (2022).

This subgroup within the “Working Group 5 on Indo-Pacific Transport Security” aims to better understand the Indo-Pacific security developments and their implications through tabletop exercises (TTX).

This subgroup within the "Working Group 3 on the US and Destabilization of the Established Order" aims to deepen the understanding of the history of the Japan-US alliance by collecting and organizing important documents related to the Japan-US Security Treaty and publishing them in the form of an online database.Photo: President Dwight Eisenhower and Japanese Prime Minister Kishi engage in small talk during their farewell meeting at the White House, June 21, 1957. (AP/aflo)

Jointly organized by ROLES (RCAST Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies) and IGSDA (Institute for Global Security and Defense Affairs, Abu Dhabi and Cairo)

Online Special Lecture: The Comparative Study of the Abrahamic Religions: Heuristic Gains and Cognitive PitfallsDate: Friday, March 5, 2021Time: 16:00-17:30 JST (9:00-10:30 IST (UTC+2))

[This Intensive Lecture is postponed]  The Hebrew Bible: Topics in Modern ResearchDates: February 6-9, 2022Venue: Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, the University of TokyoReligion and Global Security Division Meeting RoomLecturer: Dr. Naphtali Shmuel Meshel (Department of Bible and the Department of Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem)Details can be found here.