Traditional Security as a Source of Non¬traditional Insecurities – The Case of Okinawa

Tensions over the US military bases in Okinawa are rooted in the conception of the state as the only referent of security, with national security being defined in military terms. Under this traditional view of security, human security threats arising from the presence of the bases were largely ignored, with the result that anger simmered among the local population, finally breaking out in the 1990s. This NTS Alert argues that the case of Okinawa illustrates the importance of moving away from viewing traditional security and non-traditional security as being mutually exclusive. Instead, the two should be regarded as mutually reinforcing; with traditional security laying the foundations for human security; and attention to non-traditional security issues perhaps allowing the population to understand and accommodate to the country's traditional security needs.