With Brexit behind it, Britain faces a question about what role it should play in the world. One of the issues that emerged during the Brexit debate was the need for Britain to remain a major power with an independent voice in the world by becoming “Global Britain,” suggesting an interest in remaining influential far from the British Isles. While the term itself has its critics, a debate rages over what it means for the U.K.’s future.
The sentiment of wanting to retain influence on the world stage is understandable. Japan also enjoyed empire and great-power status. Unlike the U.K., however, Japan never grappled with nostalgia for those days. Whether the fault of wartime defeat or recognition of the perils of empire, Japan has spent the last seven decades trying to escape those dark days and craft a new image as a middle power.
Importantly, Japan accepted its diminished great power status while nurturing its economic power and exercising tremendous influence through what Harvard University professor Joseph Nye called soft power.