Reluctant Remilitarization offers a much needed comparative analysis of how the defense policies of Germany, Italy and Japan – three countries with strong anti-militarist traditions – have evolved after the Cold War. Their respective trajectories are marked by continuity and change, shaped by path dependencies and critical junctures, as well as the interplay between external and domestic factors. Shedding light on these processes, the book will be of great value for readers seeking to understand how these three countries have transformed in the turbulent post-Cold War era.