Architects of Occupation : : American Experts and Planning for Postwar Japan / / Dayna L. Barnes.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Cornell University Press Complete eBook-Package 2017
• VerfasserIn: Barnes, Dayna L.,
• Place / Publishing House: Ithaca, NY : : Cornell University Press, , [2017]; ©2017
• Year of Publication: 2017
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (240 p.)

The Allied occupation of Japan is remembered as the "good occupation." An American-led coalition successfully turned a militaristic enemy into a stable and democratic ally. Of course, the story was more complicated, but the occupation did forge one of the most enduring relationships in the postwar world. Recent events, from the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan to protests over American bases in Japan to increasingly aggressive territorial disputes between Asian nations over islands in the Pacific, have brought attention back to the subject of the occupation of Japan.In Architects of Occupation, Dayna L. Barnes exposes the wartime origins of occupation policy and broader plans for postwar Japan. She considers the role of presidents, bureaucrats, think tanks, the media, and Congress in policymaking. Members of these elite groups came together in an informal policy network that shaped planning. Rather than relying solely on government reports and records to understand policymaking, Barnes also uses letters, memoirs, diaries, and manuscripts written by policymakers to trace the rise and spread of ideas across the policy network. The book contributes a new facet to the substantial literature on the occupation, serves as a case study in foreign policy analysis, and tells a surprising new story about World War II.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Timeline -- Introduction: Behind the Curtain -- 1. Flip-Flopper with the Final Say: Roosevelt and Japan -- 2. Elbow Patches and Orientalists: Bureaucratic Wrangling -- 3. Unofficial Officials: Think Tanks and Policy -- 4. Information and Ignorance: Media Coverage -- 5. Sucker Nation and Santa Claus: Concerns of Congress -- 6. Ready or Not: Harry Truman and the End of the War -- Conclusion: The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index