Skip to Main Content

CASA Celebration

Dr. John Gripentrog

HISTORY

Prelude to Pearl Harbor: Ideology and Culture in US-Japan Relations, 1919-1941

published by Rowman & Littlefield

My book traces the escalation of hostilities between Japan and the United States across the 1930s, leading up to the outbreak of war in 1941. And specifically, how irreconcilable ideologies about world order (Japan’s regionalist ideology vs. America’s emphasis on liberal internationalism) were at the heart of the conflict. An added twist is my look at the Japanese government’s failed attempt to win over American hearts and minds through cultural diplomacy.