American military bases are situated around the world, but what happens when the relationship takes a turn for the worse? This is the subject of ‘Embattled Garrisons’ a new book by Dr Kent Calder Director of the SAIS Reischauer Centre For East Asian Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and the topic of his talk here at Cambridge University next week.

The book looks in detail at the relationship between the U.S. and Japan as well as more broadly at Russia, Britain and France. Dr Calder argues that ‘base politics’ will become a more important issue for U.S. Japan relations.

“Regime shifts or even a whiff of political pluralism puts major pressure on foreign military presence”, said Dr Calder. “Japan’s current uncertain political climate means this book couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time.”

Dr Calder taught for 20 years at Princeton University and also at Harvard University. He also served as Japan Chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, special advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan and special adviser to the assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

He has also written several other books including Pacific Defence (1996), Strategic Capitalism (1993) and Crisis and Compensation (1988), he was also the co-author of The Eastasia Edge (1982).

The Seminar entitled ‘Embattled Garrisons: Comparative Base Politics and American Globalism’ will take place next Monday (2 February) in Rooms 8 and 9 at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Sidgwick Avenue.

The seminar is free and open to the general public. The lecture has been made possible by financial support from the Japanese Embassy in the UK.

For more information please contact: Dr Barak Kushner, Lecturer in Modern Japanese History, phone on 01223 335174 or email bk284@cam.ac.uk.
 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.