Power across the Pacific: A Diplomatic History of American Relations with Japan

by William R. Nester

America's relationship with Japan recently passed its 140th anniversary. Although over those years, hundreds of books and thousands of articles have explored different issues or periods of the relationship, no book has analyzed the entire relationship from beginning to present. The void can perhaps be explained by the relationship's complexity and changes over time. Two great cycles of initial partnership and eventual rivalry have shaped American-Japanese relations, one geopolitical (1853-1945) and the other geoeconomic (1945-present). This book fills that void as it systematically untangles the interrelated perceptions, convergent and divergent national interests, and shifting power relations which have shaped American policies toward Japan within those two great cycles. More specifically, it highlights the personalities, national moods, domestic issues and political alignments, and other pressing international concerns within which Washington has attempted to define and assert its interests toward Japan.

452 pages, Paperback

First published July 24, 1996

About the author

William Nester, PhD is a Professor of Government and Politics at St. John’s University. He is the author of twenty-five books that explore varying dimensions and subjects of international relations and power. He taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London from 1987 to 1989, and since then at St. John's University.He received a BA in international studies and history from Miami University of Ohio, and a MA and PhD in Political Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara.