What can US-China relations learn from US-Japan relations in the leadup to WWII? To discuss, I’m joined by Stony Brook University’s Michael Barnhart, author of the 1987 Japan Prepares for Total War: The Search for Economic Security, 1919–1941 and the more recent Can You Beat Churchill?: Teaching History through Simulations (https://www.amazon.com/Can-You-Beat-Churchill-Simulations/dp/1501755641), with Scholar’s Stage essayist Tanner Greer (@Scholars_Stage) cohosting.
We discuss
- What motivated Japan to invade China
- Why FDR was particularly worried about a Japanese invasion of the USSR
- Why Japan and the Nazis thought the West would be on their side
- The benefits of paying attention to mid level bureaucrats
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Outro music: Bei Mir Bist Du Shein by The Andrew Sisters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe2UXccid40
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