Course Catalog

Complicated Transitions: U.S. Post-World War II Military Occupations

Dr. Dayna Barnes The Allied occupations of Germany and Japan after World War II are remembered as the “good occupations.” Between 1945 and 1952, US-led coalitions successfully turned militaristic enemies into stable and democratic allies. Of course, the reality was more complicated, but these occupations did forge the enduring relationships in the postwar world. Recent events have brought the era back to public attention. Japan’s case in particular has emerged as a potential model for future nation-building projects, and a foil for understanding failures in Iraq and Afghanistan. But how did these American-led projects differ from each other, and what can they teach us about the benefits and pitfalls of foreign interventions? In this course we will examine and compare American occupations from 1945 to 2014. 1) The Origins and Legal Basis of Occupation 2) Divided in Four: Germany 3) Japan and Korea 4) Responding to Terror: Afghanistan 5) "Regime Change" and Iraq 6) Comparisons and Conclusions This course will provide an overview of modern military occupations. At the end of the course students will be able to critically evaluation the context, aims and outcomes of the large scale American-led occupations since 1945. Dr. Dayna Barnes is a specialist in 20th century international history, American foreign policy, and East Asia. She completed her PhD in International History at the London School of Economics. Dr Barnes has held positions at the London School of Economics, University of Winchester, Tokyo University, University of San Francisco, and San Francisco State University.

This class is not available at this time.

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