Graduate School Human and Environmental Studies/Studies on Global Coexistence
Undergraduate School Studies on Global Coexistence (Division of Multi-Disciplinary Studies of Civilizations)
Other Affiliation
Email saito.yoshiomi.7a(at mark)kyoto-u.ac.jp
Personal Page
Until 2023, the undergraduate school had five divisions. 'Division' provided above refers to the faculty member's former affiliation.
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Research areas Cold War History, British Diplomacy
Keywords Cold War History, Cultural Cold War, History of Anglo-Japanese Relations
Themes My first book examined the British government’s policy toward détente, focusing on Western alliance politics during the late 1960s and early 1970s. I demonstrated that both the Wilson government and the Heath government prioritized the Atlantic alliance as the basis from which to pursue easing of tensions with the Eastern bloc, while they put emphasis on the cultural dimension of the Cold War, differentiating British attitudes toward détente from those of the United States, France and the Federal Republic of Germany.
[Published work]
Reisen Henyo to Igirisu Gaiko: Detente wo Meguru Kokusai Seiji (Transformation of the Cold war and British Diplomacy: International Politics over Detente, 1964-1975) (Kyoto: Minerva Publishing, 2006) in Japanese

The second book explored British propaganda policy during the first 15 years following the end of the Second World War. Introducing the concept of the ‘theatricality’ of the Cold War, I investigated the real politics of cultural exchange with allied as well as communist countries. In this context, the British Foreign Office’s Information Research Department, which was established in 1948, was closely analyzed as a critical driver.
[Published work]
Bunka Shinto no Reisen-shi: Igirisu no Propaganda to Engeki-sei (History of the Cold War Cultural Infiltration: British Propaganda and the Politics of Theatricality) (Tokyo: Keiso Shobo, 2013) in Japanese

The propaganda aspect of the Cold War led me to yet another project of Cold War studies: jazz diplomacy. My most recent publication, titled The Global Politics of Jazz in the Twentieth Century: Cultural Diplomacy and “American Music” contextualized the American jazz diplomacy from the viewpoint of 20th century global history. This research examined, on the one hand, how the jazz discourse of the mid-1930s equated jazz with ‘American music’ – which evolved into a discursive weapon of the Cold War diplomacy – while on the other hand it examined jazz’s acceptance outside of America, revealing a variety of jazz interpretation that were not necessarily the same as the ‘American music’ discourse.
[Published work]
The Global Politics of Jazz in the Twentieth Century: Cultural Diplomacy and "American Music" (London: Routledge, 2019).

My current research examines cultural and propaganda politics in Cold War Japan. Combining social, cultural, political and diplomatic history’s viewpoints, this study looks at how Japanese domestic politics interacts with the propaganda dimensions of the Cold War.
[Published work]
"‘The country is full of wishful thinkers’: Britain’s Information Research Department and its post-war propaganda operations in Japan, 1948–70", Cold War History, vol.21 no.4, 2021.
"Projecting British socialism in occupied Japan: The United Kingdom liaison mission’s information activities", The International History Review, vol.45 no.2, 2023.
Major publications "Projecting British socialism in occupied Japan: The United Kingdom liaison mission’s information activities", The International History Review, vol.45 no.2, 2023.
"‘The country is full of wishful thinkers’: Britain’s Information Research Department and its post-war propaganda operations in Japan, 1948–70", Cold War History, vol.21 no.4, 2021 .
The Global Politics of Jazz in the Twentieth Century: Cultural Diplomacy and "American Music" (London: Routledge, 2019).
The Cold War History of Cultural Infiltration: British Propaganda Policy in Europe and Theatricality (Keiso shobo, 2013) in Japanese
Transformation of the Cold War and British Diplomacy (Minerva shobo, 2006) in Japanese

On other research works, please see (https://researchmap.jp/7000005678)
Professional societies/Research and synergic activities Japan Association of International Relations
Japanese Society of International Law
Teaching Areas
  • Undergraduate courses International Relations, IA, IB
    Seminar on International Relations, I, II
    Introduction on Inter-civilization
  • Graduate courses (Master's program) International Politics I
    International Politics II
    Seminar on International Society, III
  • Graduate courses (Doctor's program)
  • Undergraduate courses open to all departments International Politics, I, II
    Seminar on International Politics, I, II
    Politics I, II
Background Degrees
Kobe University Ph.D. in Political Science (2005)
University of Warwick M.A. in International Relations (2003)
Kobe University M.A. in Political Science (2002)
Kobe University B.A. in Law (2000)

Posts
Professor 2024- Present Kyoto University
Visiting Research Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science 2022- 2023
Associate Professor 2013- 2024 Kyoto University
Associate Professor 2009- 2013 Kanazawa University
JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow 2008- 2009
COE Research Fellow 2005- 2007 Kyoto University

Reception of JSPS Grant-in-Aid
・Principal Investigator
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) 2017 - 2021
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) 2013 - 2016
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) 2010 - 2013
Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows 2008
・Co-researcher
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) 2011 - 2013
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) 2010 - 2012
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) 2010 - 2012
・Co-Investigator
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) 2007 - 2009
人間・環境学研究科パンフレット 総合人間学部パンフレット
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