Jessamyn R. Abel. The International Minimum: Creativity and Contradiction in Japan’s Global Engagement, 1933–1964.

Abstract

Many questions remain about mid-twentieth-century internationalism. What was the relationship between internationalism and national and imperial interests before World War II? What happened to internationalist thinking during the war? Finally, how did the system redevelop internationalist structures so quickly and effectively in the postwar period? Jessamyn R. Abel’s The International Minimum: Creativity and Contradiction in Japan’s Global Engagement, 1933–1964 seeks to answer these questions and to reframe Japanese internationalism away from the notion that it was a weak afterthought, toward the idea that it shaped Japanese history as a major continuity over the prewar, wartime, and postwar periods. To do this, Abel must successfully redefine internationalism and navigate the dangerous shoals of Japanese nationalism. The result is an intriguing big-idea book; but it is also an uneven study. The volume has many strengths: a spotlight on previously neglected Japanese internationalism, an interesting focus on Japan’s role in the League of Nations and the country’s Olympic bids, and an excellent section on the concept of a Greater Asian Community. At the same time, the book’s flaws include a definitional conundrum, organizational issues, interpretive difficulties, and sometimes too little evidence.