Building a New Kind of Alliance: The United States, Japan, and the Cold War, 1950--1961

This dissertation examines the transformation of the U.S.-Japanese relationship in the 1950s, from occupation to the establishment of an active alliance. In contrast to traditional arguments that describe this relationship as a mere continuation of the U.S. occupation of Japan, and therefore structured by U.S. hegemony and Japanese subservience, this dissertation frames the post-occupation U.S.-Japanese relationship as the product of dynamic negotiations between two societies. In particular, it examines Japanese public activism as a key force shaping this alliance. It uses U.S. and Japanese government documents, material from Japanese socio-political groups, and newspaper and magazine articles to examine the interests, influences, and priorities held by the government and the public in both states.;This dissertation makes three key arguments. First, it examines U.S. policymakers' belief that U.S. security depended on active Japanese participation in the U.S.-Japanese relationship. The Japanese public was therefore fundamental to U.S. conceptions of the U.S.-Japanese alliance and U.S. security goals in Japan and Asia. Second, it argues that the U.S.-Japanese relationship became a central site for the Japanese people to contest Japan's postwar democracy. This created a vital connection between the U.S.-Japanese alliance and Japanese democratic activism that altered government policymaking and increased Japanese influence on the U.S.-Japanese relationship throughout the 1950s. Third, this dissertation emphasizes the diverse impact of the Cold War. U.S. policies such as the rearmament of Japan, the establishment of U.S. military bases, and the construction of a close U.S.-Japanese security alliance fostered new cooperation between the U.S. and Japanese governments but also sparked public activism and opposition. These opposing outcomes were a source of constant tension. Culminating in the 1960 protests against the U.S.-Japanese security treaty, this tension ultimately led U.S. policymakers to forsake their focus on Cold War security and instead emphasize economic and cultural exchange as the foundations of an effective U.S.-Japanese alliance. This dissertation therefore argues that multilayered interactions between Cold War policymaking, international negotiations, and socio-political mobilizations shaped the U.S.-Japanese relationship in the 1950s and beyond.