Finance, diplomacy and development: A study of Brazilian-Japanese relations in the twentieth century

This dissertation entails finance, development, and international relations. It is a case study of Brazilian-Japanese diplomacy in the twentieth century. The guiding research questions of this study are, What is the content of this relationship? and In what ways has this engagement affected the course of Brazilian development? The scope of this research encompasses an inquiry into (a) the archeology of' developmental thinking, especially as it relates to order, expansionism, and anti-democracy; (b) early Japanese-Brazilian diplomacy and the role of migration; (c) Japanese financial engagement within the framework of political instability and military repression; and (d) Japan's increasing dominance in global finance and its relationship to development in Brazil. This dissertation aims to enrich the history of Brazilian-Japanese diplomacy by investigating not only the patterns of Japanese financialism and its political implications for Brazil, but also how Brazil assimilates, cooperates with, and challenges these dynamics.; An investigation into the archeology of development reveals that its very foundation rests on a contested terrain, and largely on Western terms about capitalist growth and human progress. The discourse of development is further encumbered by a genealogy that has established order and the need to secure finance as a priori. Japan's aggressive growth policy relies heavily on stability within the countries in which Japanese companies and finance make their homes. In the early years, Japanese pre-war commercial relations and diplomatic success in Brazil were established as a result of the expulsion of families and communities that were considered undesirable. Again, it was the stability of the infrastructure established in the pre-war years that sustained Japanese-Brazilian post-war diplomacy, and not the purported ideals of a post-war "democratic Japan." Between 1964 and 1985, Japanese-Brazilian relations intensified during one of Brazil's most repressive eras.; This dissertation casts doubt on the idea of a non-ideological Japanese foreign policy, and questions the moral certitude of development goals. It is concluded that diplomacy between Japan and Brazil was tainted by the blind pursuit of growth and security. Moreover, foreign policy took shape as a series of responses to domestic needs such as a docile labor force and a de-politicized mass. Finally, it is established that, in the twentieth century, first industry then finance gradually replaced people as the common currency in Brazilian-Japanese diplomacy.