Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

See the Conversations with History Blog See a webcast of this interview: Johnson (2007) Hear a podcast of this interview: Johnson (2007) See also the 2004 interview with Johnson, "Militarism and the American Empire"

This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.

Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our guest today is Chalmers Johnson, who is president of the Japan Policy Research Institute, a nonprofit research and public affairs organization devoted to public education concerning Japan and international relations in the Pacific. He taught for thirty years, 1962 to 1992, at the Berkeley and San Diego campuses of the University of California and held endowed chairs in Asian politics at both of them. His most recent books, a trilogy, focus on the American empire. They are Blowback, The Sorrows of Empire, and now his new book, Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic.

1. Nemesis ... Greek goddess ... democracy and empire don't mix ... the Roman vs. British results ... CIA activity in the US ... words of warning from George Washington ... and from Eisenhower ... militarism's relationship to domestic tyranny
2. Historical Analysis of Growing Militarism ... subtle imperialism in the Clinton years ... opening up the intellectual territory for younger scholars ... mis-analysis of the end of the Cold War ... the immediate search for a new enemy ... juggernaut of military-industrial complex ... "military Keynesianism"
3. 737 Military Bases and Counting ... our form of empire ... the case of Okinawa ... soldiers not accountable to law ... foreign opposition ... self-delusion and economic incentives for Americans ... deceit
4. Why They Hate Us ... many legitimate grievances against the US ... bin Laden - Bush coziness ... earlier al Qaeda attacks ... legitimate Arab grievances ... US behavior contrary to American values ... military's inability to promote democracy ... stupidity of the Bush administration ... "desk murderers" without a conscience ... Abu Ghraib ... the "six morons" -- starting with the president ... pessimism
5. Rendition ... CIA abduction for foreign-based torture ... plane-spotters discover US role ... the Italian job
6. Sorrows of Empire ... seeking hope ... secrecy of the presidency ... failure of checks and balances ... failure of Congress ... the military-industrial complex and the CIA ... democracy off the table ... militarism embedded in the economy ... bad and good scenarios for the future ... indebtedness to China and Japan ... Blanche DuBois economy ... overstretch of empire ... preparing a getaway

© Copyright 2007, Regents of the University of California

Site questions: Email iis_webmgr at berkeley.edu.