The Making Of US Military Empire In East Asia Since

Today, more the two decades after the Cold War ended, U.S. military bases encircle the globe. In East Asia, the U.S. military operates numerous large bases in South Korea and Japan, while smaller bases exist in the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Cambodia. The construction and operation of these bases have brought American soldiers into close, even intimate contact with soldiers and civilians around the region. They bring U.S. power and American culture to the far reaches of the earth, but they also displace local populations and provoke widespread antipathy toward the United States. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature from the fields of history, anthropology, political science, and sociology, we will examine the history of the U.S. military presence in East Asia from the end of the Second World War to the present. Over the course of the semester we will attempt to answer several questions: (1) Have the security benefits and other positive facets of the U.S. military presence in East Asia outweighed the array of ills it has caused? (2) Does the U.S. military presence in Asia constitute an empire? If so, what are its characteristics and how have they changed over time? (3) How has the U.S. presence affected host community economies, environments, cultures, and politics? (4) Why have sexual relations between American servicemen and local women been such an enduring source of trouble? (5) How has this military presence changed over time and from country to country? (6) In comparison to the U.S. military presence in Western Europe, Central America, and within the United States itself, what, if anything, is unique about the East Asian experience?