Jison Jiei: Offensive Realism and Imperial Japan's Spiral toward Regional Hegemony

Author

• John William Dodd, Chapman UniversityFollow

Date of Award

Summer 8-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

War, Diplomacy and Society

First Advisor

Dr. Kyle Longley

Second Advisor

Dr. Mateo Jarquin

Third Advisor

Dr. Minju Kwon

Abstract

This thesis examines Imperial Japan’s march from the Mukden Incident of 1931 to the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 through the lens of offensive realism. It asks to what extent Japan’s prewar grand strategy can be understood as a bid for regional hegemony, and what that interpretation reveals about the relationship between power politics, international law, and future great-power crises. Rather than treating Japanese expansion as irrational madness or reducing it only to ideology or militarism, this thesis argues that Japanese leaders acted according to a recognizable strategic logic.

Proceeding from theory to historical analysis, this project first situates offensive realism within the broader historiography. It then examines Japan’s seizure of Manchuria, the Second Sino-Japanese War, the southward advance towards Southeast Asia, and finally Pearl Harbor. Across these episodes, Japan repeatedly sought security through territorial expansion. Each move intensified the pressures it meant to solve.

This thesis does not excuse Japan’s aggression, treaty violations, or wartime atrocities. Imperial Japan’s tragedy was that its leaders pursued security through expansion and thereby created the conditions for national disaster. The case demonstrates the explanatory power and danger of offensive realist logic: in a competitive international system, states may rationally choose policies which appear immoral or illegal to ensure national salvation.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Dodd, J. WIlliam "Jison Jiei: Offensive Realism and Imperial Japan’s Spiral toward Regional Hegemony." Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2026. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000766