Imperial Manhood: Masculinity in US Diplomatic Relations to Germany and Japan in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

• Applicant: Dr. Maximilian Klose
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 542744805

The aim of the project is to bring discourses and practices of masculinity into the focus of the history of imperial diplomacy. To this end, the project examines U.S. diplomatic relations with Germany and Japan from the 1880s to 1914 – a period in which all three countries emerged as economic centers with colonial ambitions. Heads of state, diplomats, and military decision makers in all three countries justified their new presence on the world stage through rhetoric and actions that suggest a conscious engagement with ideals of masculinity. These were characterized by increasing globalization and knowledge circulation, colonial acculturation processes, and the popularization of Social Darwinist theories. All three countries underpinned these claims through colonial expansion and the disenfranchisement of local populations through both racist and emasculating arguments. Increasingly, this also led to conflicts of interest among the three parties, some of which found peaceful solutions, but some of which were driven to the brink of escalation precisely by aggressive masculinist rhetoric. It was this nexus of gender, power, and expansion that shaped understandings of sovereignty and legitimacy in interimperial diplomacy and that found expression in colonial rule. The focus is on individual diplomatic actors (heads of state, U.S. diplomats in Germany/Japan and vice versa), their self-perceptions and ideas of masculinity, their display in diplomacy, and the respective reactions of their counterparts. The project will examine how ideas of masculinity affected U.S. relations with Germany and Japan, what commonalities and differences of gendered ideas existed, and what consequences these had. In addition, the project will analyze how ideas of masculinity in all three countries were shaped and changed through diplomatic knowledge transfer. The interrelationship of diplomacy and masculinity will illustrate that international relations did not only depend on state political interests such as economic goals and geostrategic considerations. Of underestimated importance were also the personalities of individual actors, their understanding of themselves and others, and the social factors that shaped this self-image. Personality and interaction with diplomatic counterparts were important factors in the development of U.S. relations with Germany and Japan.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants