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international international
Interview with
Lionel P.
Fatton
Assistant Professor of
International Relations and
Outreach Coordinator to the
United Nations and NGO as
Webster Geneva Campus
You are an assistant professor of international organize conferences and activities related to
relations and outreach coordinator to the International Geneva in order to expose my
United Nations and NGOs at Webster Geneva students to the practice of international politics
Campus. Could you please tell our readers and diplomacy.
about what you do?
The two most important aspects of my job are Your research interests include international
research and teaching. Regarding the former, and security dynamics in East and Southeast
I specialize in security dynamics and military Asia, China-Japan-U.S. relations, Japan’s
affairs in the Indo-Pacific region. In this regard, security policy, civil-military relations and
I am also a research collaborator at Meiji neoclassical realism. Nowadays most of the
University in Tokyo. I have recently published attention is around Ukraine or Gaza, as if
a book titled Japan’s Rush to the Pacific War, China/Japan/Taiwan are on the margins.
which explores the dysfunctions in Japanese Do you think that these latter are ‘sleeping’
civil-military relations that led the country potential sources of conflicts/crises? How do
to adopt an increasingly aggressive foreign you see the development in this part of the
security policy during the 1930s. My current world?
research projects include an analysis of Japan’s Well, the focus on Ukraine and Gaza is,
growing involvement in the Taiwan Strait’s understandably, particularly strong in Europe and
security dynamics and a comparative study of the Middle East. This is less so in other regions.
Germany and Japan’s reactions to the war in I recently travelled to the United States and,
Ukraine. As for teaching, I mostly lecture on exchanging with government officials, it appears
international relations and political science, in clearly that China remains at the center of their
addition to courses on research methods. Apart attention. Not only is China the second largest
from these research and teaching activities, I economy and military power in the world, it is
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also increasingly assertive in its periphery. The “but I was doing something that I
situation is tense in East, Southeast and South
Asia, China having active territorial disputes loved, namely academic research.
with India, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan and and when it comes to love, we
others. Add to this the crystallization of the Sino-
American tensions over Taiwan, a more active don’t count.”
Russia in the region and a growingly provocative
North Korea, and you get the region with the
highest potential for great power conflicts in the
world. Things are changing extremely rapidly in
Asia, and if history has taught us something, it is
that periods of flux are particularly destabilizing
in international politics. diplomats and journalists to this day. Lastly, I
You were working as a journalist for Kyodo realized how important qualitative journalism
is for citizens, particularly in an era filled with
news, and at the same time you were working on misinformation and disinformation. Journalism
your PhD. How did you manage to conciliate it
is a very demanding activity that does not get
all, in addition to your family life? the recognition it deserves. It is crucial for our
Looking back at this period of my life, I do
societies. This is the reason why I hold journalists
not really know how I managed to deal with in high esteem.
all the constraints. I was working in Geneva,
pursuing a PhD at Sciences Po Paris, and my You have observed International Geneva
two daughters were born while I was striving to closely for many years. How would you describe
find an equilibrium between these two activities. it to somebody who has never experienced it
and knows very little – if anything – about it?
The incredible support I received from my wife
was essential. I would not have made it without International Geneva is a unique ecosystem,
her. Also, I think the keys were stamina and although it is difficult to delineate it precisely.
organization. The time I could dedicate to my
International civil servants, diplomats, journalists
different endeavors was so limited that I had no who cover international news, academics
choice but to boost my productivity. I got my are part of it, of course, but some bankers,
PhD in four years and with the highest honors, scientists, private companies, local politicians,
while a friend of mine who had more time for philanthropic organizations and so on should
her research finished the program in seven years. also be included. International Geneva, given
Needless to say, my average sleeping hours were its importance in world politics, is a particularly
ridiculously low. But I was doing something that interesting laboratory to better understand
I loved, namely academic research. And when it international trends. Power competition also
comes to love, we don’t count. plays out in Geneva, with countries promoting
their values, norms and narratives and trying
What did journalism give to you on a personal to control the international agenda as well
level? as international organizations themselves.
I have always possessed an academic mind, International Geneva is also a fascinating world of
seeking to understand problems and puzzles in paradoxes. It is heterogeneous and multicultural
their entirety and complexity. This is one of the while forming a relatively coherent grouping of
main reasons why I decided to leave journalism people and organizations. It is both bureaucratic
at some point, news coverage being often too and dynamic. And it is open in some regards,
superficial, frustrating me. But journalism has but secret in others. Diplomacy sometimes takes
helped me get closer to the practitioners in my place under the spotlight, but most often unfolds
domain, namely international politics. It has behind closed doors. Last paradox, Geneva
forced me to go out of the library, to see the International is both boring and full of surprises.
real world and to better capture the importance You can witness two ambassadors trading barbs
of human agency in politics. Meeting so many at a session of the Human Rights Council in the
interesting and brilliant people has been a very morning, and see the same two persons talking
enriching experience, and I am delighted that I to each other around a glass of champagne in the
was able to maintain terrific relations with many evening.
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