Russia and Japan have yet to reconcile when it comes to the islands in the Pacific. Professor Akaha gives us his take on the relations between these two nations in the aftermath of the Cold War. Then, in the second half of the episode, Dr. Smeltz from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs explains her findings from surveys that reveal Russians still approve of Putin's foreign policy and also the increased negativity of Americans towards Russians post-Crimean annexation.

ABOUT THE GUESTS
Tsuneo Akaha
Professor Akaha currently teaches at Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS). He is a native of Japan and first came to the U.S. as a high school exchange student. After graduating from Waseda University in Tokyo, he returned to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies at the University of Southern California (USC) and received his PhD in International Relations in 1981. Before joining the Institute in 1989 he had taught at USC, Kansas State University, and Bowling Green State University (Ohio). He teaches courses on human security, international migration, multiculturalism, East Asia, and Russia-East Asia Relations. He has authored or edited 11 books and authored over 100 journal articles and book chapters on topics ranging from human security and migration in East Asia to Japan’s relations with the U.S., Russia, China, and Korea. His co-edited book The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Balancing Soft and Hard Power in East Asia received an Ohira Memorial Award Special Prize.

Dina Smeltz
With 25 years of experience designing and fielding international social and political surveys, Dina Smeltz joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs as senior fellow on public opinion and foreign policy in 2012. She oversees the Council’s well-known annual survey of American attitudes toward foreign policy and has authored and coauthored many of the analyses based on that work. She also directs the Council’s collaboration with Russian, Mexican, Canadian, Australian, and East Asian research organizations. Smeltz has published commentary on public opinion and international issues in The Washington Post, RealClearWorld, Foreign Policy, and the Council’s survey blog (Running Numbers). Smeltz has an MA from the University of Michigan and a BS from Pennsylvania State University.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Episode recorded during the 2019 ASEEES Conference in San Francisco, California.

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CREDITS
Co-Producer: Tom Rehnquist (Connect: facebook.com/thomas.rehnquist)
Co-Producer: Matthew Orr (Connect: facebook.com/orrrmatthew)
Associate Producer: Samantha Farmer
Associate Producer: Lera Toropin
Associate Producer: Cullan Bendig

Supervising Producer: Kathryn Yegorov-Crate

Executive Editor/Music Producer: Charlie Harper (Connect: facebook.com/charlie.harper.1485 Instagram: @charlieharpermusic, www.charlieharpermusic.com)

Executive Producer & Creator: Michelle Daniel (Connect: facebook.com/mdanielgeraci Instagram: @michelledaniel86, www.msdaniel.com)

Follow The Slavic Connexion on Instagram: @slavxradio, Twitter: @SlavXRadio, and on Facebook: facebook.com/slavxradio . Visit www.slavxradio.com for more episodes and information.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER'S NOTE: A special thanks to the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies for the financial support necessary to take the SlavX team to San Francisco for the multi-day convention. In just a few days, four hosts completed an amazing 18 interviews with unique guests from all over the world. Most of these will be made available on the podcast. Thank you also to the conference directors and staff at ASEEES for being so accommodating and helping SlavX staff find rooms to use as recording spaces. Additional thanks to Professor Craig Campbell at UT for inspiring our supervising producer with the idea to attend the conference and to SlavX team members Katya and Samantha for taking the trouble to apply for travel funds during the busiest time of the semester for grad students. Their initiative is nothing short of amazing to me, and hopefully everybody appreciates their efforts as much as I do. We hope you all enjoy these exclusive interviews!!

Disclaimer: The Slavic Connexion is not in any way affiliated with or supported by ASEEES and does not represent the association or otherwise explicitly endorse ASEEES' values or views.

Special Guests: Dina Smeltz and Tsuneo Akaha.