PhD Thesis
Title: The Bubble Generation: The Liberalization of Japan
PhD Supervisor & 2nd Reader: Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou and Jussi Hanhimäki
Expected completion date: 2023
Profile
Kai Habel's PhD thesis, titled "The Bubble Generation: The Liberalization of Japan", focuses on Japanese contemporary history and more specifically on the great movement of economic, social, and cultural liberalization that developed during the 1980s, and eventually led to the emergence of a generation of citizens that would be labeled as the baburu-sedai, or "Bubble Generation". Kai Habel has always been interesting in Japanese history: his bachelor research project explored the influence of the Bank of Japan on the country's foreign economic policy between 1945 and 1985, and his master's thesis delved into Japanese nationalisms since the 1990s. As a research assistant, Kai Habel writes a second thesis titled "The Neutral and Non-aligned Countries and the CSCE Meeting in Vienna (1986-1989)", which is part of a larger research project between the University of Hildesheim, the University of Innsbruck, the Institut für Zeitgeschichte, and the Graduate Institute of Geneva.
Research Interests
- Japanese History
- Liberalism
- Nationalism
- Cold War
- Neutrality
- Diplomatic History
- Cultural History
Academic Work Experience
Research Experience
Research Assistant at the Graduate Institute Geneva (2020-2022)
Fellowships, Grants and Awards
The Graduate Institute Scholarship (2019)