Susan J. Pharr (born March 16, 1944) is an academic in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, a

Japanologist , sometimes known as Japanology in Europe, is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese language, History of Japan, history, ...

, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics, director of the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, and involved in the program on U.S.-Japan Relations at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

.Harvard, Arts & Sciences
Faculty bio.
/ref> Her current research focuses on the changing nature of relations between citizens and states in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and on the forces that shape

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies
Institute bio.
/ref> In the spring of 2008, the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese government acknowledged Pharr's life's work by conferring the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, which represents the third highest of eight classes associated with this award. Accompanying the badge of the order was a certificate explaining the award as recognition of the extent to which Pharr has "contributed to promoting intellectual exchange between Japan and the United States of America, and to guiding and nurturing young Japanologists."

Education and academic life

Susan Pharr received her B.A. (1966) with high honors from

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

. In 1966–67, she was a

Woodrow Wilson Fellow The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit institution based in Princeton, New Jersey that says it aims to strengthen American democracy by "cultivating ...

. She earned her M.A. (1970) and Ph.D. (1975) in political science from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where she specialized in

comparative politics Comparative politics is a field in political science characterized either by the use of the '' comparative method'' or other empirical methods to explore politics both within and between countries. Substantively, this can include questions relat ...

with a focus on

.Harvard, Arts & Sciences
Faculty curriculum vitae.
/ref> Her interest in Japan was largely a matter of happenstance. As a first-year graduate student looking for recreation and a few self-defense skills for the streets of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, she signed up for a

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

class that turned out to be made up almost entirely of Japanese black belts who were fellow Columbia students. Talking with her judo classmates and venturing in their company for

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

piqued her interest sufficiently to spur her to take courses on Japanese society and

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

with James William Morley, Herbert Passin, and, later on, Gerald Curtis. In an intellectual world that was galvanized by the question of what made countries succeed or fail politically and economically, she found the study of Meiji Japan riveting and soon made Japan the center of her doctoral work in comparative politics. While completing her dissertation, she launched her career at the

Social Science Research Council The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it maintains a headqua ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, where from 1974 to 1976 she served as staff associate for its Japan Committee, a post later held, coincidentally, by her Reischauer Institute colleague Theodore C. Bestor. In 1977 she became an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

and was promoted to

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in 1980. On leave from Wisconsin, she spent a year in the Agency for International Development, where she was assigned responsibility for improving U.S.-Japan aid coordination in 1983. Two years later between 1985 and 1987, she served as Japan Chair at the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

(CSIS) in

Washington, D.C Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

. Pharr joined the Harvard faculty in 1987. She has served as director of Harvard's Program on U.S.-Japan Relations since 1987 and became Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics in 1991. From 1992 to 1995 she served as chair of the Government Department. In 1995–96, she held the Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Studies. In 1996–98, she was as associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She has been the director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies since 2004 through the present. As an active participant in university life at Harvard, Pharr is on the steering committee of the Asia Center and on the executive committee of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. She serves on the faculty advisory committee for the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, and is a member of the University Committee on the Environment and the University Committee on the Status of Women. She is also a senior scholar of the Harvard Academy of International and

Area Studies Area studies, also known as regional studies, is an interdisciplinary field of research and scholarship pertaining to particular geographical, national/ federal, or cultural regions. The term exists primarily as a general description for what a ...

. The impact of any one faculty member is hard to measure in a large multi-faceted institution like Harvard; and yet her name does crop up in a range of contexts. For example, when students proposed creating a student-run magazine about Japan, Pharr agreed to be a faculty advisor. As one of only 41 female tenured professors in the early 1990s, she acknowledged that "in many ways Harvard is very much a male institution," which makes her role in the university's Committee on Women all the more significant. Pharr is a member of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

and has been a fellow or visiting research scholar at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

, the

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) or Wilson Center is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topi ...

, the East West Center,

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese language, Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private List of Jesuit educational institutions, Jesuit research university in Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1913 by ...

and

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

Honors

* Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, 2008.

Fellowships and grants

* 1986-87—Principal Investigator for grants from the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, U.S. Agency for International Development and Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission for international project on "Japan and the U.S. in Third World Development." * 1986-88—Principal Investigator, grant from the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission through the Social Science Research Council for bi-national project on "Media and Politics in Japan in Comparative Perspective." * 1990-96—Principal Investigator for grant to the Harvard Program on U.S.-Japan Relations from Akiyama Aiseikan Corporation for research on "Japan and the Third World." * 1994-97—Grant from the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation for project on "Yen for the Earth: Japan's China Environment Initiative." * 1995-97—Co-principal investigator for grant from the

Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as the Mellon Foundation, is a New York City-based private foundation with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969 merger ...

on "The Performance of Democracies." * 1996—Fellow of the Abe Fellowship Program,

, for project on "Political Ethics and Public Trust in Japan, Italy, and the United States." * 1996-98—Co-principal investigator for grant from the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

for a binational Japan-U.S. project on "Japan's Political Reform: Electoral Institution Change and Political Culture." * 1996-99—Member, steering committee, for project on "Social Capital, Democracy, and Public Affairs," administered by the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

and funded by grants from the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

, and the Carnegie Foundation. * 1997-98—Invitee to the Rockefeller Study Center, Bellagio, Italy, as co-organizer (with

Robert D. Putnam Robert David Putnam (born January 9, 1941) is an American political scientist specializing in comparative politics. He is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. ...

) of a conference, June 29-July 3, 1998, on "Public Trust and Governance in the Trilateral Democracies." * 1999 -- (Summer) Posco Fellow, Research Program, East-West Center. * 2000-02—Principal investigator, Grants from the U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission and the Center for Global Partnership for a project on "Civil Society in Japan," the first stage of a three-year project joint with the

East-West Center East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

, and in cooperation with

, on "Civil Society in the Asia-Pacific."

Selected works

Much of Pharr's research has explored the social basis for democracy in Japan. Her research interests include comparative political behavior; comparative politics of industrialized nations;

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...

and political development in Japan and Asia; civil society and nonprofit organizations;

political ethics Political ethics (also known as political morality or public ethics) is the practice of making moral judgments about political action and political agents. It covers two areas: the ethics of process (or the ethics of office), which covers public off ...

and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

; environmental politics; the role of the media in politics; U.S.-Japan relations; Japanese politics; and

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

. In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Susan Pharr,

OCLC OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

encompasses roughly 10+ works in 50+ publications in 4 languages and 3,000+ library holdings. WorldCat Identities Pharr, Susan J.
/ref>
''Political Women in Japan''
(1981) ** ''Nihon no josei katsudo-ka'' (1989)
''Losing Face: Status Politics in Japan''
(1990)
''Media and Politics in Japan''
(1996), with Ellis S. Krauss
''Disaffected Democracies: What's Troubling Democracies?''
(2000), with Robert D. Putnam
''The State of Civil Society in Japan''
(2003), with Frank J. Schwartz

Education and academic life

Honors

Fellowships and grants

Selected works

References

Further reading

See also