Paul Midford

PhD. Professor of Political Science

Paul Midford has a Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University (2001). He was a Monbusho scholar at Aoyama Gakuin University during 1992-1994, and has worked at the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS) and the National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA), all in Tokyo, Japan. Midford taught international and comparative politics at Japanese universities for more than seven years, including Kanazawa University, Hokuriku University and Kwansei Gakuin University. In total, he spent over ten years teaching and conducting research in Japan. Midford’s research focuses on East Asian regional international politics and security, Japanese foreign policy, and especially Japanese defense policy. Besides teaching Japanese politics, his recent research focuses on how Japanese public opinion and political parties are influencing Japan’s evolving security strategy.