Who we are

JAGR was created to facilitate and support a series of regular academic gatherings where scholars from a variety of disciplines can gather to discuss issues of geopolitical importance. While our primary focus is the field of international relations, we seek to promote a truly interdisciplinary perspective and welcome contributions from, and the participation of, academics and researchers from all fields.

Academic events can, at times, be a little impersonal and lack opportunities for participants to build connections and engage in discussions outside the formal presentation of papers. Our events aim to provide a more informal venue for such interaction to take place before, during, and after the presentations themselves.

We are interested not only in new and original research but in the reframing of contributions from notable authors and scholars from the past in ways that might help apply their wisdom to current issues. Our primary focus, therefore, is not the uniqueness of research in terms of raw data, but the insight it contains and the insight it offers on the problems facing contemporary society.

Constitution

Article 1: (Name)
This association’s name is Japan Association for Geopolitical Research, hereinafter JAGR.

Article 2: (Objectives)
JAGR is a community for scholars seeking to explore interdisciplinary, dissenting analyses of issues in the political and social spheres.

Article 3: (Activities)
JAGR conducts the following activities to achieve the goal specified in the previous article.
-Annual meetings
-International conferences
-Publications of journals and conference proceedings
-Related activities to achieve the association’s goal

Article 4 (Location)
This association is located at 67 Tsukamoto-cho, Fukakusa, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto 612-8577, JAPAN

Article 5 (Membership)
Any individual who is interested in the objectives of Article 2 can be a member.
This association’s memberships are regular membership and corporate membership.

Article 6 (Membership Fee and Accounting)
Members should pay the membership fee. Membership costs $100 ($80 for students).
Changes in the amount are determined by annual meetings.
This association’s fiscal year begins in April 1 and ends March 31 of the following year.

Article 7 (Board Members)
JAGR is run and managed by an Executive Board. At its establishment, the association had three member of the Executive Board. Executive Board members can be changed by mutual consent.
This constitution shall be effective from April 1, 2025.

Executive Committee and Editorial Board

Gavan Patrick Gray (Tsuda University) <gray@tsuda.ac.jp>

Gavan Patrick Gray is a Professor at Tsuda University’s College of Policy Studies in Tokyo. He has a Ph.D in International Relations and undergraduate degrees in International Security and Counter-Terrorism. Past research included grants from Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences to study policy responses to gender violence in Japan and other states (results appearing in ‘Gender Violence, the Law, and Society’ by Emerald Publishing). His current research focuses on political communication, propaganda, disinformation, and censorship.

Julian Pigott (Ryukoku University) <pigott@world.ryukoku.ac.jp>

Julian Pigott is Associate Professor in the Faculty of International Studies, Department of Global Studies, at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. He teaches courses in language acquisition theory, applied linguistics, the psychology of language learning, communication theory, and research methods to graduate and undergraduate students. He gained his MA in applied linguistics from the University of Birmingham in 2008, and his Ph.D. (also applied linguistics) from the University of Warwick in 2016. He is currently pursuing research within disparate fields on education policy, the new media, and political discourse.

Patrick Strefford (Kyoto Sangyo University) <pstrefford@cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp>

Patrick Strefford is Professor of International Relations at Kyoto Sangyo University, where he teaches courses on International Relations, International Development and the Theory of Knowledge. His research focuses on Myanmar’s foreign relations, particularly aid donors’ policies and practices towards Myanmar, focusing especially on that of Japan’s. He is a co-editor of an upcoming volume on Myanmar’s transition. In 2013, he was awarded a Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences grant to support research into international aid to support the transition in Myanmar. He was the Principal Researcher, focusing on donor assistance to capacity building in the public sector.

Editorial Committee

Gavan Patrick Gray (Tsuda University)
Justin Harris (Kindai University)
Paul Jackanich (University of Montreal)
Sean McCollum (Doshisha International Junior and Senior High School)
Julian Pigott (Ryukoku University)
Rachael Rudolph (Bryant University)
Patrick Strefford (Kyoto Sangyo University)