Masataka Kosaka (1934–1996) was a Japanese scholar of international relations. After graduating from Kyoto University’s Faculty of Law and studying at Harvard University, he became a professor at Kyoto University in 1971. Although grounded in political realism and attentive to power among states, he resisted reducing international politics to military force alone, examining the roles of economic exchange, diplomacy, and international institutions in maintaining peace. He also advised successive Japanese governments on foreign policy and received the Yoshino Sakuzo Prize for his study of classical diplomacy. In “Kokusai Seiji: Kyofu to Kibo” (“International Politics: Fear and Hope”), he assesses the possibilities and limits of disarmament, economic interdependence, and international organizations while considering how war might be restrained in a world divided by national interests and ideologies.
