Making an Exhibition of Yourself

Abstract

This chapter argues that the negotiated nature of relationships can expose the tensions both between and within collaborating organizations. Even the position of power held by the US army as an occupation force did not remove the need to collaborate with local organizations. As a result, there was a limit to what US officials could assert, or the “cathedrals” they could build.1 After 1945, US officials had the opportunity to build collaborative relationships with numerous interested groups. There were individuals able to span the boundaries between the different communities, but US government officials often reverted to a hierarchical interpretation of their relationship. This led them to rely on assertion and, at times, coercion rather than engage in genuine collaboration, 2 despite the communication dynamic emphasizing a need for negotiation.