The focal point of Victor Koschmann's research is the nexus between political thought and action, primarily but not exclusively in twentieth-century Japan.  In his most recent work, he has explored new perspectives on thought and action during Japan’s war years (1931-45), in the context of such themes as pan-Asianism, the discourse on economic ethics, colonialism, and left-wing movements. He continues to be interested in the rise and decline of citizens’ and other new social movements in postwar Japan and elsewhere, especially in relation to the rise of neoliberalism; the history of Marxism; and the dynamics of empire.