Japan's Multilayered Democracy
Contributions by Lionel Babicz, Wered Ben-Sade, Michal Daliot-Bul, Eyal Ben-Ari, Ofer Feldman, Sigal Ben-Rafael Galanti, Ayala Klemperer-Markman, Alon Levkowitz, Nissim Otmazgin, Kurt Radtke, Ben-Ami Shillony, J. A. A. Stockwin, Kiichi Tachibana Edited by Sigal Ben-Rafael Galanti, Nissim Otmazgin, Alon Levkowitz
Not available to order
Publication date:
24 December 2014Length of book:
264 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksISBN-13: 9781498502238
This book introduces a multilayered approach to the study of democracy, combining specific knowledge of Japan with theoretical insights from the literature on democratization. It examines different aspects of Japanese democracy—historical, institutional, and sociocultural—to provide a conscious understanding of the nature and practice of democracy, both in Japan and beyond. The book's chapters give testimony to the dynamic nature and continuity of Japanese democracy and analyze its strengths and weaknesses.
The central argument of this book is that Japan’s democratization should be seen as a multilayered experience shaped by the gradual process of absorbing democratic ideas, forming democratic institutions, and practicing democratic behaviors and rituals at various levels of society. As the case of Japan shows, democracy is neither a structured formula nor only a set of democratic laws and institutions, but a continuous, gradual process.
The central argument of this book is that Japan’s democratization should be seen as a multilayered experience shaped by the gradual process of absorbing democratic ideas, forming democratic institutions, and practicing democratic behaviors and rituals at various levels of society. As the case of Japan shows, democracy is neither a structured formula nor only a set of democratic laws and institutions, but a continuous, gradual process.
Japan can claim one of the oldest parliamentary systems in the non-Western world, yet democracy proved fragile in the prewar era and less than robust in the decades since 1945. Written from a variety of perspectives, these essays probe the measure, problems, and promise of democracy in modern Japan.