Date of Award
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Harvey, David
Keywords
Imperial Germany, Meiji Japan, Sonderweg
Area of Concentration
History
Abstract
The authoritarian modernization thesis states that Germany during the nineteenth century followed a uniquely anti-democratic path to modernity, positing that while Germany became a modern state economically, itfailed to develop along the expected modern liberal democratic lines politically. The Kaiserreich, dominated by the Prussian military establishment, is said to have suppressed the rights of its citizens and enacted dictatorial policies that would never have been made law in liberal democracies like Great Britain or the United States. This authoritarianism that defined the Second Reich is said to have directly led to the horrors of Nazism. Similarly, Japan is said to have failed to develop smoothly into a British/American style liberal democracy. Its citizens are said to have been largely disenfranchised and the military supposedly exerted undue influence of the civilian political sphere. This thesis attempts to argue against the intensity of these claims. Though Japan and Germany during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were by no means ideal liberal democracies, they were not entirely authoritarian either. Both Imperial Germany and Meiji Japan possessed a number of democratic features that dispute the authoritarian modernization thesis. Though these ultimately were fairly militaristic states that at times employed harsh anti-democratic tactics on their citizens, this thesis argues that Germany and Japan were not incredibly distinct from Britain, France, and the United States in how they actually behaved domestically and on the world stage.
Recommended Citation
Schmitt, Eric, "Alternate Paths to Modernity: The Second Reich and Meiji Japan" (2013). Theses & ETDs. 6833.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/6833
Rights
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