Wealth and power without a strong military? The four postwar periods of modern East Asia

Abstract

This chapter presents a macro-comparative analysis of the structural changes that the four major wars in modern East Asia (Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War, World War I, and Sino-Japanese War) caused in the domestic politics of Japan, China, and Korea from the perspective of the regime transformation effects of the wars. Simply put, the wars brought about a phenomenon of simultaneous “democratization” and “militarization” in each country. The slogan of the Taisho Democracy, “Constitutionalism inside, and imperialism outside,” is one of the expressions of this phenomenon. After World War I and the Sino-Japanese War, however, Japan underwent democratization without militarization (military expansion). Moreover, war defined the quality of postwar democracy by accelerating economic and social equality. The wars contributed significantly to democratization by drastically changing the quality of social organization.