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Zusatztext "This book is a major contribution to the comparative literature on hybrid regimes and to the historical literature on pre-war Japanese politics. Takenaka shows how political leaders' bumbling policy performance and narrow pursuit of short term advantage exacerbated the dilemma of institutionally weak party government and a strong and increasingly politicized and ambitious military. This is a fascinating and important work of political history." Informationen zum Autor Harukata Takenaka is a Professor, at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo, Japan. Klappentext Failed Democratization in Prewar Japan presents a compelling case study on change in political regimes through its exploration of Japan's transition to democracy. Within a broad-ranging examination of Japan's "semi-democratic" political system from 1918 to 1932, when political parties tended to dominate the government, the book analyzes in detail why this system collapsed in 1932 and discusses the implications of the failure. By reference to comparable cases-prewar Argentina, prewar Germany, postwar Brazil, and 1980s Thailand-Harukata Takenaka reveals that the factors responsible for the breakdown of the Taisho democracy in Japan replicated those that precipitated the collapse of democracy in Europe, Latin America, and elsewhere in Asia. While most literature on these transitions focuses on successful cases, Takenaka explores democratic failure to answer questions about how and why political parties and their leaders can behave in ways that undermine the democratic institutions that serve as the basis for their formal authority. Zusammenfassung Failed Democratization in Prewar Japan presents a compelling case study on change in political regimes through its exploration of Japan's transition to democracy. Within a broad-ranging examination of Japan's "semi-democratic" political system from 1918 to 1932! when political parties tended to dominate the government! the book analyzes in detail why this system collapsed in 1932 and discusses the implications of the failure. By reference to comparable cases-prewar Argentina! prewar Germany! postwar Brazil! and 1980s Thailand-Harukata Takenaka reveals that the factors responsible for the breakdown of the Taisho democracy in Japan replicated those that precipitated the collapse of democracy in Europe! Latin America! and elsewhere in Asia. While most literature on these transitions focuses on successful cases! Takenaka explores democratic failure to answer questions about how and why political parties and their leaders can behave in ways that undermine the democratic institutions that serve as the basis for their formal authority. Inhaltsverzeichnis >Failed Democratization in Prewar Japan: Breakdown of a Hybrid Regime Author(s): Harukata Takenaka How and why does a semi-democratic regime-one that developed as a result of significant degree of democratization-collapse without experiencing further democratization? This book answers these questions through a case study of the collapse of the semi-democratic regime in prewar Japan. Japan's gradual democratization after the Meiji Restoration in 1867 led to the rise of the semi-democratic regime in 1918. It was characterized by the rule of party government and electoral participation by a significant portion of the population. Confronted with a series of threats from the military, it collapsed in 1932 after the May Fifteenth Incident. This book explains the collapse of this regime as a result of shift in the balance of power between the party government and the military. It focuses on Meiji Constitution's institutional constraints as well as legitimacy and the semi-loyalty of political parties and their memebers as factors that affected the relationship/ Although the Meiji Constitution placed the party government in a weak pos...
