Janny de Jong

'The principles of steam' : political transfer and transformation in Japan, 1868-89

In the first decades of the Meiji period Japan started a deliberate modernization programme of state and society in which foreign models played a very important role. The speed with which foreign ideas concerning a constitution, a national assembly and popular rights were adopted and adapted is astonishing. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that this policy was not simply an elite matter, issued from above, but involved the general public as well. The various drafts of constitutions that have been found in village storehouses show political modernization had a broad social basis. European political history in the nineteenth century shows numerous instances of the rhetorical use of the foreignness of particular political models or ideas. Their foreign background made rejection or opposition easier. In Japan we meet a proud country that embarked on a course in which the adoption—and adaptation—of foreign political ideas and institutions was simply considered the proper thing to do. Japan became a perfect ...In the first decades of the Meiji period Japan started a deliberate modernization programme of state and society in which foreign models played a very important role. The speed with which foreign ideas concerning a constitution, a national assembly and popular rights were adopted and adapted is astonishing. Perhaps most impressive is the fact that this policy was not simply an elite matter, issued from above, but involved the general public as well. The various drafts of constitutions that have been found in village storehouses show political modernization had a broad social basis. European political history in the nineteenth century shows numerous instances of the rhetorical use of the foreignness of particular political models or ideas. Their foreign background made rejection or opposition easier. In Japan we meet a proud country that embarked on a course in which the adoption—and adaptation—of foreign political ideas and institutions was simply considered the proper thing to do. Japan became a perfect example of how political practices migrated, in the process were transformed in a national context and were used in political rhetoric. Résumé:u2003Dans les premières décennies de lère Meiji le Japon commença un programme de modernisation de létat et de la société dans lequel les modèles étrangers jouaient le plus grand rôle. La rapidité avec laquelle les idées étrangères sur la constitution, lassemblée nationale et le droit surprend encore. Peut-être plus impressionnant encore est le fait que cette politique nétait pas le fait du pouvoir seul mais aussi celle du public dans son ensemble. Des propositions de constitutions ont été trouvées dans des archives villageoises qui démontrent bien le soutien populaire pour la modernisation. Lhistoire européenne est aussi riche de nombreux exemples de lutilisation rhétorique de modèles étrangers, leur origine étrangère facilitant également leur adoption ou le rejet. Dans le cas japonais ladoption et ladaptation de modèles étrangers furent plus simplement la chose à faire. Le Japon représente lexemple ultime de la migration de pratiques politiques transformées par un contexte national.

'Het zijn net verwelkte bloemen, die men heeft weggegooid'

Emily Hobhouse en het schandaal van de burgerkampen in de tweede boerenoorlog in de jaren 1901-1902.

Cultural Citizenship – some critical thoughts on the usefulness and potential risks of the concept

Since the 1990s the idea of global, cosmopolitan, multicultural and cultural citizenship gained prominence. The notion of cultural citizenship originally suggested inclusiveness and diversity. It intended to recognise cultural rights of various groups in society, in other words multi-ethnicity and diversity. This inclusive notion has been challenged lately, and increasingly it also has been interpreted in the opposite way. The contradictory readings of this concept, for instance in various Member States of the European Union, question its usefulness. The focus on the cultural dimension of citizenship might even prove risky. Only a broad, “comprehensive” understanding of citizenship can reflect the interconnectedness and multiplicity of political, social and cultural ties between the citizen and the polity. Received : 02 November 2012 Accepted : 20 December 2012 Publicacion online : 15 April 2016

Review of: L. de Jong, The collapse of a colonial society; the Dutch in Indonesia during the Second World War (Leiden: KITLV Press, 2002)

[Extract] This fascinating work explores Mahathirs years in power as Malaysias third prime minister, and describes the resulting polarization of state structures, fragmentation of the social polity, and generation of a potentially viable opposition bloc in Malaysia. Malaysia; Mahathirism, hegemony and the new opposition is Hilleys first book, based on his doctoral thesis. Composed in a framework which is both theoretical and contemplative, the book is organized into nine chapters, each with its own specific and interrelated agenda. There is also a helpful index of subjects and a list of abbreviations.[Extract] Authukorala posits that Malaysias financial crisis stemmed from its dependence on portfolio investments and a considerable build-up of short-term borrowing (p.3). Interspersed occasionally with political commentary on the crisis period, this book illustrates the successful use of capital controls to tame the recession and turn the economy around.