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The East/West perspective and civil society: Making visible similarities and differences

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Published
  • Terrell Carver
  • Shin Chiba
  • Reiji Matsumoto
  • James Martin
  • Bob Jessop
  • Fumio Iida
  • Atsushi Sugita
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Publication date15/10/2010
Host publicationGlobality, Democracy and Civil Society: Beyond the East/West Binary
EditorsTerrell Carver, Jens Bartelson
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherRoutledge
Pages24-30
Number of pages7
ISBN (print)0203839935, 9780203839935
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

This chapter presents a definitional and historicalsummary of `civil society' as a western concept, andthen traces how it was used in Japanese politicaltheory and practice. `Civil society' discourse becamea familiar term amongst post-war Japanese historiansand social scientists in the period 1945–1970, andthus preceded the recent international proliferationof `civil society' literature in the `west' from the1970s onwards. `Civil society' discourse waspoliticised in practice in Japan in the 1950s and1960s, principally in opposition movements wanting toencourage political participation by ordinarycitizens. While some `civil society' discourse inJapan was based on an idealisation of `western' ideasand practice, it is also the case that theindividualism and democratisation implied in `civilsociety' discourse has been very differentlyunderstood in `western' countries and very unevenlyinstituted in their political practice. A simpleEast–West frame makes significant similaritiesbetween Japanese ideas and practice and `western'concepts and politics disappear, and additionallycauses significant differences within the `west'regarding individualism and democratisation to becomeinvisible.

Bibliographic note

Reprint of peer-reviewed journal article published in 2000 in European Journal of Political Research, vol. 37, pp. 541-555