Against the State: Politics and Social Protest in Japan - Softcover

Apter, David E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0674009215 ISBN 13: 9780674009219

Verlag: Harvard University Press, 1986

Inhaltsangabe

Reconstructing the dramatic struggle surrounding the building of the New Tokyo (Narita) International Airport near Sanrizuka, this scrutiny of modern protest politics dispels the myth of corporate Japan's unassailable success. While sensitive to the specific events they describe, the authors provide analyses of broader contemporary issues-the sources of violence in an orderly society and the problems of democratic theory in an institutional setting. Narita Airport, the largest single government project in Japan, has been the scene of intense conflict over what might be called the unfinished business of Japan as number one. Since 1965, small groups of farmers have been fighting to protect their land, first from the bulldozers, then from the environmental damage of a modern airport. They were joined in the battle by militants from New Left sects, students, and other protesters representing peace, antinuclear, and antipollution issues. Using field observation, in-depth interviewing, and first-hand experience drawn from living in the "fortresses" surrounding the airport, the authors examine the conflict and violence that ensued. They describe the confrontations from the point of view of each group of participants, pinpointing weaknesses in the Japanese political and bureaucratic systems that prolonged and heightened the struggle: the lack of effective due process, inadequate consultative mechanisms outside elite circles, and the failure of local government to represent local issues. In a broad adaptation of their findings, Apter and Sawa show that the problems of the Narita situation are also endemic to other industrialized countries. Their discussion of violent protest in advanced societies explores how it evolves, who is caught up in it, and the ways that governments respond. Finally, they identify the limitations of contemporary social science theories in addressing in human terms such volcanic eruptions. To over

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Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

David E. Apter was Henry J. Heinz II Professor of Comparative Political and Social Development at Yale University.

Nagayo Sawa, who studied at Harvard, works for the Japan–United States Friendship Commission in Japan.

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This book is simultaneously a story of a troubled people and an analysis of protest, violence, and challenge to the state authority. The setting is Japan and the instance is the controversial building of the Tokyo International Airport. Apter recreates the struggle of familiar and intimate groups--small farmers, policemen, bureaucrats, radicals--engaged in extra-institutional pretest against the state. Global lessons emerge from this cross-cultural analysis of violent conflict taking place within the political constraints of an advanced, democratic country.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Harvard University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1986
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0674009215
• ISBN 13: 9780674009219
• Einband: Tapa blanda
• Anzahl der Seiten: 296
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Amazon EU Sarl; 0; www.amazon.com; ; 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; 0; L-1855; Luxemburg