2007 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Tocqueville and the Political Theory of the 20th Century-An Intellectual History on the Formation of Liberal Democracy
| Project/Area Number |
18530102
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Politics
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| Research Institution | Waseda University |
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Principal Investigator |
MATSUMOTO Reiji Waseda University, Faculty of Education and Integrated Arts and Sciences, Professor (30013022)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YOSHINO Takashi Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Professor (00158487)
KAWAGISHI Norikazu Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Professor (10224742)
YAZAWA Masashi Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Associate Professor (20267454)
FURUYA Jun University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Professor (90091488)
MIURA Nobutaka Chuo University, 文学部, 教授 (10135238)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2006 – 2007
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| Keywords | Democracy / Tocqueville / America / Globalization / Liberalism / Military-Industrial Complex / Japan / War |
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| Research Abstract |
The aim of this research is to reconsider in the historical context of the globalization of new capitalism Tocqueville's contribution and relevance to the political theory of the 20th century, in particular that of liberal democracy. The globalization of the economy has brought about new kind of poverty and disparity all over the world and the hegemony of the American empire has raised skepticism about American democracy. On the other hand, political democratization is inevitably going on in many non-Western countries. Against this changing background of the contemporary world, Tocqueville's theory of democracy requires new reading and has in fact been reinterpreted in various ways. In the process of this two year research, the following three points have been identified as remarkable in this new approach to Tocqueville's political theory.
(1) The end of the Cold War and the collapse of Soviet regime did make clear the victory of liberal democracy over socialism but the subsequent globalization of the economy under the hegemony of the United States has not prevailed the American model of democracy in the world, rather provoking resistance to it everywhere. Recent noteworthy phenomena in America, the growing political influence of religious fundamentalism, the increase of economic inequality and disparity, the poverty of social capital, and the decline of public spirit require the reconsideration of Tocqueville's view of America.
(2) Tocqueville's warning against the danger of military-bureaucratic despotism in post-Napoleonic France, which he declares has nothing to do with America at his time, is highly suggestive for thinking about the military-industrial complex of the United States today.
(3) The Tocquevillian analysis of the historical process of the modernization and democratization of Japan would be useful for considering the task of democratization in non-Western countries in the contemporary world
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Research Products
(8 results)
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[Journal Article] Tocqueville and Japan2009
Author(s)
Reiji Matsumoto
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Journal Title
Conversations with Tocqueville:The Global Democratic Revolution in the 21st Century, ed.by Aurelian Craiutu & Sheldon Gellar (Lexington Books, Lowman & Littlefield) (掲載確定)
Pages: Ch.13
Description
「研究成果報告書概要(和文)」より
Peer Reviewed
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[Journal Article] Tocqueville and Japan
Author(s)
Matsumoto, Reiji
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Journal Title
Aurelian Craiutu & Sheldon Gellar ed., Conversation with Tocqueville : The Global Democratic Revolution in the 21st Century(To be published in 2009, Lexington Books, Lowman & Littlefield)
Description
「研究成果報告書概要(欧文)」より
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