Social Networks and Japanese Democracy
The Beneficial Impact of Interpersonal Communication in East Asia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15101034 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel P Aldrich (0000-0002-4150-995X, Purdue University West Lafayette, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2012 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 276-278 |
| Publication date | 2012-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Science Japan Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-1465 • E-ISSN: 1468-2680 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ssjj/jys013 |
| OpenAlex | W2004119617 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 8 |
Observers have debated whether or not Japan is a ‘real’ democracy or a ‘normal nation’ (Ozawa 1994) due to seemingly nondemocratic aspects of its political system, including the lengthy dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), close connections between politicians and bureaucrats, and the supposed cultural traits of citizens, such as submission of the self for the sake of the group. Various scholars have already tackled the issue of one-party dominance (Pempel 1990; Scheiner 2005) and amakudari (descent from heaven), where bureaucrats retire into industries that they previously regulated (see Colignon and Usui 2003). Further, elections over the past few years have begun to provide signs of a viable (if still muddled) two-party system (Rosenbluth and Thies 2010). This short new book takes on the last of these oft-heard claims, notably the presumption of submissive behaviour, and probes the extent to which Japanese voters submit to hierarchical elites, such as their supervisors and managers in the workplace, during discussion about politics. Sociologists and political scientists alike have been concerned that workers who try to avoid confrontation when speaking with their supervisors create a ‘spiral of silence’ and hence fail to achieve true dialogue about critical policy issues (Noelle-Neumann 1993). Challenging standard characterizations of Japan as a Confucian nation whose cultural heritage hinders an optimal version of democracy (4), the authors instead see Japanese individual identity as multifaceted, and Japanese liberal democratic practices springing up from informal and formal networks.
Democracy · Dominance (genetics) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies · Social Policy and Reform Studies
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,17 |
| Citation span | 2014 - 2022 (9) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |