Trajectories of nation: Remaking citizenship, immigration, and national self-image in Japan

Trajectories of nation: Remaking citizenship, immigration, and national self-image in Japan

by Shin, Hwa Ji, Ph.D.,

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK, 2007, 161 pages; 3334927

Abstract:

Theories of nationalism and citizenship tend to predict that ethnic and exclusive models of citizenship will be gradually replaced by more civil and inclusive models when a political system moves toward liberal democracy. The Japanese case provides an empirical corrective to this trajectory and a conceptual opportunity to theorize citizenship developments in the context of increasingly globalized conditions. A historical analysis of changing citizenship and immigration legislation reveals a disjunction between democratic practices and inclusionary policies and a reversed development from inclusive to exclusive citizenship and immigration policies. Based on a systematic historical analysis of changing Japanese citizenship and immigration policies from the late 19th century throughout the 20th century, this dissertation suggests an alternative theoretical framework, which argues that the relationship between nationhood and citizenship is contingent on the geopolitical, cultural and economic conditions of a given period in history, rather than merely the result of internal democratic developments. To understand the contingent nature of changing citizenship conceptions, simultaneous attention on three sets of vectors is required: the state’s policy making process, subaltern mobilization against the state’s policies, and placement of the nation-state within world society. Findings indicate that distinctive patterns of interactions between these vectors lead to different forms of national self-understanding, citizenship restrictions and immigration policies at each historical juncture.