The Politics of Oligarchy: Institutional Choice in Imperial Japan

Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions

by J. Mark Ramseyer, Frances McCall Rosenbluth

This book examines a key question of modern Japanese politics: why the Meiji oligarchs were unable to design institutions capable of protecting their power. The authors question why the oligarchs chose the political institutions they did, and what the consequences of those choices were for Japan's political competition, economic development, and diplomatic relations. Indeed, they argue, it was the oligarchs' very inability to agree among themselves on how to rule that prompted them to cut the military loose from civilian control--a decision that was to have disastrous consequences not only for Japan but for the rest of the world.

Genres: Politics, Economics, History, Political Science

248 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 1995