Nishi Amane—A Tokugawa-Meiji Bureaucrat

1959 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger F. Hackett
Keyword(s):  
Western Society ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The West ◽  
Meiji Japan ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
The Military

In the transition of Japan into the modern world, the role of those who first introduced the techniques, institutions, and ideas of the West deserves special attention. Performing the service of what Toynbee has called “the human counterpart of the ‘transformer,’” these were the men who learned the secrets of a foreign civilization and adapted them to their own community to enable it to adjust its life to the intrusive Western society. To some degree the whole leadership of Meiji Japan carried out this function, for soon after the Restoration the pursuit and application of knowledge from the West was made official policy. For the most part the military and political leaders were concerned with the mastery of Western military techniques and administrative and economic forms. But among the intelligentsia there were those who performed the broader task of learning and teaching the manners and morals, customs, and beliefs of European society. As advocates of Westernization they were important agents of change before as well as after the Restoration.

scholarly journals The Main Security Threats of the West after the Cold War. The Geopolitical Aspect

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lana Dalinczuk
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Security Threats ◽  
The West ◽  
Transnational Organized Crime ◽  
Mass Migration ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Military

The article discusses major threats that the Western society has had to deal with after the end of the Cold War. This issue seems to be of particular concern due to the fact that nowadays certain new trends in the world of geopolitics can be observed. Due to the change in the global balance of power after the year 1991, the role of the main geostrategic actors has also changed while new actors have begun to appear. Among the new challenges for the geostrategic position of the West there are the military ambitions of the Russian Federation and the economic hegemonic aspirations of China. Other threats include terrorism, mass migration, transnational organized crime, infectious diseases, and environmental degradation.

scholarly journals Western and East Asian Protection of Human Security

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Timo Kivimäki
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Northeast Asia ◽  
Human Security ◽  
The West ◽  
The Past ◽  
Strategic Orientations ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
The Military

One of the main trends in the international relations and international security, for the past two decades, has been the new eagerness to intervene into failed and autocratic countries if they fail to protect their own citizens. This trend has distinguished East Asia (including both Southeast and Northeast Asia) from the West. Generally, the distinction has been based on three differences in strategic orientations. First, the role of the military is seen differently in East Asia and the West. Secondly, the role of states as instruments of the protection of civilians is seen differently in the West and East Asia. Thirdly, there is a difference between East Asia and the West regarding to the expected role of the UN Security Council in the authorization of protection. This article investigates the consequences of the three different strategies on human security by reviewing existing literature and by combining new data on discourses of protection with conflict data on various indicators of human survival and welfare. While the Western strategic concept of human security is dominant and hegemonic in the global debate, it seems, on the basis of this investigation, that the East Asian strategy of self-restraint, non-militarism and respect for sovereignty is more effective in the protection of civilians.

scholarly journals ON THE ALANIAN HERITAGE IN THE WEST

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Р.Г. ДЗАТТИАТЫ
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Northern Italy ◽  
The West ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gold Silver ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Great Migration ◽  
The Military

В результате процессов, сопровождавших Великое переселение народов, аланы, попав в Западную Европу, были ассимилированы, оставив во Франции, Северной Италии, Испании, Англии несколько сотен топонимов, связанных с ними. Следы пребывания алан на Западе впервые были обобщены В.А. Кузнецовым и В.К. Пудовиным. Появление труда американского ученого Б. Бахраха «Аланы на Западе» сняли скептицизм по отношению к роли алан в истории народов Западной Европы. О роли алан в исторических событиях Западной Европы раннего и зрелого Средневековья было отчетливо заявлено в трудах В.Б. Ковалевской, Франко Кардини, Говарда Рида, Скотта Литлтона, Линды Малкор. Особенно замечательна объемная работа Агусти Алемани «Аланы в древних и средневековых письменных источниках». У алан было заимствовано устройство конного войска, а вместе с этим, вероятно, и экипировка всадника, важной деталью которой был воинский пояс. Пряжка со щитком такого пояса служила у алан маркером статуса: в зависимости от того, из какого материала она была изготовлена (золото, серебро, бронза), она указывала на место в социальной иерархии. Трехлепестковый орнамент в результате модификаций вполне мог стать основой или прообразом особого знака-символа – так называемой «королевской лилии». Схему трансформации трехлепесткового узора в лилию можно проиллюстрировать рисунками пряжек. Надо полагать, что аланы оставили свой след не только в топонимике, организации конного войска, но и в орнаментике, фольклоре, антропонимике и других проявлениях культуры, которые необходимо тщательно исследовать. As a result of the processes that accompanied the Great Migration of Nations, the Alans, having fallen into Western Europe, were assimilated, leaving several hundred place names associated with them in France, Northern Italy, Spain, and England. The traces of the Alans' stay in the West were first generalized by V.A. Kuznetsov and V.K. Pudovin. The appearance of the work of the American scientist B.S. Bachrach "Alans in the West" removed skepticism regarding the role of the Alans in the history of the peoples of Western Europe. The role of the Alans in the historical events of Western Europe of the early and mature Middle Ages was clearly stated in the works of V.B. Kovalevskaya, Franco Cardini, Howard Reed, Scott Littleton, Linda Malkor. Particularly remarkable is the voluminous work of Agusti Alemany "Alans in ancient and medieval written sources." The Alans borrowed the device of the horse army, and with it, probably, the equipment of the horseman, an important detail of which was the military belt. The buckle with the shield of such a belt served as a status marker for the Alans: depending on what material it was made of (gold, silver, and bronze) it indicated a place in the social hierarchy. As a result of modifications, the three-petal ornament could very well become the basis or prototype of a special sign-symbol – the so-called “royal lily”. The transformation pattern of a three-petal pattern into a lily can be illustrated with buckle patterns. It must be assumed that the Alans left their mark not only in toponymy, organization of the cavalry army, but also in ornamentation, folklore, anthroponymy and other cultural manifestations, which must be carefully studied.

An Emancipationist Turn of Policy

2018 ◽  
pp. 36-59
Author(s):  
Kristopher A. Teters
Keyword(s):  
Union Army ◽  
The West ◽  
Border States ◽  
Military Necessity ◽  
Official Policy ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Military

During the second half of 1862, most Union officers in the West adopted more emancipationist policies. They routinely confiscated the slaves of rebels and employed many of them as scouts, spies, laborers, cooks, etc. This became the predominant policy across the several armies operating in the West. Official policy not only authorized confiscation but also made the practice more uniform. In July of 1862, Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act, which allowed for the seizure of any slaves belonging to rebels. At the same time, army commanders such as Samuel Curtis and Benjamin Butler began to realize how slaves could serve the Union army and the military necessity of taking them away from rebels, and developed pro-emancipationist policies and attitudes as a result. Though some radical officers, like John Phelps, were on a mission to eliminate slavery, Butler and many others were simply hard-nosed realists who shifted towards emancipationist policies out of military necessity. There remained conflict over the status of fugitive and confiscated states, mainly in border states like Kentucky and Missouri. Yet on the whole, by the end of 1862, Union armies were much more consistent and emancipationist in their policies.

Horse, Wheel, and Saddle

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-191
Author(s):  
Barton C. Hacker
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Horse Riding ◽  
Military Revolutions ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Military Revolution ◽  
The Military

Military revolutions are a normal consequence of the central role of military institutions in complex societies. They have everywhere occurred regularly, if infrequently; they are scarcely limited to Western Europe, or even to the modern world. This essay discusses recent writings on two military revolutions in the ancient world, both centered on the military horse: first, its domestication and its role in pulling war chariots; second, the transition from horse driving to horse riding in battle. The chariot revolution of the second millennium BC profoundly reshaped warfare and transformed polities all across Eurasia. The cavalry revolution of the first millennium BC proved equally transformative and far longer lasting. Despite the controversy that has come to surround the concept of military revolution, it may still be fruitfully applied to important aspects of the large-scale historical interactions between societies and their armed forces.

scholarly journals Manifestations of Neoosmanist Ambitions in Contemporary Regional Policy of Turkey

2015 ◽  
pp. 84-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Kudryashova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Regional Policy ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The West ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
Turkish Economy ◽  
Sphere Of Influence

Turkey carried away by the role of the model for Sunni states aimed at becoming the leader of Islamic world and reestablishing the Ottoman Empire’s sphere of influence. Ankara distinctly changed priorities of its foreign policy in favor of the Middle East and pursued a course of gradual dissociation from the West subject to its own views at world and regional situation. Ankara’s task was not to exceed the limits of Western alliance, but for all that to advance at most its national interests. Turkey’s political leaders systematically used any opportunity to promote neoosmanist aspirations and the model of Turkish democracy in the Middle East and Northern Africa. The dynamic development of Turkish economy supported this process. However at this time the goals of Turkish neoosmanist policy are unachievable because of their excessive ambition and lack of resources for their realization.

scholarly journals Microlearning and microteaching: prospects of improvement in regions within crosscultural education

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (35) ◽  
pp. 355-369
Author(s):  
Selimov Timur Sergeyevich ◽  
Bogoslovsky Vladimir Ivanovich ◽  
Kiseleva Mariya Andreevna ◽  
Zhukova Tatyana Anatolyevna ◽  
Motchenko Anna Nikolaevna
Keyword(s):  
Regional Model ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Modern Education ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Modern Learning ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Micro Learning

The research article explores the evolving trends in modern education, which are microlearning and microteaching. The authors analyze microlearning and microteaching as the most progressive and up-to-date approach. This article brings up the role of the globalization in the process of education encompassing crosscultural education. Although micro learning and teaching embrace many demands of modern learning and teaching, the approaches catering to the needs of students from different regions, have not been developed yet. Therefore, the main objective is to demonstrate the opportunities which microlearning offers within crosscultural education. The authors consider theoretical and empirical revie w of the literature and a conceptual framework to be the basic methods. The results obtained can be formulated as follows: a regional model of the micro-learning education (learning and teaching) with a set of specific character traits of students to facilitate the ideas of microeducation has been developed. This article is aimed to discuss the evolvement, current perceptions, basic principles and tools of microteaching and microlearning; to analyze their efficiency in the modern world and to suggest its further development through analysis of cross-culturalism in education using Hoffstede's dimensions including the model for regional program developing within crosscultural education.

The Islamic Reformist Movement in North Africa

1964 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon Carl Brown
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Past History ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
The West ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Vital Factor

If my own experience is at all typical, probably most students concerned with the influence of Islam in the modern world occasionally experience total doubt about their approach to the subject. Can one still justify putting such emphasis on the role of Islam as a historical continuum? Rather, since the nineteenth century, the period of the intensive ‘impact of the west’, haven't there been so many institutional changes that we have reached a real watershed, a breaking point with past history and with past categories of thought designed to explain that history? Shouldn't we de-emphasise Islam as a vital factor in the equation of the modern Arab world and of North Africa? Isn't it a mistake to put so much emphasis on the Islamic heritage?

Review of A. B. Nikolaev, Revoliutsiia i vlast’: How Has Nikolaev Changed the Interpretation of the February Revolution?

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsuyoshi Hasegawa
Keyword(s):  
Crucial Role ◽  
The State ◽  
Old Regime ◽  
The West ◽  
The Military ◽  
Military Units ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City ◽  
The Revolution

A.B. Nikolaev’s book has not received much attention either in the West or in Russia, but it is an important book that has significantly changed our understanding the February Revolution of 1917. Nikolaev’s meticulously researched monograph, based on a wide array of new sources, challenges the previously dominant interpretation that the Provisional Committee of the State Duma (Duma Committee) was forced to seize power only to stem the tide of the insurgency from below. He argues that the Duma Committee was from its inception clear about its intention to overthrow the old regime and to create a new power to replace it even before the Petrograd Soviet was formed. The Duma Committee played a crucial role in prompting military units to take the side of the revolution, in steering the insurgents to the State Duma, in creating the Military Commission to organize insurgents to occupy strategic positions in the city, in taking over the food supply commission to feed the insurgents, in attacking and destroying the tsarist police, while preventing and suppressing potentially dangerous anarchical pogroms, and in taking control over the imperial bureaucracy. Nikolaev also raises an interesting question about the relationship between the Duma Committee, the State Duma and the Provisional Government by arguing that the Provisional Government made a hasty and cardinal mistake in cutting its relationship with the State Duma. This book is a landmark in the interpretation of the February Revolution, and especially of the role of the Duma liberals in the revolution.

scholarly journals The Protracted Civil War in Libya: The Role of Outside Powers

2020 ◽  
pp. 11-27
Author(s):  
Yahia H. Zoubir
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
The West ◽  
Specific Interests ◽  
The Military ◽  
2012 Election

The collapse of the Muammar Qaddafi regime was ostensibly the prelude to a democratic Libya. The 2012 election elicited much optimism. By 2014, the domestic situation had taken an unexpected turn for the worse, resulting in two governments, one in the east and one in the west, each supported by numerous militias. While the civil war has pitted Libyans against Libyans, foreign interventions on behalf of opposite side in the conflict have hindered the end of the civil war. Indisputably, foreign interference had begun well before the civil war; however, the military backing to the protagonists has become more pronounced since 2014. The foreign powers involved in the Libyan conflict aim to fulfill specific interests, some of which deriving from the rivalries between those countries. Unless those foreign powers have achieved their goals in Libya, an end to the civil war anytime soon remains unlikely, occasional ceasefires notwithstanding.

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