Identity Change, Anxiety and Creativity: How 19th Century Japan Sought to Leave Asia and Become Part of the West

Year 2022, Volume: 19 Issue: 73, 81 - 97, 09.04.2022

Karl Gustafsson

https://doi.org/10.33458/uidergisi.1085430

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Identity change is an important phenomenon in international politics. It can radically alter how states orient themself and act internationally. But how does identity change occur? For some, it is merely an epiphenomenal result of changes in the international distribution of power. Others highlight domestic factors, while still others see it as occurring through a social process of interaction with other states. There are also explanations that combine these and other factors. While existing accounts have pushed the debate on identity change forward, this article suggests that incorporating anxiety into our understanding of identity change would help us better understand two important aspects of it: how an existing identity comes to be doubted and how a new one becomes thinkable and eventually accepted. Drawing on the work of psychologist Rollo May, this article explores the link between identity change, anxiety and creativity. The argument is illustrated through reference to 19th century Japan. For much of its history, Japan was part of the Sino-centric order and looked up to China as a “teacher in the ways of civilization”. However, in the 19th century, Japan radically redefined its identity in relation to China, and Asia more broadly, and rejected the Sino-centric world view as it sought to become a “civilized” state similar to the Western countries.

Keywords

East Asia, existentialism, Fukuzawa Yukichi, ontological security, Rollo May

Kimlik değişimi, kaygı ve yaratıcılık: 19. yüzyıl Japonyası nasıl Asya’yı terk etmeye ve Batı’nın bir parçası olmaya çalıştı?

Abstract

Kimlik değişimi uluslararası siyasette önemli bir olgudur. Devletlerin kendilerini nasıl yönlendirdiklerini ve uluslararası alanda nasıl hareket ettiklerini kökten değiştirebilir. Fakat kimlik değişimi nasıl gerçekleşmektedir? Bazıları için, kimlik değişimi sadece uluslararası güç dağılımındaki değişikliklerin ikincil bir sonucudur. Diğerleri yerel faktörleri vurgularken; bazıları ise kimlik değişiminin diğer devletlerle sosyal bir etkileşim süreci yoluyla gerçekleştiğini düşünmektedir. Tüm bunları ve diğer faktörleri birleştiren açıklamalar da vardır. Mevcut tartışmalar kimlik değişimi konusundaki tartışmayı ileriye taşırken; bu makale kaygıyı kimlik değişimi anlayışımıza dahil etmenin, kimlik değişiminin iki önemli yönünü daha iyi anlamamıza yardımcı olacağını öne sürmektedir: mevcut kimlikten nasıl şüphe duyulduğu ve yeni bir kimliğin nasıl düşünülebilir hale geldiği ve sonunda kabul edildiği. Psikolog Rollo May’in çalışmalarına dayanan bu makale kimlik değişimi, kaygı ve yaratıcılık arasındaki bağlantıyı araştırmaktadır. Argüman, 19. yüzyıl Japonya’sına atıfta bulunularak gösterilmektedir. Japonya, tarihinin büyük bir bölümünde Çin merkezli düzenin bir parçasıydı ve Çin’i “medeniyet yolunda öğretmen” olarak görüyordu. Fakat Japonya 19. yüzyılda Çin ve daha geniş anlamda Asya ile ilgili olarak kimliğini radikal bir şekilde yeniden tanımlamış ve Batı ülkelerine benzer “uygar” bir devlet olmaya çalıştığı için Çin merkezli dünya görüşünü reddetmiştir.

Keywords

Doğu Asya, varoluşçuluk, Fukuzawa Yukichi, ontolojik güvenlik, Rollo May

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