The Meiji Restoration was a political revolution that transformed Japan in 1868. Regional leaders overthrew the traditional Tokugawa government and replaced it with more pluralistic, inclusive institutions. Acemoglu and Robinson argue that this ultimately enabled Japan to industrialize and modernize in the 20th century.
Get the entire Why Nations Fail LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Meiji Restoration Term Timeline in Why Nations Fail
The timeline below shows where the term The Meiji Restoration appears in Why Nations Fail. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: Small Differences and Critical Junctures: The Weight of History
...institutional differences, US interventions in Japan actually helped the monarchy’s opponents overthrow it. During this Meiji Restoration , Japan built more inclusive institutions and started growing rapidly—much like South Korea, Taiwan, and...
(full context)
Chapter 10: The Diffusion of Prosperity
...power, but they really wanted to build new, inclusive institutions. They took power in the Meiji Restoration , then defeated the Tokugawa family in a civil war and transformed Japanese institutions.
(full context)
The Meiji Restoration ended Japanese feudalism, created a modern tax bureaucracy, made all social classes legally equal, and...
(full context)
...Europe to industrialize very quickly. Absolutist China resisted industrialization, while Japan embraced it after the Meiji Restoration built inclusive institutions. Finally, while Ethiopia remained absolutist, the slave trade created extractive societies and...
(full context)
Chapter 12: The Vicious Circle
...it. Some societies have broken the iron law. For instance, the Glorious Revolution and the Meiji Restoration were led by broad coalitions that wanted inclusive institutions. But revolutions in Ethiopia and Sierra...
(full context)
Chapter 14: Breaking the Mold
...Botswana, the US South, and China (as well as the Glorious Revolution, French Revolution, and Meiji Restoration ) prove “that history is not destiny.” It’s possible to escape the vicious circle of...
(full context)
