Set in the Industrial Revolution, Europe’s advanced technological and military advancements led them to achieve great power and dominance in the economic world. This stability of Europe came from the modernization of military and naval technology. England achieved power and influence over other nations during the 19th century by becoming the bank of the power and controller of the trades under the control of a liberalist government. Three powers that tried to adopt these ideals were the Ottomans, German, and Japan through a tactic of defensive developmentalism in an attempt to keep out outsider forces, and civic nationalism, a top-down approach to changing government. While the Ottomans failed in their regime to politically modernize and incorporate liberalist values into their nation-state, Germany and Japan succeeded in that they had a centralized government that used civic nationalism to pass these liberal laws. The difference here is that the Ottoman government did not have legitimacy amongst the people, and thus, their attempts to change government failed in that their government ideals did not succeed.

The Ottoman empire used defensive developmentalism in an attempt to recoup their military powers, but because of the government’s lack of legitimacy, the laws they passed failed. The first step to consolidating power was military reform, which the government tried to achieve through tax laws, but no one listened despite the government’s use of civic nationalism to control the nation-state. The lower classes did not trust the liberal rules that were passed, including cash props: agricultural crops grown for international government rather than consumption locally to sell. This deal would benefit the lower class in that they would own the land, but the government also had the ability to tax the lower class. Thus, the distrustful lower class ignored the cash props set by the government in fear of even more taxation. While it was the government’s intention to benefit both the lower class and nation-state as a whole, the government’s lack of legitimacy led to political changes that did not carry out throughout the state. This resulted in an even more desperate attempts from the Ottomans to reform their military and employ defensive developmentalism. In a desperate attempt to gain control, the government continuously borrowed a plethora of money from Europe, to upkeep their new way of government. Borrowing money from Europe did not consolidate the fragmented Ottoman empire, and gave Europe more economic control in this empire. Giving control to external threats like Europe goes completely against the point of the defensive developmentalist, which is a stronger vision of nationalism to keep Europe out of the state’s economy. However, the way the Ottomans pursued defensive developmentalism made them rely on Europe more. The government also tried to make the nation-state a non-religious secular nation-state, thus grouping Muslims and Christians in the same category, which failed and made the state fall even more apart because this reform made the religious groups mad at the government. Rather than consolidating their powers in the government in their state, the Ottoman government lost more legitimacy from these actions and failed in their pursuit of becoming a great power.

The nation-state of Germany was established through leadership under one ruler in a mannerism of civic nationalism and tactile use of military power. The defensive development in Germany was the advancements in military and technology for the army to fight against opposing forces. The start of Germany’s separation from the Austro-Hungarian empire started in the Peoples’ Spring of 1848, where forces of nationalism and liberalism were unleashed and put down. Nevertheless, nationalism was popular in 1848, and often took on another form called irredentism: the demand for territory belonging to another state; these nationalist and liberalist ideals led to national leaders using top-down nationalism to make irredentist claims, fostering the creation of unified states in Germany (Mason 34). Thus, in 1862, under the leadership of Bismark, Germany’s employed defensive developmentalism to strengthen their military and established their power through war and military tactics (Mason 37). Technological advancements were adapted to the military to complete nationalist separatism in 1870, when Germany broke off from the Austro-Hungarian empire to create Germany (Mason 39). Thus, civic nationalism conducted by one leader of Germany allowed the nation-state to advance in technology and military, and thus succeed in their separation from the unsatisfactory rule of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Defensive developmentalism in Japan tried to recreate Germany’s success in forming a new nation-state and reforms through civic nationalism. This centralized government consolidated power, under the Tokugawa shogun rule in 1650–1854, Japan self-isolated themselves to keep out the powers of the West, which pacified and stabilized their country. However, the shogun failed in keeping European powers out, which weakened Japan and led to the resignation of the shogun, who had been undermined by the citizens of Japan for their failure in sustaining the nation-state. From the failure of this era started a new era in 1868–1912, the Meiji era, where Japan turned into a modern nation-state., Reformers restored the emperor’s full authority, and used imperial power to consolidate and fortify Japan. The emperor first made advances in military and technological equipment. Then, liberal laws were passed, like the abolishment of feudalism and the value of equality and equal rights for every individual. Modernization flourished as the government then established a new army and navy, followed by the government’s control of currency. Civic nationalism in Japan led to more liberal reforms and equality and freedom to individuals as the government established a national postal service and school system, and the national religion Shinto. All of these liberalist ideas were passed and carried through because of the legitimacy of Japan’s new-found government where a constitution was made in 1899 stating that the emperor had supreme authority in the state and ruled through what they conceived to be the interest of the state. Under the rule of this emperor, Japan made more industrial and financial modernization like the grant to free trade was granted in 1859. Japan also advanced in technology in that in: 1859, they had their first steamship, 1869 they built their first telegraph between Tokyo and Yokohama, and then their first railroad in 1872. The economy grew in that foreign trade was valued at $200 million a year by the end of the 19th century, and that the population grew from 33 million in 1872 to 46 million in 1902, and now Europe depended on Japan for trading, imports, and exports. The goal of the large measure of defense against the West was in ambition to be a more unified nation-state with international power, which Japan achieved through civic nationalism whilst incorporating liberalist reforms.

In conclusion, while all of Germany, Japan, and the Ottomans used civic nationalism to employ defensive developmentalism, it is the legitimacy of the government that allows them to pass new reforms that the citizens will accept. Without legitimacy, the Ottoman government’s every attempt to pass liberalist laws ended in failure, and eventual reliance on outside forces to help maintain the government. On the other hand, Germany and Japan both beautifully used civic nationalism through a centralized government with legitimacy to employ defensive developmentalism to create a stronger military and pass liberalist laws, which allowed for free trade and both economic and technological advancements. Both countries had a strong leader to implement values of liberalism and lead their countries to modernization in the military and technology.