Theory of national sovereignty - Kokkenron

A nationalist ideology from the Meiji period that asserts the right of national independence. In the international environment of the 19th century, when the European and American powers invaded East Asia, revising the unequal treaties concluded under the pressure of these powers and maintaining national independence were national issues during the Meiji period, and the theory of national sovereignty was widely supported by both the government and the private sector. The Freedom and People's Rights Movement was based on the idea that equal independence between nations is based on the sovereignty and independence of the individual, and argued that the establishment of freedom and rights of individuals and citizens against the state, in other words, the establishment of civil rights, is the prerequisite for securing national sovereignty. In response to this, the Meiji government raised the slogan of "Enrich the country, strengthen the military," and based on the idea that the individual exists only because of the state, it asserted the superiority of national sovereignty over civil rights. As the civil rights movement declined, the theory of the superiority of national sovereignty gained momentum, and nationalism, which took the expansion of national sovereignty for granted by restricting human rights and freedoms at home, and the desire to become a great power, which went beyond national independence and approved expansionism and aggression abroad, began to be publicized.

[Shozo Matsunaga]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治時代のナショナリズム思想で、国家独立の権利を主張する論。19世紀における欧米列強の東アジア侵略という国際環境のなかで、これら列強の圧力下で結ばれた不平等条約を改正し、国家の独立を維持することは明治期の国民的課題であったから、国権論は政府、民間を問わず広く支持された。自由民権運動は、国家間の対等独立は個人の自主独立によって基礎づけられるとの考えにたち、国家に対する個人・国民の自由権利の確立、つまり民権の確立こそ国権確保の前提であると主張した。これに対し明治政府は、富国強兵のスローガンを掲げ、国家あっての個人との考えにたって、民権に対する国権の優位を主張した。民権運動の衰退に伴い国権優位論が高まり、内にあっては人権や自由を制限して国家権の拡大を当然とする国家主義、外に対しては国家の独立を超えて膨張主義、侵略主義を是認する強大国志向が喧伝(けんでん)されるようになった。

［松永昌三］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例