Beckert’s

Why does Beckert discuss the making of "Japan"?

To show that nations are socially and economically constructed by elites

Who shaped the nation of Japan?

Middle- and upper-class elites with privileged economic interests

How did elite interests influence nation-building?

National identity was aligned with industrial

What role does colonization play in imagining "Japan"?

Knowing and controlling Koreans

Why is cotton important in Beckert’s analysis?

It was a key crop that linked industrial production

What is the significance of the state in Beckert’s reading?

The state coordinated industrial policies

What happened during the 1868 Meiji Restoration?

Japan established a new government with industrial policies linking the state and industrialists

What was the relationship between the state and industrialists?

The state supported and coordinated industrialists for national economic goals

What is the "tight link" Beckert refers to?

The interdependence of government policy

How did the Chinese market factor into Japan’s development?

It offered demand for textiles and justified state-supported expansion

Why was labor considered "low cost" in Japan?

Population pressures

Why did Japan expand into Korea and Manchuria?

To secure cotton

What role did Japanese manufacturers play in early 20thC China?

They exploited markets

How was colonialism exercised daily?

Through political

What does "sovereignty over labor" mean?

Colonizers controlled labor systems to ensure cheap

What are "incorporation strategies"?

Methods to integrate colonized peoples into productive economic systems

Why did Beckert mention the USA post-1865?

As a model where former slave labor was transformed into free labor systems

How did cotton price fluctuations create vulnerability?

Rising prices and pests like the boll weevil threatened industrial and economic stability

Why did elites fear market instability?

It could disrupt production

How did empire function as a solution to vulnerability?

It provided secure labor

How does cotton illustrate the link between economy and empire?

It shows how industrial needs drove imperial expansion and nation-building

Why are speculators mentioned?

They highlight the global economic stakes and risks tied to cotton markets

How did industrial expansion relate to imperialism?

Industrial demand justified territorial expansion and control over foreign labor

What does Beckert show about the role of intellectuals?

They supported policies and discourses that rationalized empire and economic control

How did colonizers gain compliance without violence?

Through bureaucracy

Why is the global South central to Beckert’s argument?

It was the source of raw materials

What does the term "new cotton imperialism" mean?

A 20th-century form of empire driven by industrial cotton markets and global economic interests

How did Japan’s nation-building depend on empire?

Expansion into Korea

What lessons does Beckert provide about economic nationalism?

Economic policies

How does cotton connect to global capitalism?

It illustrates integration of production

Why is vulnerability central to understanding empire?

Economic instability justifies expansion

How does Beckert connect state power and markets?

The state actively organizes markets and industrialists to maintain national strength

What is the significance of labor exploitation?

Cheap

Why is it important that Japan emulated foreign labor practices?

It shows that imperial techniques were global and historically linked

How does cotton imperialism relate to social hierarchies?

Colonial labor systems reinforced social and racial hierarchies

What is the core insight about nations from Beckert?

Nations are elite-driven

Why should we study cotton in the context of Japan?

It reveals how commodity production and empire shaped national identity

What does the early 20thC global economy reveal?

Interdependence between markets

How does Beckert relate to Anderson’s imagined communities?

Economic and imperial structures help define what “Japan” and “Japanese” mean