| 中文摘要 |
有關日本引進民主主義的歷史，一般多從第二次大戰後開始論起。本文擬揮別這種常識，而將焦點放在幕末明治期的日本是如何接受有關民主主義的制度及思想，特別是扣緊當時是如何理解作為議會政治基礎之凝聚意見的方法（「決議方式」）這個問題來討論。在議會制度方面英國的上下議院制很早就被介紹到日本，但是卻看不到有關決議方法及推選代表手續方面的介紹。而這方面的介紹則是關於新興共和國美國的記載。正木雞窗在《美理哥國總記和解》書仲介紹了代議制及總統制，這本書所關注的重點不是放在議員透過多數決制來決議，而是議員扮演了「評議」的角色。這樣的理解在明六社成員神田孝平身上也有共通之處，神田試圖在決議上找出由代表評議之後再進行全體一致決議的正當性。以全體一致作為基礎的議會政治或許會被認為制度尚未成熟，但是為了獲得利益關係人全體的共識，在歷史上具有進行履行責任追究及反覆研議的可能性亦是事實。
It is often believed that democracy was introduced to Japan after WWII. This paper, totally different from the kind of understanding, focuses on how the systems and thoughts of democracy were accepted in the late Edo and Meiji Japan, especially on how the ways of collecting opinions (＂how to take a vote＂), which is the principle of parliamentary politics, were discussed. British upper and lower house system was introduced to Japan in the early stage, no explanation of the ways of voting and procedures to choose the delegates in Britain, however, can be found in the discussions in the period. They were, instead, found in the descriptions about the United States of America, a newly emerging republic then. Amerika-koku Souki Wakai (Japanese Translation of General Views on America), written by Masaki Keiso, introduced the representative system and presidential system. It is worth noting that Masaki comprehended the main role of the representatives as someone who were responsible for participating discussion, not for voting under the majority vote rule. He shared the understanding with Kanda Takahira, a member of Meirokusha, who argued that the representatives were expected to reach unanimous decisions through their discussions. It might appear that parliamentary politics was not mature enough if unanimous decisions were required. It is the fact, however, that the argument for Japanese democracy traditionally included the possibility of the achievement of accountability and deliberation in order to reach consensus among the all stakeholders. |
本站僅提供期刊文獻檢索。
