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https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/199472
DC Field | Value | |
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dc.title | CONSTRUCTING CONNECTIONS: TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AND NATION BUILDING IN JAPAN AND GERMANY | |
dc.contributor.author | CHAN ZHE KANG ALOYSIUS | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2021-08-26T02:31:01Z | |
dc.date.available | 2021-08-26T02:31:01Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2021-03-14 | |
dc.identifier.citation | CHAN ZHE KANG ALOYSIUS (2021-03-14). CONSTRUCTING CONNECTIONS: TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AND NATION BUILDING IN JAPAN AND GERMANY. ScholarBank@NUS Repository. | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://scholarbank.nus.edu.sg/handle/10635/199472 | |
dc.description.abstract | Governments and scholars frequently assert that transportation infrastructure plays a key role in constituting cohesive national communities, but this claim has long suffered from insufficient explication and theorisation. Calling attention to this underappreciated puzzle, this thesis serves as a theory generating exercise, working from the premises of social constructivism to propose a framework for how infrastructure may be productive of national identity and pride. I argue that three mechanisms – namely, societal mobilisation for infrastructure creation, opportunities for interpersonal connections through infrastructure use, and the symbolic power of infrastructure assets – can explain the ability or failure of transport projects to yield positive nation building outcomes. I illustrate this with reference to two case studies, the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed rail network and the German Unification Transport Projects (VDE), applying the three mechanisms to explain the former’s relative success in nation building and the latter’s mixed results. I suggest that my model holds promise for scholars investigating both the politics of infrastructure and the politics of identity, as well as utility for policymakers looking to cultivate a nation by constructing connections both physical and imagined. | |
dc.type | Thesis | |
dc.contributor.department | POLITICAL SCIENCE | |
dc.contributor.supervisor | CHOI CHONGHYUN | |
dc.description.degree | Bachelor's | |
dc.description.degreeconferred | BACHELOR OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (HONOURS) | |
Appears in Collections: | Bachelor's Theses |
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PS4401_2020_Chan Zhe kang Aloysius_A0167189M.pdf | 2.33 MB | Adobe PDF | RESTRICTED | None | Log In |
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