Revisionist Historiography as a Tool for State-Building in 20th Century East Asia

Abstract

This paper examines the use of historical revisionism by post-WWII East Asian governments as a tool for state-building. I begin by summarizing how both WWII and the postcolonial legacy of Imperial Japan left many states in East Asia weakened — in need of new national narratives to bolster their legitimacy. Next, I analyze the historiographical trends of China, the Koreas, and Ja-pan, demonstrating how revisionism was a pervasive trend. Finally, I examine case studies of state censorship and organized violence across the region which occurred in response to the method-ological threats to revisionist narratives. This paper finds that historiographical revisionism played a key role in East Asian state-building, enhancing state legitimacy by supporting post-war national narratives. Revisionist trends in East Asia are one example of how states can weaponize history — altering collective memory and identity through nationalist lenses, in pursuit of greater legitimacy.