ABSTRACT
In the nineteenth century the accessible areas of Asia either became colonies of European powers or were forced to submit to the "unequal treaties system". European civilization penetrated into and progressively transformed Asian societies. Asian nationalism should not be identified with the spirit of progress, the urge for freedom, and the preferences for constitutionalism and parliamentarianism which usually accompany the democratic way of life. Among the political difficulties of the new states in Asia and Africa was the inadequacy of nationalist leaders. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Manchu dynasty held nominal control over a huge empire stretching from central Asia to the Pacific and from Siberia to India. In the second half of the nineteenth century, Japan demonstrated to the world that an oriental nation could win equality with the Western powers. Along with Asian nationalism went alarming political tendencies, deteriorating public administration, and worsened economic conditions.
