ABSTRACT
In any country, history proceeds as an interaction between domestic and foreign forces. Domestic society is the base into which new foreign systems are introduced. Each society has unique characteristics reflecting its geography, ecology and history. Existing institutions in any society are mutually dependent and form a coherent whole. When a country in the periphery joins the world system, it may look as if the country is being absorbed in the dominant international order. However, international integration is a risky process and not all countries can perform translative adaptation successfully. A developing country exposed to strong external pressure faces a great challenge. Japan struggled to industrialize and somehow succeeded. Chinese, Indian and Islamic civilizations produced great cultural achievements, but their social structures were fundamentally static; only empire and dictatorship ruled. Several Western powers wanted to open up Japan from its self-imposed isolation.
