Westernization is a process that every industrial country in the world has experienced to at least some extent. They all have their own paths to industrialization, however. These paths represent their beliefs about he West and its relative strengths or weaknesses. The 19th and early 20th century offers three prominent examples - Russia, China, and Japan
Of the three, Japan adapted the best to western technology, economics, and culture because it embraced the process of Westernization the most. After centuries of trying to keep the West out, Japan suddenly opened up in 1854 and became just as firmly open as it had been firmly closed. This was a conscious decision on the part of the Japanese Emperor, though he had little choice in the matter. The United States had, more or less, opened Japan by force. Given the impossibility of driving the Westerners away, the Japanese decided that the only way to maintain their sovereignty was to remain competitive by adopting Western ideas. In less than half a century, it had largely caught up with the West in terms of industrial output and had begun being a colonial power to be reckoned with.
Westernization in Russia worked rather less well. As an Eastern European country, Russia had the advantage of having older ties to the West than Japan had. It therefore had something of a "head start" on Westernization. It did less with this advantage, however, because Russia still had a very feudal structure in the 19th century. Russia embraced Westernization only gingerly because the tsars were reluctant to allow anything in the country that would undermine their authority. They wanted to have Western technology, but did not want the cultural background for that technology. They could not have it both ways, however, their their attempt to find a balance between industrialization and liberalization failed. It created too many social tensions and eventually resulted in the Russian Revolution.
China did not adapt to Westernization very well at all. There, even Western technology was seen as a threat to traditional Chinese culture. Although Chinese bureaucrats attempted to implement certain reforms to help modernize the country and keep it competitive, these reforms accomplished very little. The Chinese were just too suspicious of anything from the West. Having not had to deal with the political fragmentation that had plagued Europe since the collapse of the Roman Empire, China was not as open to new ideas as was the West. It had not needed to be in the past, and could not transition very well even once many Chinese leaders realized that they needed to change to remain competitive.
These three nations demonstrate three different approaches to Westernization. Countries can either embrace it whole heartedly, reject it completely, or attempt to find some balance. In the end, those countries that attempt industrialization without liberalization are very likely to see revolt and even revolution.
