ABSTRACT
This collection explores democratic transitions in East Asia, arguing against the standard wisdom that European or Christian value systems and socioeconomic forces are essential for democracy to succeed. Instead the contributors convincingly illustrate that political institutions, which can be built anywhere by skilled coalitions, have the most profound and lasting influence on a stable democratic system. Indeed the East Asian experience reveals truths about Western democratization that are obscured by popular Western mythologies. This partnership of U.S. and Asian scholars has given us the first systematic effort to bring East Asia into the democratization debate in a way that compels one to rethink "the politics of democratization" everywhere. The book therefore is a crucial contribution for all those interested in the broader issues of transition.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|41 pages
Theoretical Overview
part II|63 pages
Japan
part III|36 pages
Korea
part IV|23 pages
Hong Kong
part V|36 pages
Taiwan
part VI|40 pages
China