ABSTRACT
The chapters assesses and ascertains whether democratic regimes in East Asia are still enjoying a solid foundation of popular support by applying an integrated framework of evaluating the popular perception of and orientations toward democracy. The reasons for this include the region's long history of human civilization, its diverse cultural heritage, the resiliency of the competing non-democratic political models and the strong presence of Sino-US strategic rivalry. In terms of regime performance, many of East Asia's new democracies struggled with governance challenges – political strife, bureaucratic paralysis, recurring political scandals, financial crises and sluggish economic growth. The Asian Barometer Survey introduced a direct way to find out how far the citizens think their country has traveled down the path of democratic development. The reason lies probably in the effect of the 2009 elections and the defeat of the Liberal Democratic Party that had been long associated with money politics.
