ABSTRACT
The idea of a clash of values between the ‘East’ and ‘West’ enjoys influence amongst academics, politicians, journalists and others interested in the implications of Asia's changing position in the global political economy. However, false monoliths are being depicted in the notion of ‘Asian values’ versus ‘Western liberalism’ which conceal major and unresolved political and ideological disputes within Asia and the West. Indeed, it is the universality of these disputes which accounts for the extensive interest outside Asia in the idea of ‘Asian values’: in particular, the resonance of so-called ‘Asian values’ with conservative ideology and philosophy. Meanwhile, self-appointed custodians of ‘Asian values’ from the elite in Asia attempt to portray emerging challenges to conservative values, from a variety of competing political and ideological perspectives, as ‘unAsian’.
