ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with East, Southeast, South, and Central Asia, not West Asia, and focuses on "comparative Asian politics". It presents a comprehensive introduction to the four regions of Asia from the perspectives of "democratization", "foreign policy", "political economy", and "political culture". The book discusses some of the most important issues that Asia is confronted with, such as "institutional developments", "human rights", "the impact of internet on politics", "military", "security", "democracy", "nationalism", "geopolitics and geo-economics", "ethnicity", and "soft-power". It introduces the "Big Three" of Asia: China, India, and Japan. The book covers India's democratization process in the last two centuries and the country's foreign policy. It describes the implementation of human rights from the international, national, and subregional levels. The book also discusses the internet's emerging impact on politics in Asia, with a focus on Malaysia, Thailand, and China.
