ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the theoretical and empirical debates concerning the links between globalization, growth, and democratization in East Asia. Multiple causal linkages exist between globalization and democracy, including those associated with growth models, capital integration, international influence, and interaction between countries, each of which will be discussed in turn. The theoretical argument contained in the literature is based on two premises: that globalization promotes economic growth and that economic growth results in democratization. Adam Przeworski and C. M. Yebra also argue that globalization may compel countries to adopt similar policies, such as engaging in tax competition, so authoritarian governments tend to lose some of their control over the economy and society. Economic crises can damage the legitimacy of authoritarian regimes, increasing the chance of regime breakdown. Tun-jen Cheng indicates that, in East Asia, there is more economic integration between the democracies and the authoritarian regimes than there is among the democracies or among the authoritarian regimes themselves.
