ABSTRACT
The renaissance of Asian cultural institutions and the impression of political stability in the region, combined with unleashed economic dynamism, have generated unprecedented attention to the region. Westerners slowly and sometimes begrudgingly have come to realize the rising importance of the Asian Pacific economies despite the erratic signals of conflict and cooperation. Asians have become increasingly resentful of what they perceive as a lack of respect for their distinctive cultural traditions. There is a long history of Asian political leaders providing family members with special privileges or installing them as their successors. Nepotism is consistent with the culturally imbedded commitment to family that is said to define social relations in much of Asia. The institutionalization of the ‘Asian values’ of nepotism and dynastic succession is in conflict with the modernizing forces of marketization and democratization. The development record of the authoritarian East Asian regimes is often interpreted to suggest that rapid economic growth and political freedom are incompatible.
