ABSTRACT
Political leaders in developing countries around the world are beginning take notice of the impressive progress of economic development in East Asia. Those countries must decide whether certain aspects of the ‘Asian Model’ should be adopted in their own pursuit of material gains. The most ardent supporters of ‘Asian values’ include authoritarian rulers and their apologists as well as a new breed of Asian nationalists. The promoters of ‘Asian values’ have instigated a new war of words that sets in stark relief unquestioned Eastern virtues against the allegedly unavoidable decadence of the West. In much of Asia, corruption is the natural outgrowth of the necessity of acquiring guanxi in order to make business deals. The political costs of corruption can include the collapse of ruling coalitions, as experienced several times in Japan, which is generally regarded by international business persons as having a low level of corruption.
