Democratization In Southeast And East Asia

How has economic development affected the process of democratization in Southeast and East Asia? the contributions in this volume represent one of the first efforts to answer this question from the vantage of the region.In this book, scholars of Southeast and East Asian politics discuss the rise and fall, or stabilization and modification, of democracy amidst socio-economic changes and class transformations in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Taiwan and South Korea. The approach taken by the contributors gives a fine balance between democratization as a consequence of socio-economic development and as a political-ideological process.

By providing various fascinating first-hand accounts of how citizens negotiate their rights in the context of weak state institutions, Citizenship and Democratization in Southeast Asia offers a unique bottom-up perspective on the evolving character of public life in democratizing Southeast Asia.

Rapid economic pluralization in East Asia has empowered local and medial groups, and with this change comes the need to rethink usual notions regarding ways in which "democracies" emerge or "citizens" gain more power. Careful examination of current developments in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia show a need for expansion of our understandings of democracy and democratization. This book challenges traditional ways in which political regimes in local as well as national polities are conceived and labeled. It shows from Asian experiences that democracy and its precursors come in more forms than most liberals have yet imagined. In reviewing recent experiences of countries across East Asia, these chapters show that actual democracies and ostensible democratizations there are less like those in the West than the surprisingly consensual and standard political science of democratization suggests. This book first examines the extreme variation of democracy’s meaning in many Asian states that hold contested elections (South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand). Then it focuses on China. It analyzes a range of grassroots forces driving political change in the People’s Republic, and it finds both accelerators and brakes in China’s political reform process. The contributors show that models for China’s political future exist both within and outside the PRC, including in other East Asian states, in localities and sectors that already are pushing the limits of the powerful, but no longer all-powerful, Chinese party-state. With contributions from leading academics in the field, Democratization in China, Korea, and Southeast Asia? will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian politics, comparative politics, and democratization more broadly.

This title will be available in its entirety in Open Access. By providing various fascinating first-hand accounts of how citizens negotiate their rights in the context of weak state institutions, Citizenship and Democratization in Southeast Asia offers a unique bottom-up perspective on the evolving character of public life in democratizing Southeast Asia.

How can democratization move forward in an era of populist-nationalist backlash? Many countries in Asia, and elsewhere, face the challenge of navigating between China and the United States in a period of intensifying polarization in their policies tied to democracy. East Asia has shown the way to democratization in Asia—with Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan linking national identity to democratization. In other parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia, nationalist governments have tended to move away from democratization, as happened in Hong Kong at China’s insistence. This book investigates how national identity can both help and hinder democratization, illustrated by a series of examples from across Asia. A valuable guide for students and scholars both of democratization and of Asian politics.

Democratization scholars believe that the next regional wave of transitions to democracy may unfold in East and Southeast Asia. In their introduction to the 1998 edition of Democracy in East Asia, Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner predicted that East Asia, with its remarkable diversity of political regimes, economies, and religions, would likely be the most critical arena in the global struggle for democracy, a prediction that has proven prescient. Although the recent political upheavals in the Middle East have understandably grabbed the world’s attention, there is reason to doubt whether the overthrow of some authoritarian regimes there will lead to the establishment of stable democracies any time soon. On the other hand, East Asia, the world’s most populous and economically dynamic region, already boasts several consolidated democracies and provides a fascinating laboratory for studies of both authoritarian resilience and the prospects for democratization. This updated volume, which features contributions by distinguished scholars in East Asian studies, will be welcomed by instructors and students in the field, particularly as U.S. foreign policy is in the process of undertaking a “pivot” toward Asia. Democracy in East Asia offers a comprehensive treatment of the political landscape in both Northeast and Southeast Asia, including discussions of China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Burma (Myanmar). Contributors: Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner, Francis Fukuyama, Minxin Pei, Yun-han Chu, Hyug Baeg Im, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Dan Slater, Martin Gainsborough, Don Emmerson, Edward Aspinall, Mark Thompson, Benjamin Reilly, Joseph Wong, Chong-Min Park, Yu-tzung Chang

Southeast Asia, an economically dynamic and strategically vital region, seemed until recently to be transiting to more democratic politics. This progress has suddenly stalled or even gone into reverse, requiring that analysts seriously rethink their expectations and theorizing. The Routledge Handbook of Southeast Asian Democratization provides the first book-length account of the reasons for democracy’s declining fortunes in the region today. Combining theory and case studies, it is structured in four major sections: Stunted Trajectories and Unhelpful Milieus Wavering Social Forces Uncertain Institutions Country cases and democratic guises This interdisciplinary reference work addresses topics including the impact of belief systems, historical records, regional and global contexts, civil society, ethnicity, women, Islam, and social media. The performance of political institutions is also assessed, and the volume offers a series of in-depth case studies, evaluating the country records of particular democratic, hybrid, and authoritarian regimes from a democratization perspective. Bringing together nearly 30 key international experts in the field, this cutting-edge Handbook offers a comprehensive and fresh investigation into democracy in the region This timely survey will be essential reading for scholars and students of Democratization and Asian Politics, as well as policymakers concerned with democracy’s setbacks in Southeast Asia and the implications for the region’s citizens.

This handbook provides a comprehensive analysis of the dynamics and prospects of democratization in East Asia. A team of leading experts in the field offers discussion at both the country and regional level, including analysis of democratic attitudes and movements in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Evaluating all the key components of regime evolution, from citizen politics to democratic institutions, the sections covered include: • Regional Trends and Country Overviews • Institutions, Elections, and Political Parties • Democratic Citizenship • Democratic Governance • The Political Economy of Democratization Examining the challenges that East Asian emerging democracies still face today, as well as the prospects of the region's authoritarian regimes, the Routledge Handbook of Democratization in East Asia will be useful for students and scholars of East Asian Politics, Comparative Politics, and Asian Studies.