East Asia's New Democracies: Deepening, Reversal, Non-liberal Alternatives

Belying triumphant declarations of "the end of history," the experience of democratization in East and Southeast Asia has been problematic, leading some commentators to suggest such terms as hybrid-democracy, semi-democracy, illiberal democracy, and elite democracy might be better suited for many countries concerned. In this volume, Chu (sociology, Hong Kong Baptist U., China) and Wong (Asian studies, U. of Hong Kong, China) present 13 papers that explore conundrums of democracy in the region, including the processes and forces underlying democratization, causes of relative consolidation versus reversal of democracy, the relationship between formal electoral democracy and the achievement of other substantive goals, and societal constraints that may limit the applicability of democracy. Specifically, papers discuss such topics as relationships between civil society, state response, and democratization processes in China; the relationship between civil society and democratization in Taiwan; the social classes that pushed democratization from below in South Korea; the exemption of the military and monarchy from democratization in Thailand; the relationship between democratization and the welfare state in Taiwan and South Korea; the possible dangers to ethnic minorities from liberal democracy; and levels of popular support for democracy in Asia. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Yin-wah Chu is Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology, Hong Kong Baptist University.

Siu-lun Wong is Professor and Director of the Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.