Overview

It may be tempting to view political development and democratization in East Asia from a global view and conclude that the contours of democracy will converge throughout the world. However, a close examination of the cultural and economic development of Asian societies suggests a contrary picture. The story of Asia is one of political and economic survival, in which political elites sought to legitimate their authority through the use of both traditional and modern symbols. Traditional communitarian values and the modern symbols of economic growth and materialism coexist in Asian political systems. The stability and legitimacy of Asian governments depend on the ability of political elites to balance these symbols. As globalization proceeds, the standard traditional and modern symbols have waned in their effectiveness. Therefore, democracy as a symbol and practice can provide new sources of legitimacy to these political systems. Compton's Asian political development model is tested with quantitative indicators and through a series of case studies. The three case studies—Japan, South Korea, and Thailand—build on each other through a rigorous historical comparison. While the case studies themselves are interesting, he makes connections to the model and tests the congruence of these cases to the model, and concludes that the model's validity is predicated on the internal environment, including culture and economy. Of particular interest to scholars, students, and researchers involved with comparative and Asian politics, political development, and political culture.

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It is refreshing to come across a book on East Asia that at once captures the complexity of its political systems and presents a useful model for understanding them. Compton's model explains the ways in which political elites in Japan, Korea, and Thailand have sought, first and foremost, to preserve social order and good government while developing their economies to be competitive internationally. Compton has identified the relevant variables for understanding this complex set of circumstances, put the variables together in a coherent, theoretically challenging model, and developed a set of quantitative indicators and case studies to test the efficacy of the model. The result is a book that will be extremely helpful to scholars and graduate students trying to advance the research agenda on East Asian politics. -Dr. Marcus Franda Government and Politics Department University of Maryland

The reintroduction of past scholarship will remind contemporary students of their intellectual legacy and will inspire some to build on it as they struggle to fit the mosaic of Asian politics into meaningful patterns. -Choice ... a valuable heuristic tool that should make us think more deeply about important aspects of the political economies in East and Southeast Asia. -American Political Science Review ?...a valuable heuristic tool that should make us think more deeply about important aspects of the political economies in East and Southeast Asia.?-American Political Science Review ?The reintroduction of past scholarship will remind contemporary students of their intellectual legacy and will inspire some to build on it as they struggle to fit the mosaic of Asian politics into meaningful patterns.?-Choice .,. a valuable heuristic tool that should make us think more deeply about important aspects of the political economies in East and Southeast Asia. -American Political Science Review It is refreshing to come across a book on East Asia that at once captures the complexity of its political systems and presents a useful model for understanding them. Compton's model explains the ways in which political elites in Japan, Korea, and Thailand have sought, first and foremost, to preserve social order and good government while developing their economies to be competitive internationally. Compton has identified the relevant variables for understanding this complex set of circumstances, put the variables together in a coherent, theoretically challenging model, and developed a set of quantitative indicators and case studies to test the efficacy of the model. The result is a book that will be extremely helpful to scholars and graduate students trying to advance the research agenda on East Asian politics. -Dr. Marcus Franda Government and Politics Department University of Maryland

Author Information

ROBERT W. COMPTON, JR., is Assistant Professor of Government at Western Kentucky University./e His main research interests include East Asian democratization and state legitimacy in the context of political culture, politics, and the economy.

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