Asia. Democracy in East Asia: A new century Edited by Larry Diamond , Marc F. Plattner and Yun-Han Chu Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 2013. Pp. 288. Notes, Bibliography, Index.

Abstract

Democracy in East Asia: A new century Edited by LARRY DIAMOND, MARC F. PLATTNER and YUN-HAN CHU Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press, 2013. Pp. 288. Notes, Bibliography, Index. In a seminal essay published in Foreign Affairs nearly twenty years ago, Fareed Zakaria (1997) posited the paradox of how democracy as embraced by much of the world was not the type prescribed by textbooks and Western liberal democracies. This state of affairs seems to echo the words of Thailand's latest coup leader, now prime minister, Prayuth Chan-o-cha who memorably dismissed allegations of torture of dissidents, 'Our country has seen so much trouble because we have had too much democracy.' Or has it? The present edited volume, Democracy in East Asia: A new century exactly aims to plumb the state of democracy in East Asia. As a measure of how fast things change when it comes to politics, right after this book went to print, Thailand underwent yet another coup in May 2014. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won the elections in Myanmar late 2015. Malaysia's 1MDB scandal was still roiling Kuala Lumpur in 2016. Whether democracy is held at abeyance or it has advanced on different fronts, the contentions that are raised by this stimulating collection of essays remain as relevant as ever. This collection pivots on two main themes: China's influence on the rest of Asia, and the adoption of gradualism or creeping trade-offs in the implementation of democracy. None of the essays approaches the shrill alarmism of Gordon G. Chang's infamous 2001 thesis. Francis Fukuyama, for instance, believes China leads the rest of the East Asian nations in a skein of economic development based on authoritarian modernisation. Along the same vein, Benjamin Reilly proposes a geographical explanation for the salience of the China model. For example, countries which share a border with China (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam) are more authoritarian than maritime states like Indonesia. But Fukuyama doubts the ability of such regimes in managing future challenges. China might inadvertently sow the seeds of its own 'social explosion'. Pei Minxin shares similar pessimism. Pei cites two factors for the longevity of the CCP in China: economic performance and political repression. He discounts the so-called institutional reforms in China. Herein lies the rub, just how far can the argument be made that the PRC has little institutional reform backing its economic performance? Another variant of China's relations with its neighbours stands the conventional argument on its head. Chu Yun-han details the influence of Taiwan on mainland China. Chu's central message, lessons to be gleaned from an authoritarian Taiwan evolving towards democracy, seems to be the raison d'etre of this entire volume. On the leviathan's ability to evolve, Joseph Wong traces the connection between democratic reforms driven towards garnering votes and social welfare issues coming to the forefront of politics. …