Culture, democracy, and political conflict management in Asia and the Pacific: An agenda for research

Abstract

Abstract One of the most problematic political issues in the late twentieth century is the relationship between culture and democracy which is, in turn, related to issues concerning the resolution of political conflict within state boundaries as well as between states. One purpose of this article is to provide an outline of these concerns with special reference to problems arising from cultural relativist perspectives on political institutions and practices on the one hand, and universalist assumptions on the other. In addition, it will be argued that the new agenda in the academic study of international relations can clearly benefit from the insights provided by a number of other social science disciplines. At the same time, it will be shown that disciplines concerned with such matters as democratic theory also need to broaden their scope of enquiry to the sphere of international politics.