Escaping the Territorially Trapped East Asian Developmental State Thesis

Abstract

Using a multiscalar approach, there has been a recent increase in geographic critiques of the East Asian developmental state thesis (DST). These critiques argue that the existing DST literature is epistemologically caught in a territorial trap. There has been less concern, however, about the methodology related to this research. In this article, I suggest that scholars consider not only the epistemological perspective but also the methodological dimension to effectively exploit the less territorially trapped DST research. Based on these analyses, this article emphasizes that interdisciplinary research using a multiscalar methodology and epistemology is required to better explain economic development in East Asia.