Asian Democracy in World History

ISBN-13: 9780415229432 / Angielski / Miękka / 2003 / 136 str.

Alan T. Wood;Alan T. Wood

Opis

How does the democratic experience in Asia, in countries with unique and totalitarian political traditions, compare with democracies worldwide? Is the aspiration to freedom universal or is it a product of western ideas and institutions? Taking a comparative approach, Alan T. Wood traces the evolution of democracy from its origins in prehistoric times, and describes democratic growth in thirteen Asian countries from Japan in East Asia to Pakistan in South Asia. Periods and topics discussed include: the background of Western democracy post-war democracies in India, Japan, and the Philippines later democracies in Korea, Taiwan, and the prospects for China later democracies in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia failing democracies in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka Together with suggestions for further reading, including Internet sources, this is an ideal starting point for the in-depth study of democracy in the entire Asian region.

Taking a comparative approach, Alan T. Wood traces the evolution of democracy from its origins in prehistoric times and describes democratic growth in thirteen Asian countries from Japan in East Asia to Pakistan in South Asia and examines key issues such as:

* How does the democratic experience in Asia, in countries with unique and totalitarian political traditions, compare with democracies worldwide?
* Is the aspiration to freedom universal or is it a product of western ideas and institutions?

O autorze

Alan T. Wood is Professor of History at the University of Washington, Bothell. He has lived and studied in Asia for many years, and is the author of Limits to Autocracy: From Sung Neo-Confucianism to a Doctrine of Political Rights (1995) and What Does It Mean to be Human? A New Interpretation of Freedom in World History (2001).