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Description of  New Democracy and Autocratization in Asia (Routledge Studies on Think Asia)

This book examines the quality of democracies in Asia and determines why current democraciesespecially during the so-called new normal era following the 2008 financial crisishave become less stable and less resilient to increasing authoritarianism. Based on the assumption that the concept of democracy consists of three elementsprocedure (participation, competition, and distribution of power) effectiveness (representation, accountability, and responsiveness) and performance (social welfare, inequality, and trust)the contributors to this book determine which elements are responsible for diverging trajectories within the Asian democratic recession. Examining South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, and China, the authors employ different research methodsquantitative, comparative, or individual case studiesto explore the conditions under which democratic rules and norms erode over time, and which type of governance is preferred by citizens in this region as an ideal type. The book puts forward the argument that a procedure-oriented concept of democracy is not sufficient for understanding the source of democratic recession and develops a new concept of new democracy based on procedure, effectiveness, and performance. It also demonstrates to what extent the experience changes and how the countries respond to these changes. Read more