Description
Book SynopsisDo authoritarian regimes manage ethnic pluralism better than democracies? Is the process of democratization itself destructive of inter-ethnic accomodation? The notable contributors to Democratization and Identity explore and challenge such arguments as they introduce the experiences of East and Southeast Asia into the study of democratization in ethnically (including religiously) diverse societies. This insightful volume views political regimes and ethnic identities as co-constitutive: authoritarianism, democratization, and democracy are interconnected processes of (re)producing collective (including ethnic) identities and political power, under the influence of entrenched and evolving sociopolitical relations and forms of economic production. Democratization and Identity suggests that the risk of ethnicized conflict, exclusion, or hierarchy during democratization depends in large part on the nature of the ethnic identities and relations constituted during authoritarian rule. This col
Trade ReviewThis is a very impressive collection of essays on the interactions of ethnic consciousness and identity in the process of democratization in various Asian states. -- Peter R. Moody, University of Notre Dame
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Political Regimes and Ethnic Identities in East and Southeast Asia: Beyond the "Asian Values" Debate Part 2 Debating Theories and Concepts Chapter 3 Is Democracy the "Least Bad" System for Minority Groups? Chapter 4 The Democratization of National Identity Chapter 5 Understanding Contending Nationalist Identities: Reading Ernest Gellner and Benedict Anderson from Taiwan Chapter 6 The Political Economy and Cultural Politics of Ethnic Conflict in Asia Part 7 Reflecting on East Asia Chapter 8 The Politics of Recognition in Contemporary Japan Chapter 9 Ethnic Identity in China: The Rising Politics of Cultural Difference Chapter 10 Democratic Transition and Cultural Diversity: Buddhist Organizations and Identity Construction in Taiwan Part 11 Reflecting on Southeast Asia Chapter 12 Democratization and Religious and Nationalist Conflict in Post-Suharto Indonesia Chapter 13 Democracy, Nationalism, and Ethnic Identity: The Philippines and East Timor Compared Chapter 14 Elusive Democracy: Appropriation of "Rights" Ideologies in Malaysian Ethnic and Religious Political Discourse
