Globalization is a defining feature of our times, covering everything from economic and political issues to the spread of American culture. Its status is controversial, however with some viewing it as leading to greater development for all, while others see it as a threat to national cultures and democratic political life. This book shows how simplified such binary views are, and examines how various globalizing forces have affected Asian societies. It discusses the relationship between globalization, identity and democratic developments in Asia both theoretically and empirically, and aims to understand how economic, political and social forces interact and are mutually reinforced in Asian societies. All the chapters show the volatile nature of the relationship between the global and the local in Asia. Together they provide a picture of Asia characterised both by global flows of capital, information and people, and by localized contextual historical interpretations of such flows. It is at this nexus of the global and local that identity, as social relations, becomes the missing link for understanding globalization and democratization in Asia.
The book contains a range of in-depth case studies focusing on a variety of Asian countries, including China, India, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea.