This book presents a thematic and accessible introduction to one of the most significant and dynamic regions of the contemporary world. This is the first text to be systematically comparative throughout, using a thematic, rather than country-by-country, chapter structure.Using China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines as core examples throughout, this major new text provides a comprehensive, up-to-date and very accessible introduction to the politics of an increasingly significant and dynamic region of the contemporary world.

Table of Contents

Introduction; The Historical Context; States and Political Executive; Government, Legislatures, Judiciaries; The Politics of Bureaucracy; The State and the Economy; Parties and Elections; Participation and Power; Ideologies, Identities and Political Communication; Globalization, Regionalism and the Myth of an Asian Century; Conclusion.

Author Biography

XIAOMING HUANG is Senior Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.