Incomplete Democracies in the Asia-Pacific ― Evidence from Indonesia, Korea, the Philippines and Thailand

This collection presents a nuanced and varied picture of the state of democracy in Asia, using the findings from a pioneering study, the Asia Democracy Initiative, to explore the role of ordinary people in democratization through the rise of expressive social values.

The volume shows how and why factors such as the emergence of the middle class, civil society organizations or non-electoral participation, do not seem to play the role that democratic theory suggests. The findings from Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines and Thailand, reveal how unique the region's paths to democracy are, in comparison to other regions, and particularly those of western liberal democracies, but also the substantial progress needed before transitional democracies become fully consolidated across Asia.

Giovanna Maria Dora Dore is a Fellow in the Asia Studies Program at John Hopkins SAIS, USA. She has worked for over a decade as a political economist for the World Bank Group, where she has focused on Asia and also served as a special assistant to the President.

Jae H. Ku is the Director of the U.S.-Korea Institute at SAIS, USA. He has taught at John Hopkins SAIS, Brown University, Yonsei University and Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul.

Karl D. Jackson is Director of Asian Studies and the C.V. Starr Distinguished Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at John Hopkins SAIS, USA. He was national security advisor to the vice president of the US and his numerous publications include Asian Contagion and Cambodia: 1975-1978.