Political Party Systems And Democratic Development In East And South

First published in 1998, this is the second of two volumes which will be of great value to scholars and students of politics in East and Southeast Asia. A rich, readable reference tool, they offer extensive surveys of the history, structure, culture, legal context, and financing, as well as the progress, travails, and prospects, of political parties and electoral systems in 13 countries. The excellent introduction and the detailed country case studies demonstrate the wide range of political experiences in Asia. Rather than affirm the thesis of a common set of "Asian values" hostile to democracy, they show that in much of East and Southeast Asia, people want the political choice and accountability that come from free and fair electoral competition with open, effective political parties.

First published in 1998, this is the second of two volumes which will be of great value to scholars and students of politics in East and Southeast Asia. A rich, readable reference tool, they offer extensive surveys of the history, structure, culture, legal context, and financing, as well as the progress, travails, and prospects, of political parties and electoral systems in 13 countries. The excellent introduction and the detailed country case studies demonstrate the wide range of political experiences in Asia. Rather than affirm the thesis of a common set of "Asian values" hostile to democracy, they show that in much of East and Southeast Asia, people want the political choice and accountability that come from free and fair electoral competition with open, effective political parties.

This second volume examines party structure and development in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan

This second volume examines party structure and development in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Some fledging democracies in the world have encountered setbacks due to political parties trying to grapple with the expectations of sophisticated electorates and introducing gradual political reforms over the years.This book describes how democracy is evolving in East Asia and how it assumes different forms in different countries, with political parties adapting and evolving alongside. It has a two-fold intent. First, it contends that the existing variety of party systems in East Asia will endure and may even flourish, rather than converge as liberal democracies. Second, it highlights the seeming political durability of one party systems — unlike two-part or multi-party systems in the US and Europe — and their enduring predominance in countries such as Cambodia, China, Singapore and Vietnam.

Assessing the trajectory of democratization in East Asia, this volume offers a systematic and tightly integrated analysis of party-system development in countries across the region. The authors utilize unprecedented cross-national survey data to examine the institutional structure of party systems, the range of choices these systems represent, and their connection to voting preferences. They also investigate the consequences of partisanship for citizen support of the democratic process. While revealing that party development in the region is still incomplete, the book highlights areas of progress as it explores the potential for enhanced representation.

Some fledging democracies in the world have encountered setbacks due to political parties trying to grapple with the expectations of sophisticated electorates and introducing gradual political reforms over the years.This book describes how democracy is evolving in East Asia and how it assumes different forms in different countries, with political parties adapting and evolving alongside. It has a two-fold intent. First, it contends that the existing variety of party systems in East Asia will endure and may even flourish, rather than converge as liberal democracies. Second, it highlights the seeming political durability of one party systems ? unlike two-part or multi-party systems in the US and Europe ? and their enduring predominance in countries such as Cambodia, China, Singapore and Vietnam.

Since the founding of the American Republic, the North and South have followed remarkably different paths of political development. Among the factors that have led to their divergence throughout much of history are differences in the levels of competition among the political parties. While the North has generally enjoyed a well-defined two-party system, the South has tended to have only weakly developed political parties—and at times no system of parties to speak of. With Why Parties Matter, John H. Aldrich and John D. Griffin make a compelling case that competition between political parties is an essential component of a democracy that is responsive to its citizens and thus able to address their concerns. Tracing the history of the parties through four eras—the Democratic-Whig party era that preceded the Civil War; the post-Reconstruction period; the Jim Crow era, when competition between the parties virtually disappeared; and the modern era—Aldrich and Griffin show how and when competition emerged between the parties and the conditions under which it succeeded and failed. In the modern era, as party competition in the South has come to be widely regarded as matching that of the North, the authors conclude by exploring the question of whether the South is poised to become a one-party system once again with the Republican party now dominant.