Cultural Politics and Asian Values The tepid war

Cultural Politics and Asian Values looks at the political, cultural and religious background of East and Southeast Asian societies and those of 'the West', with a view to seeing how they are affecting contemporary national and international politics: democratization, the international human rights discourse, NGOs and globalization.
The book surveys the political history and pre-history of the 'Asian values' debate, taking it up to the era of Megawati Sukarnoputri, Chen Shui-bian and Kim Dae-jung. In chapters on Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and liberalism, Barr explores the histories and conceptual essences of the world religions involved in or affected by the debate.

Part 1: Cultural Politics 1. Death of a Debate? 2. A Broad History: From Meiji to 'East Asian Miracle' 3. Narrow Histories: Lee Kuan Yew and Dr Mahathir 4. Confronting China After the End of History 5. Fin de Siècle: 'Democratic Moment', Financial Crisis and Beyond Part 2: Values and Religions 6. Of Liberalism and Other Religions 7. The European Legacy: Christianity and Liberalism 8. Islam: of Shari'a and Adat; Calophs and Rajas 9. Buddhism: The Politics of Compassion 10. Confucianism: Humane Rites and Elite Rights Part III: Cultural Politics and Asian Values 11. 'Asian Values' Revisited 12. Human Rights Revisited