Democratization, National Identity and Foreign Policy in Asia

How can democratization move forward in an era of populist-nationalist backlash? Many countries in Asia, and elsewhere, face the challenge of navigating between China and the United States in a period of intensifying polarization in their policies tied to democracy. East Asia has shown the way to democratization in Asia?with Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan linking national identity to democratization. In other parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia, nationalist governments have tended to move away from democratization, as happened in Hong Kong at China?s insistence. This book investigates how national identity can both help and hinder democratization, illustrated by a series of examples from across Asia. A valuable guide for students and scholars both of democratization and of Asian politics.

Introduction Part 1 Toward a Conceptual Framework on Democracy, Identity, and Foreign Policy in East Asia 1. Democratization, Identity, and Foreign Policy in Southeast Asia 2. The Mediating Role of National Identity in Democratization and Lessons from Post-Cold War Foreign Policy in Northeast Asia 3. The Chinese Model of Law, China’s Agenda in International Law, and Implications for Democracy in Asia and Beyond 4. Democratization in Asia: Lessons from the Americas Part 2 The Evolution of Democratic Governance in East Asia and National Identity 5. National Identity and Democracy: Lessons from the Case of Japan 6. Democracy Is More than a Political System: Lessons from South Korea’s Political Transformation 7. Linking Internal and External Enemies: Impact of National Identity on Chinese Democratization and Foreign Relations 8. Analyzing the Relationship between Identity and Democratization in the Shadow of China Part 3 Four Test Cases in the Struggle for Democratization in East Asia 9. Democratization, National Identity, and Indonesia’s Foreign Policy 10. Truce and Tales in New Malaysia: Happy First Anniversary 11. Myanmar’s Democratic Backsliding in the Struggle for National Identity and Independence 12. Democratization, National Identity, and Foreign Policy in Mongolia in 2019

Gilbert Rozman is the editor of The Asan Forum and the Emeritus Musgrave Professor of Sociology at Princeton University.