Routledge Development Without Freedom: The Politics of Asian Globalization

Thanks to the inroads of IMFism and the "war on terror," America has lost much of the soft power it enjoyed in Asia during the early 1990s. The winners, by default, are some of the world's most undemocratic development models, such as Sino-globalism. "Asian values" took a hard blow from the Asian Crash, but have returned in this even more virulent form. The West is left sitting on the sidelines of a distinctly Asian contest of development with or without freedom. Development Without Freedom explores this crucial trial-by-development, which will define the politics of globalization for decades to come. Review '...provides a powerful critique of the authoritarian development strategies, subverted forms of democratization and the socio-ecological costs of capitalist globalization in Asia. It makes a significant contribution to development theory and is a must read for all those who want to understand the true nature of development and globalization in Asia as well as the prospects for democracy and freedom in this region (and the rest of the world).' Richard L. Harris, California State University, Monterey Bay, USA and Managing Editor, Journal of Developing Societies, 'A richly informed, wide-ranging and analytically compelling account of the politics of Asian globalization that will instruct and challenge readers from many backgrounds. By creatively and critically developing the insight of Amartya Sen, the Thorntons put forward a humane and democratic alternative to the neoliberal social order.' Joseph G. Peschek, Hamline University, USA About the Author Songok Han Thornton is a Research Assistant Professor of Political Science at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. Professor William H. Thornton is Professor of Literary and Cultural Theory at National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan.