From Development to Democracy: The Transformations of Modern Asia

Why some of Asia’s authoritarian regimes have democratized as they have grown richer—and why others haven’t

Over the past century, Asia has been transformed by rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization—a spectacular record of development that has turned one of the world’s poorest regions into one of its richest. Yet Asia’s record of democratization has been much more uneven, despite the global correlation between development and democracy. Why have some Asian countries becom...