The Democracy Barometers (Part I): Authoritarian Nostalgia in Asia

Issue Date July 2007
Volume 18
Issue 3
Page Numbers 66-81
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From Bangkok to Manila, Taipei, Seoul, and Ulaanbaatar, East Asia’s third-wave democracies are in distress. Data from the first and second Asian Barometer Surveys can help us systematically to assess the extent of normative commitment to democracy that citizens feel in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Compared to levels of popular support for democracy, strength of authoritarian detachment, and satisfaction with the performance of democracy observed in other regions, our six East Asian democracies appear on a par with similarly situated societies elsewhere in the world. The lesson is that this form of government must win citizens’ support through better performance.

About the Authors

Yun-han Chu

Yun-han Chu was an academician of Academia Sinica, where he was also Distinguished Research Fellow of the Institute of Political Science, and professor of political science at National Taiwan University.

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Yu-tzung Chang

Yu-tzung Chang is assistant professor of political science at National Taiwan University and program manager of the Asian Barometer.

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Chong-Min Park

Chong-Min Park is professor of public administration at Korea University in Seoul and directs the Asian Barometer Survey in South Korea.

View all work by Chong-Min Park