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Conventional political science depicts legitimate elections as
rational affairs in which informed voters select candidates for
office according to how their coherently presented aims, ideologies
and policies appeal to the self-interest of the electorate. In
reality elections, whether in first world democracies, or in the
various governmental systems present in Asia, can more
realistically be seen as cultural events in which candidates'
campaigns are shaped, consciously or unconsciously, to appeal to
the cultural understanding and practices of the electorate. The
election campaign period is one in which the masses are mobilized
to participate in a range of cultural activities, from flying the
party colours in noisy motorcycle parades to attending political
rallies for or against, or simply to be entertained by the
performances on the political stage, and to gambling on the outcome
of the contest. The essays in this book analyse electioneering
activities in nine Asian countries in terms of popular cultural
practices in each location, ranging from updated traditional
cultures to mimicry and caricatures of present day television
dramas. In presenting political election as an expression of
popular culture this book portrays electoral behaviour as a
meaningful cultural practice. As such this book will appeal to
student and scholars of political science and cultural studies
alike, as well as those with a more general interest in Asian
studies.
Challenging and contemporary, this collection of essays examines the processes which have transformed underdeveloped countries into full-blown consumer societies. These essays give the first detailed analysis of consumerism within East and Southeast Asia and contain case-studies from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan. Within the context of Asian consumption and consumerism, the book covers: · power shifts · middle classes and new generations · urban China · fashions and lifestyle · Japanese - American relationships.
Contents: 1. Consuming Asians: Ideas and Issues, Chua Beng Huat 2. Malaysia: Power Shifts and The Matrix of Consumption, Rokiah Talib 3. Changing Lifestyles and Consumption Patterns of South Korean Middle Class and New Generation, Seung-Kuk Kim 4. Economic Development and Changing Patterns of Consumption in Urban China, Chengze Simon Fan 5. Middle Class Formation and Comsumption in Hong Kong, Annie Hau-nung Chan 6. Global Lifestyles under Local Conditions: The New Indonesian Middle Class, Solvay Gerke 7. The Formation and Consumption of KTV in Taiwan, Kuan-Hsing Chen 8. Singaporeans Ingesting McDonald's 9. Japan Consumes 'America': From Symbol to System, Shunya Yoshimi 10. The Anomic World of the High Consumers: Fashion and Cultural Formation, Joanne Finkelstein
Singapore's successful public housing programme is a source of
political legitimacy for the ruling People's Action Party.
Beng-Huat Chua accounts for the success of public housing in
Singapore and draws out lessons for other nations. Housing in
Singapore, he explains in this incisive analysis, is seen neither
as a consumer good (as in the US) nor as a social right (as in the
social democracies of Europe). The author goes on to look at the
ways in which Singapore's planners have dealt with the problems of
creating communities in a modern urban environment. He concludes
that the success of the public housing programme has done much for
Singapore.
The economic success of Singapore has established the country as a model for other nations. Yet until now the ideas behind this accomplishment have not been critically examined. Communitarian Ideology and Democracy in Singapore fills this gap. The book outlines the policies the ruling party has adopted over the past three decades. It charts the government's move away from Western concepts towards the evolution of 'Asian democracy'. The author analyses this anti-liberal democracy and the government's motives for repackaging cultural heritage into a national ideology of Asian communitarianism. This book avoids the polarization that has tended to characterise texts on Asian governments. It neither concentrates on a history of authoritarian repression nor unequivocally praises the regime but critically examines its political success. As such it provides a new and balanced account to the student of Singapore politics.
In Liberalism Disavowed, Beng Huat Chua examines the rejection of
Western-style liberalism in Singapore since the nation's expulsion
from Malaysia and formal independence as a republic in 1965. The
People's Action Party, which has ruled Singapore since 1959, has
forged an independent non-Western ideology that is evident in
various government policies that Chua analyzes, among them
multiracialism, public housing, and widespread social distributions
to the citizenry. Singapore is prosperous and peaceful, it's highly
advanced on various metrics of economic development, it has a great
deal of regional influence, it is home to sophisticated industries
and a large financial service sector, and it features what are by
Western standards unusually low levels of social inequality.
Paradoxically, however, it is no beacon of political liberalism.
Chua sets forth ample evidence that the dominance of the People's
Action Party is based on a combination of economic success and
media control, limits on public protests, libel suits against
political opponents, and severely curtailed civil liberties.
With the collapse of European socialism in the late 1980s,
ascendancy of the liberal capitalist democracy and individual
self-interest became prevalent in the West. In contrast, many
polities in Asia, both by tradition and choice, have explicitly
adopted communitarianism as a national ideology, for example
Confucianism in Korea, Hong Kong and Japan, Islam in Malaysia and
the Panca Sila in Indonesia. Here, communitarianism arguably
informs public policies and political practices and the concept of
the 'social' in terms of responsibilities and collective welfare is
preserved. Communitarian Politics in Asia examines instances in
southeast and east Asian countries where communitarianism is both
articulated as national ideology and embedded as the ethos of
social life and assesses the relative merits of a set of practices
in their respective local political context. The book not only
augments existing international debate on liberalism and
communitarianism but also provides empirical examples of
communitarian political practices that will substantiate and/or
refute conceptual points, such as redistributive justice and costs
to individuals, in this ongoing debate.
The Crisis of Welfare in East Asia adopts a unique and critical
perspective on contemporary social welfare policies in East Asia.
This edited volume reflects on current welfare theories and
challenges the dominant productivist ideology that overemphasizes
the influence of work and family. James Lee and Kam-Wah Chan bring
together authors from different social policy domains to provide an
updated assessment of inadequacies and limitations in current
social policies as well as the problematic theories guiding them.
The authors demystify the so-called 'East Asian Welfare Model' and
reengage themselves in the identification of an appropriate welfare
ideology, which includes a selective integration of social policy
and economic development. The Crisis of Welfare in East Asia is a
dynamic and enlightening read that will interest students of public
policy and those interested in welfare capitalism.
The Crisis of Welfare in East Asia adopts a unique and critical
perspective on contemporary social welfare policies in East Asia.
This edited volume reflects on current welfare theories and
challenges the dominant productivist ideology that overemphasizes
the influence of work and family. James Lee and Kam-Wah Chan bring
together authors from different social policy domains to provide an
updated assessment of inadequacies and limitations in current
social policies as well as the problematic theories guiding them.
The authors demystify the so-called "East Asian Welfare Model" and
reengage themselves in the identification of an appropriate welfare
ideology, which includes a selective integration of social policy
and economic development. The Crisis of Welfare in East Asia is a
dynamic and enlightening read that will interest students of public
policy and those interested in welfare capitalism.
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