An exploration of the recent financial crisis which argues that the hitherto dominant intellectual and policy paradigm of neo-liberalism has been fatally weakened and will in due course be replaced. The implications of the crisis for politico-cultural identities and our sense of ourselves as members of an ordered society are explored.

This book offers an interpretive and critical comparative politics analysis of the post-1945 development trajectory of the broad East Asian region and its component countries. The discussion considers the region and its countries in terms of their historical legacies (colonialism, war and the preoccupation with development) and argues that each country has constructed their own way of ordering political life, each created its own political logic. Arguing that it is an error to judge these countries' performance against the model of Europe or America, Preston discusses the era of expansionist colonialism, the episode of breakdown in highly destructive regional warfare in the early twentieth century and the subsequent diverse records of China (with its party-state turned towards a nominal state-socialism), Hong Kong (confronting the problems of living with distant masters), Singapore (with its elite directed national building) and Thailand (mired in elite-resistance to popular political reform).

This book addresses key questions about how Singapore is likely to develop going forward, what are the key challenges facing the state, and how is the government going to deal with these matters. The book shows how important Lee Kuan Yew and subsequent individual leaders have been in shaping Singapore, and goes on to consider specific new challenges, including rapid population growth, migration and a changing population mix, the rise of China and possible shifts in the regional balance of power, and anxieties about the economy and an increasing global backlash against the neo-liberal free trade regime. It considers key areas of economic policy, social policy, and foreign policy, and explores the changing nature of governance. It also examines the Singapore government's effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Overall, the book provides a concise, comprehensive assessment of the current state of Singapore and its likely future direction.

This book addresses key questions about how Singapore is likely to develop going forward, what are the key challenges facing the state, and how is the government going to deal with these matters. The book shows how important Lee Kuan Yew and subsequent individual leaders have been in shaping Singapore, and goes on to consider specific new challenges, including rapid population growth, migration and a changing population mix, the rise of China and possible shifts in the regional balance of power, and anxieties about the economy and an increasing global backlash against the neo-liberal free trade regime. It considers key areas of economic policy, social policy, and foreign policy, and explores the changing nature of governance. It also examines the Singapore government's effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. Overall, the book provides a concise, comprehensive assessment of the current state of Singapore and its likely future direction.

The rise of Pacific Asia within the tripolar global industrial-capitalist system is of extraordinary interest. Few doubt that the dynamics of Asia will shape the global political economy of the twenty-first century. It is clear that the Pacific Asian region is undergoing extensive development and these processes generate questions of intense interest to a wide community of enquiry. It is likely that the task of deciphering the interplay of the divergent cultural logics of the three regions of Pacific Asia, North America and the European Union will occupy scholars, policy analysts and political actors for some considerable time.This introduction will serve as a 'first stop' for those interested in Japan, its role within the Pacific Asian region and, in turn, that region's role within the evolving global system. In this volume P. W. Preston critically analyses the political economy, social institutions and culture of Pacific Asia. The analysis focuses on Japan, it relations with the inner periphery of South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and the outer periphery of Southeast Asia, and its developing linkages with the reforming socialist countries of China and Indo-China. The critical perspective, awareness of cultural and ethnic trends and a sophisticated grasp of political economic and social patterns makes this volume an essential introduction of the region.

An exploration of the recent financial crisis which argues that the hitherto dominant intellectual and policy paradigm of neo-liberalism has been fatally weakened and will in due course be replaced. The implications of the crisis for politico-cultural identities and our sense of ourselves as members of an ordered society are explored.

Over the past forty years, East Asia has been radically transformed from a war-damaged sub-continent to a region of global pre-eminence. With new, highly developed scientific resources, great economic strengths, significant global trading links and equally powerful financial resources, East Asia is now one of the most dynamic regions in the global system. This book illuminates the historical development trajectory and contemporary circumstances of the countries of the region. Embracing a cross-disciplinary perspective, it summarises the history of the region and goes on to focus upon the rise of East Asia since the ruins of the Pacific War. Analysing the region's basic strengths and the distinctive elite development strategies across the various countries, it also examines areas of domestic, intra-regional and international conflict. It covers the basic ground of political economy, society, culture and politics, whilst also taking care to locate the contemporary region in its own history and asking, what further change can be expected in the future? Providing an excellent introduction to the study of the region, this book is an important read for students and scholars of East Asian politics, history and development.

Over the past forty years, East Asia has been radically transformed from a war-damaged sub-continent to a region of global pre-eminence. With new, highly developed scientific resources, great economic strengths, significant global trading links and equally powerful financial resources, East Asia is now one of the most dynamic regions in the global system. This book illuminates the historical development trajectory and contemporary circumstances of the countries of the region. Embracing a cross-disciplinary perspective, it summarises the history of the region and goes on to focus upon the rise of East Asia since the ruins of the Pacific War. Analysing the region's basic strengths and the distinctive elite development strategies across the various countries, it also examines areas of domestic, intra-regional and international conflict. It covers the basic ground of political economy, society, culture and politics, whilst also taking care to locate the contemporary region in its own history and asking, what further change can be expected in the future? Providing an excellent introduction to the study of the region, this book is an important read for students and scholars of East Asian politics, history and development.

In this invaluable introduction to the major post-Second World War theories of Third World development, Peter Preston takes as his focus the strategies used to analyze change in the Third World and examines the ways in which different conceptions of the nature of change have led to different lines of policy advice. In doing so, the author demonstrates how the various contemporary approaches to development draw upon strategies of enquiry which are lodged deep within the intellectual traditions of the modern world. The author's approach is based on the premise that the reader can only fully grasp the live issues and debates surrounding development through an understanding of the linkages with the broader frameworks of social theory.

The volume is organized into four major sections:

An introduction to the nature of social scientific analysis;
A review of the work of the major social scientific figures of the nineteenth century and their impacts in the twentieth;
A comprehensive discussion of the post-Second World War theories of Third World development;
A prospective study of the current debates within the field of development theory about global structures and agent responses.

"Development Theory" is designed to appeal to students across a wide range of disciplines, who are taking courses dealing with aspects of development.

In this invaluable introduction to the major post-Second World War theories of Third World development, Peter Preston takes as his focus the strategies used to analyze change in the Third World and examines the ways in which different conceptions of the nature of change have led to different lines of policy advice. In doing so, the author demonstrates how the various contemporary approaches to development draw upon strategies of enquiry which are lodged deep within the intellectual traditions of the modern world. The author's approach is based on the premise that the reader can only fully grasp the live issues and debates surrounding development through an understanding of the linkages with the broader frameworks of social theory.

The volume is organized into four major sections:

An introduction to the nature of social scientific analysis;
A review of the work of the major social scientific figures of the nineteenth century and their impacts in the twentieth;
A comprehensive discussion of the post-Second World War theories of Third World development;
A prospective study of the current debates within the field of development theory about global structures and agent responses.

"Development Theory" is designed to appeal to students across a wide range of disciplines, who are taking courses dealing with aspects of development.