This book is a study of the attitudes to political and social life among the citizens of eighteen countries in Western Europe, East and Southeast Asia. Drawing on data from the largest cross-national survey on political culture for the last half a century, this book assesses how political culture differs across the two regions and whether this can be drawn back to a profound difference in basic societal values, or ‘Asian values’. Examining geographical, religious and socio-economic factors, the authors discuss whether there genuinely is a common political value in the two regions or a profound difference as these countries move towards modernity. This original and comprehensive study of the values, norms and beliefs held by citizens of the East and West will appeal to students and scholars of political culture and comparative politics, as well as Asian and European politics.

Drawing on data from the largest cross-national survey on political culture for the last half a century, this is an original and comprehensive study of the attitudes to political and social life among the citizens of eighteen countries in Europe and Asia.

Observing the dramatic shift in world politics since the end of the Cold War, Peter J. Katzenstein argues that regions have become critical to contemporary world politics. This view is in stark contrast to those who focus on the purportedly stubborn persistence of the nation-state or the inevitable march of globalization. In detailed studies of technology and foreign investment, domestic and international security, and cultural diplomacy and popular culture, Katzenstein examines the changing regional dynamics of Europe and Asia, which are linked to the United States through Germany and Japan. Regions, Katzenstein contends, are interacting closely with an American imperium that combines territorial and non-territorial powers. Katzenstein argues that globalization and internationalization create open or porous regions. Regions may provide solutions to the contradictions between states and markets, security and insecurity, nationalism and cosmopolitanism. Embedded in the American imperium, regions are now central to world politics.

The book introduces central themes that have preoccupied the field of South Asian politics over the last few decades and identifies new, emerging areas of research. Presenting both general political theory and context-specific case studies, the collection draws attention to the methodological challenges of working on an area-specific theme and the importance of generating generalizable insights linked to theory. Hence it will be of interest for political scientists working on South Asian politics as well as on other non-Western societies. The collection represents an unusually broad survey of scholarship emerging from a range of leading academic centres in the field.

The presence of Asia as a major political, cultural, and economic player is one of the most important parameters for understanding the contemporary world and acting in it. This situation has repercussions for the self-perception and position of Europe not only with respect to current processes of globalization, but also in view of its numerous past encounters with Asia. Asia and Europe are much more interconnected than the still widespread monolithic juxtapositions of the two areas/continents suggest. Focusing on the modern period, Asia and Europe: Agents, Concepts, and Things deals with the multilateral relationships that exist between different regions in Europe and Asia. Mechanisms of colonial hegemony along with the dynamics of modernization have resulted in the emergence of new ideas about society, history, law, religion, economy, the arts etc. across Asia and Europe. The variegated relationships between Asia and Europe span hegemonic forms of imperialism and contestations of nationalism, the circulation of norms, technologies, material objects and artefacts, the reception of concepts and practices as well as resistance against them, (dis-)entangled narratives of history and religion, and personal encounters between the actors involved in these processes. In studying such constellations, this collection of essays focuses on actors, ideas and things involved in these processes. The essays deal with knowledge practices, negotiations of gender relations and legal norms, theoretical contestations in politics, economy, literature, the arts and religion, narratives of history and individual action.

This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the political systems of all ASEAN countries and Timor-Leste from a comparative perspective. It investigates the political institutions, actors and processes in eleven states, covering democracies as well as autocratic regimes. Each country study includes an analysis of the current system of governance, the party and electoral system, and an assessment of the state, its legal system and administrative bodies. Students of political science and regional studies will also learn about processes of democratic transition and autocratic persistence, as well as how civil society and the media influence the political culture in each country.

Traditionally, relations between Europe and Asia have been studied in a hegemonic perspective, with Europe as the dominant political and economic centre. This book focuses on cultural exchange between different European and Asian civilizations, with the r