1st Edition

Middle Class, Civil Society and Democracy in Asia

Edited By Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao Copyright 2019
    222 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    222 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This book offers a timely analysis of the tripartite links between the middle class, civil society and democratic experiences in Northeast and Southeast Asia. It aims to go beyond the two popular theoretical propositions in current democratic theory, which emphasise the bilateral connections between the middle class and democracy on one hand and civil society and democracy on the other. Instead, using national case studies, this volume attempts to provide a new comparative typological interpretation of the triple relationship in Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand. Presenting a careful analysis and delineation of historical democratic transformation over the past thirty years, three discernible typologies emerge. Namely, there are positive links in Taiwan and South Korea, dubious links in the Philippines and Indonesia, and negative links in Thailand.

    Middle Class, Civil Society and Democracy in Asia will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian politics and democracy.

    PART I: Overview

    1. Comparing the tripartite links of middle class, civil society and democratization in Asia: Positive, Dubious and Negative, Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao

    PART II: The Positive Links in Taiwan and South Korea

    2. The tripartite links of middle class, civil society and democracy in Taiwan: 1980-2016, Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao

    3. Democracy and institutional building through civil society activism in Taiwan: the case of Judicial Reform Foundation, Mau-Kuei Chang

    4. The tripartite links of middle class, civil society and democratization in South Korea, Yoon-Chul Park

    PART III: The Dubious Links in the Philippines and Indonesia

    5. The middle class-led left movement in civil society’s role in the Philippines’ democratization process, Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem

    6. Coaltion politics and the contested democracy in the Philippines, Yusuke Takagi

    7. Democratization and religious NGOs in Indonesia, Jafar Suryomenggolo

    PART IV: The Negative Links in Thailand

    8. Contingent authoritarians: why Thai civil society and the middle class oppose democracy, Veerayooth Kanchoochat

    9. Thailand at the critical royal transition period: The middle class, civil society and democratisation, Pavin  Chachavalpongpun

    10. From paragons to opponents of democracy: middle class in civil society’s role in Thailand's democratization, Hugh Pei-Hsiu Chen 

    Biography

    Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao is Distinguished Research Fellow in the Institute of Sociology at Academia Sinica and Chair Professor at the National Central University, Taiwan. His recent publications include Citizens, Civil Society and Heritage-making in Asia (2017) and Coping with China Risk: The Challenge to Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese Firms (2016).