From Development to Democracy: The Transformations of Modern Asia
Dan Slater
James Orin Murfin Professor of Political Science
Director, Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies (WCED)
University of Michigan
Dan Slater presents a talk on his co-authored book published last year by Princeton University Press: From Development to Democracy: The Transformations of Modern Asia (with Joseph Wong). The book looks at the rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization of Asia in the past century and its corresponding record of democratization, which has been much more uneven, despite the global correlation between development and democracy. The book explores the crucial question of why some Asian countries have become more democratic as they have grown richer, while others – most notably China – haven’t. The result is a comprehensive regional history that offers important new insights about when and how democratic transitions happen – and what the future of Asia might be.
This lecture is cosponsored by the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies.
