Beyond Liberal Democracy

Political Thinking for an East Asian Context

Daniel A. Bell

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9780691123080, 9780691123073
• eBook ISBN: 9781400827466
• Topic: Philosophie
• Subtopic: Histoire de l'Asie

Is liberal democracy appropriate for East Asia? In this provocative book, Daniel Bell argues for morally legitimate alternatives to Western-style liberal democracy in the region. Beyond Liberal Democracy, which continues the author's influential earlier work, is divided into three parts that correspond to the three main hallmarks of liberal democracy--human rights, democracy, and capitalism. These features have been modified substantially during their transmission to East Asian societies that have been shaped by nonliberal practices and values. Bell points to the dangers of implementing Western-style models and proposes alternative justifications and practices that may be more appropriate for East Asian societies.


If human rights, democracy, and capitalism are to take root and produce beneficial outcomes in East Asia, Bell argues, they must be adjusted to contemporary East Asian political and economic realities and to the values of nonliberal East Asian political traditions such as Confucianism and Legalism. Local knowledge is therefore essential for realistic and morally informed contributions to debates on political reform in the region, as well as for mutual learning and enrichment of political theories.



Beyond Liberal Democracy is indispensable reading for students and scholars of political theory, Asian studies, and human rights, as well as anyone concerned about China's political and economic future and how Western governments and organizations should engage with China.

Table of contents

• Table of Contents
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• Introduction: One Size Doesn’t Fit All
• PART ONE
• Just War and Confucianism: Implications for the Co
• Human Rights and “Values in Asia”: Reflections on
• The Ethical Challenges of International Human Righ
• PART TWO
• What’s Wrong with Active Citizenship? A Comparison
• Taking Elitism Seriously: Democracy with Confucian
• Is Democracy the “Least Bad” System for Minority G
• Democratic Education in a Multicultural Context: L
• PART THREE
• Culture and Egalitarian Development: Confucian Con
• East Asian Capitalism in an Age of Globalization
• Justice for Migrant Workers? The Case of Migrant D
• Responses to Critics: The Real and the Ideal
• SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY