Beschreibung:
Many who critique democracy as practiced in East Asia suggest that the Confucian political culture of these nations prevents democracy from being the robust participatory type, and limits it to a spectacle designed to create obedience from the public. Certainly some East Asian nations have had elections for decades, but for democracy to be meaningful, a country needs an active public sphere, political tolerance, egalitarian beliefs, and vigorous political participation. The Asian-values debate focuses on whether the creation of this optimal version of democracy in East Asian nations will be hindered by their shared Confucian cultural heritage and at the centre of this debate is whether there is an active political culture in East Asia that allows citizens to freely discuss, debate, and disagree about politics.
1 Introduction 2 Asian-values and Japan 3 Measuring Social Networks 4 Determinants of Social Networking 5 Social Networks, Participation and Vote Similarity 6 Social Sources of Political Knowledge in Japan 7 Social Influence on Policy Preferences 8 Tolerance and Network Diversity 9 Creating Social Networks 10 Conclusion