This study of market reforms and political change in Mexico and China argues that the equation that market liberalisation promotes democracy is not only empirically uncertain but methodologically flawed. It identifies the elective affinities between the two polities to reveal key variables that determine how markets will affect democracy.

These essays review current theoretical debates, explore the role of regional context, and offer case studies of legal culture and civil society in Mexico and China to demonstrate the complexity of the relationship between market and democracy and the implications for other transitional polities such as Russia and for U.S. foreign policy. Designed for classroom use, this volume adds a focused comparative perspective for courses on Chinese, Asian-Pacific, and Latin American politics, development, and contemporary history.