East Asian democracies are in trouble, their legitimacy threatened by poor policy performance and undermined by nostalgia for the pro-growth, soft-authoritarian regimes of the past. Yet citizens throughout the region believe in democracy, reject authoritarian alternatives, and value freedom. To understand the prospects for democratic consolidation, eight national-survey research teams present a definitive account of the way in which East Asians understand the character of their governments and their roles as citizens in the democratic process.

This book is the first to report the results of the large-scale research project, Asian Barometer, which conducted national-sample surveys in five new democracies (Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Mongolia); one established democracy (Japan); and two nondemocracies (China and Hong Kong). Utilizing their expert local knowledge to analyze a set of common core questions, the authors reveal both common patterns and national characteristics in the way citizens view democracy, and they explore sources of divergence and convergence in attitudes within and across nations. Although East Asia's new democracies have yet to prove themselves, and its oldest democracy-Japan-is losing the support of its citizens, the survey contradicts the claim that democratic governance is incompatible with East Asian cultures. While many forces affect the emergence and consolidation of a democracy, popular attitudes are a crucial factor. This book shows how and why skepticism and frustration are the ruling sentiments among today's East Asians.