This book challenges the view that liberal democracy is the inevitable outcome of economic modernization. Focusing on the high-performing Asian economies, it argues that contemporary political systems are legitimated by the values of hierarchy, familism and harmony, by contrast with the Western understanding of political liberalism and the communicatory democracy it facilitates.

Instead of political change resulting from a demand for autonomy on the part of interest groups in civil society, the adoption of democratic practices ought to be viewed primarily as a state strategy to manage socio-economic change.