.Asia
China's Democratic Future
By when? By 2020, argues Bruce Gilley – China will be a democracy. “The laws of social science grind away in China, as they do elsewhere, whether people like it or not.” Gilley is a respected journalist, and makes a...
Indonesian Destinies
This is a work of history, yet very much up to date; and packed with great stories. Theodore Friend chronicles postcolonial Indonesia in a narrative relying on myriad personal contacts. The fall of Suharto is described in gripping detail, then...
Japan Unbound
This book is long on stories and interviews, and short on analysis. It does bring home the point, though, that dramatic social, political and economic changes are taking place in Japan – not obvious from streets that today appear as...
Red Capitalists in China
This is a scholarly text and no page-turner. But it’s short, accessible and fascinating. China scholar Bruce Dickson attempts to profile China’s emerging rich – and by implication, the sources of and outlook for China’s political stability. What he finds...
Wild Grass
The role of the public in national politics is always hard to judge. The result is that analysts often focus exclusively and myopically on the leadership, when in reality – witness Tiananmen – crucial political pressures may come from below....
