Exploring the remarkable political and economic changes sweeping Southeast Asia, the authors take as their starting point the trend - albeit uneven - toward democratization. They focus specifically on "Asian democracy," a form that has been adapted by Southeast Asians to suit their own particular needs.

This book begins by building a framework for understanding democracy in its broadest sense. The authors investigate the uniquely Asian style of democracy, which borrows democratic political institutions and meshes them with the cultural patterns specific to each country. In separate chapters, the authors trace the evolutionary historical processes within each country as well as citizen participation, electoral practices, and civil liberties.

The chapters end with an assessment of the prospects for democracy in that nation as well as an evaluation of whether democratic regimes are necessary for developing successful economies and societies in the new international era.