Cultural Pol & Asian Values [Paperback]

Cultural Politics and Asian Valueslooks at the political, cultural and religious background of East and Southeast Asian societies and those of 'the West', with a view to seeing how they are affecting contemporary national and international politics: democratization, the international human rights discourse, NGOs and globalization.
The book surveys the political history and pre-history of the 'Asian values' debate, taking it up to the era of Megawati Sukarnoputri, Chen Shui-bian and Kim Dae-jung. In chapters on Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and liberalism, Barr explores the histories and conceptual essences of the world religions involved in or affected by the debate.

Part 1: Cultural Politics  1. Death of a Debate?  2. A Broad History: From Meiji to 'East Asian Miracle'  3. Narrow Histories: Lee Kuan Yew and Dr Mahathir  4. Confronting China After the End of History  5. Fin de Si?cle: 'Democratic Moment', Financial Crisis and Beyond  Part 2: Values and Religions 6. Of Liberalism and Other Religions  7. The European Legacy: Christianity and Liberalism  8. Islam: of Shari'a and Adat; Calophs and Rajas  9. Buddhism: The Politics of Compassion  10. Confucianism: Humane Rites and Elite Rights Part III: Cultural Politics and Asian Values  11. 'Asian Values' Revisited  12. Human Rights Revisited

Michael Barris the author of Lee Kuan Yew: The Beliefs Behind the Man, which was based on his dissertation. He wrote Cultural Politics and Asian Valuesas a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Centre for Community and Cross-Cultural Studies, Queensland University of Technology. In mid-2002 he took up an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship in the History Department at the University of Queensland.