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A challenging and provocative book that contests the liberal assumption that the rule of law will go hand in hand with a transition to market-based economies and even democracy in East Asia. Using case studies from Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and Vietnam, the authors argue that the rule of law is in fact more likely to provide political elites with the means closely to control civil society. It is essential, therefore, to locate conceptions of judicial independence and the rule of law more generally within the ideological vocabulary of the state.
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LAW, CAPITALISM AND POWER IN ASIA Liberal democracy is often derided by the political élites of East Asia, and yet the rule of law is a concept that finds a warm reception within the same circles. At first sight this seems to be a paradox, but this discrepancy is in large part a misconception by Western observers who confuse their own idea of what the rule of law should mean and what it often means, in reality, in East Asia. This book demonstrates how the rule of law in Asia is more likely to be used as a means of consolidating executive power, than as a vehicle for introducing democratically controlled legal, economic and political reforms. A fundamental argument of the authors is that the rule of law needs to be understood in the context of notions of political authority to be found within the state. There are chapters on Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam that cover issues such as corporate law, the role of law in politics and legal institutions. Law, Capitalism and Power in Asia casts serious doubt on the assumed linkage between the development of the rule of law and the emergence of market economies. It suggests that the notions of judicial organisation and independence need to be located in the specific ideological and political context of East Asia. Kanishka Jayasuriya is a Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University. He is co-editor of Dynamics of Economic Policy Reform in Southeast Asia and Southwest Pacific Asia and co-author of Towards Illiberal Democracy in Pacific Asia. ASIAN CAPITALISMS Edited by Richard Robison Director, Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University, Australia At the end of the twentieth century capitalism stands triumphant. Yet, it has not been the liberal model of free markets, democratic politics, rule of law and citizenship that has enjoyed general ascendancy. Within Asia, a range of dirigiste, predatory and authoritarian systems have emerged under the general rubric of Asian Capitalism. In this series we seek to explain the political, ideological and social bases of this phenomenon and to analyse the collision of these systems with the power of global economic markets and highly mobile capital and their confrontation with emerging social and political interests domestically. In the context of the financial crisis we ask whether we are witnessing the end of Asian Capitalism. Is Asia caught in an inexorable metamorphosis towards liberal capitalism and what factors drive the processes of transformation? LAW, CAPITALISM AND POWER IN ASIA The rule of law and legal institutions Edited by Kanishka Jayasuriya LAW, CAPITALISM AND POWER IN ASIA The rule of law and legal institutions Edited by Kanishka Jayasuriya London and New York First published 1999 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to http://www.ebookstore.tandf.co.uk/.” Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1999 Selection and editorial matter Kanishka Jayasuriya; individual chapters © the contributors All rights reserved.