Asian Power and Politics : The Cultural Dimensions of Authority by Lucian W. Pye (1985, Hardcover)

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Authors : Pye, Lucian W. Condition : Like New. Pages : 430. About Tom Brown. Publication Date : 1985-09-01.

About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherHarvard University Press

ISBN-100674049780

ISBN-139780674049789

eBay Product ID (ePID)5016525

Product Key Features

Book TitleAsian Power and Politics : the Cultural Dimensions of Authority

Number of Pages430 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicEthnic Studies / General, General, World / Asian

Publication Year1985

GenrePolitical Science, Social Science

AuthorLucian W. Pye

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Length9.5 in

Item Width6.2 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN85-002581

ReviewsAn extremely lucid, informative, and valuable work that meets a long-standing need for a readable and comprehensive view of the methods and cultural foundations of exercising power and authority in Asia., Pye's thesis is that as social psychology cannot be properly understood unless it is embodied in a context of individual psychology, so the phenomenon of power cannot be understood without reference to the cultural context within which it exists. Pye contends that those political scientists who study the nature of power have erred in treating it as a universal concept...Central to Pye's thesis is his contrasting of the Western concept of individual autonomy with the Eastern concept of dependency on an idealized, benevolent, authoritarian leadership. Closely reasoned and brilliantly argued, this is a superb contribution to the international political debate.

Dewey Edition21

Dewey Decimal306.2/095

Table Of ContentPreface 1. Asia and Theories of Development 2. The Evolution of Asian Concepts of Power 3. East Asia: Varieties of Confucian Authority 4. Southeast Asia: From God-Kings to the Power of Personal Connections 5. The South Asian Subcontinent: Hindu and Muslim Power and the Rewards of Narcissism 6. The Riddle of Japan: The Combining of Competition and Consensus 7. China: The Illusion of Omnipotence 8. Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam: Forms of Aggressive Confucianism 9. Malaysia: Confrontation of Two Incompatible Cultures 10. Islamic Power: The Pulls of Reformism and Fundamentalism 11. The Substance of Asian Power: Formal Structures and Informal Relations 12. Paternalistic Authority and the Triumph of Dependency Notes Index

SynopsisIn a major new book, Lucian Pye reconceptualizes Asian political development as a product of cultural attitudes about power and authority. He contrasts the great traditions of Confucian East Asia with the Southeast Asian cultures and the South Asian traditions of Hinduism and Islam, and explores the national differences within these larger civilizations. Breaking with modern political theory, Pye believes that power differs profoundly from one culture to another. In Asia the masses of the people are group-oriented and respectful of authority, while their leaders are more concerned with dignity and upholding collective pride than with problem-solving. As culture decides the course of political development, Pye shows how Asian societies, confronted with the task of setting up modern nation-states, respond by fashioning paternalistic forms of power that satisfy their deep psychological craving for security. This new paternalism may appear essentially authoritarian to Western eyes, but Pye maintains that it is a valid response to the people's needs and will ensure community solidarity and strong group loyalties. He predicts that we are certain to see emerging from Asia's accelerating transformation some new version of modern society that may avoid many of the forms of tension common to Western civilization but may also produce a whole new set of problems. This book revitalizes Asian political studies on a plane that comprehends the large differences between Asia and the West and at the same time is sensitive to the subtle variations among the many Asian cultures. Its comparative perspective will provide indispensable insights to anyone who wishes to think more deeply about the modern Asian states., the subtle variations among the many Asian cultures. Its comparative perspective will provide indispensable insights to anyone who wishes to think more deeply about the modern Asian states.

LC Classification NumberJQ36.P94 1985