The Asian Values Thesis Revisited: Evidence from the World Values Surveys
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In: Japanese Journal of Political Science, Vol. 12, No. 1, 04.2011, p. 1-31.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Asian Values Thesis Revisited
T2 - Evidence from the World Values Surveys
AU - Welzel, Christian
PY - 2011/4
Y1 - 2011/4
N2 - The thesis that 'Asian' cultures oppose the 'Western' emphasis on emancipative values and liberal democracy has mostly been criticized for its political instrumentality. By contrast, the empirical claim about most Asians' dismissal of emancipative values and liberal democracy has not been tested on a broadly cross-cultural basis. Filling this gap, this article uses data from the World Values Surveys to put the values of Asian populations into global perspective. As a result, the differences between Asian and Western populations over emancipative values and liberal democracy appear to be gradual, not categorical. What is more, the forces of modernization that gave rise to emancipative values and a liberal notion of democracy in the 'West', are doing the same in the 'East', confirming a universal model of human development rather than Asian exceptionalism, or any other form of cultural exceptionalism.
AB - The thesis that 'Asian' cultures oppose the 'Western' emphasis on emancipative values and liberal democracy has mostly been criticized for its political instrumentality. By contrast, the empirical claim about most Asians' dismissal of emancipative values and liberal democracy has not been tested on a broadly cross-cultural basis. Filling this gap, this article uses data from the World Values Surveys to put the values of Asian populations into global perspective. As a result, the differences between Asian and Western populations over emancipative values and liberal democracy appear to be gradual, not categorical. What is more, the forces of modernization that gave rise to emancipative values and a liberal notion of democracy in the 'West', are doing the same in the 'East', confirming a universal model of human development rather than Asian exceptionalism, or any other form of cultural exceptionalism.
KW - Politics
KW - Gender and Diversity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79960705605&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S1468109910000277
DO - 10.1017/S1468109910000277
M3 - Journal articles
VL - 12
SP - 1
EP - 31
JO - Japanese Journal of Political Science
JF - Japanese Journal of Political Science
SN - 1468-1099
IS - 1
ER -