Guest Speaker: Professor Joseph Wong

(Vice President, International, and Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Toronto) 

Introduction:

Once thought to be inhospitable to democracy, several Asian countries have successfully democratized in the postwar period, deepening their democracies while continuing to economically modernize. Countries like Taiwan, South Korea, postwar Japan and others in Southeast Asia demonstrate the connection between democracy and development. And yet, unlike in many other regions of the world, democratic transformation in Asia has unfolded in a distinctive way – rather than emerge from the ashes of collapsed authoritarianism, democracy was introduced by relatively strong autocratic regimes. Contentious politics and courageous opposition prompted the ancien regimes to consider “democracy through strength.” Drawing on his most recent book (co-authored with Dan Slater), From Development to Democracy: the Transformations of Modern Asia (Princeton University Press, 2022), as well as from over two decades of research on the region, Professor Wong offers an optimistic take on the prospects of democracy in Asia; the imperative for autocratic regimes – such as the CCP in the China – to democratize sooner rather than later; and the leading role that Taiwan plays in illuminating the challenges but ultimately the promise of Asia’s democratic future.

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