This handbook provides an in-depth analysis of the dynamics as well as prospects of democratization in East Asia. 30 leading scholars and experts in the field offer chapter by chapter discussion at both the country and the regional level by examining the interaction between the domestic and external factors that shape the process of democratic transition, define the challenges that East Asian emerging democracies still face today, and influence the democratic prospect of the region's authoritarian regimes.

Divided into five sections, the essays evaluate all the key components of democratic governance -- citizen politics, political parties, and democratic institutions -- and all the major factors such as culture, digital revolution, economic development, and regionalization -- that shape the processes and outcomes of regime evolution.

Section one provides an overview of democratization in the region as well as trajectories of democracies and prominent authoritarian nations. Section two dwells on democratic institutions, electoral and party systems, varieties of constitutional setup, and mechanisms of adjudication. Section three is focused on citizen politics, teasing out patterns of political participation and interaction, as well as cognitive, organizational, and cultural underpinnings of political engagement. Section four examines most salient issues in democratic governance that fundamentally impinge on democratic legitimacy, while Section five addresses the challenges that mass politics, regional integration, and globalization pose to economic management of East Asian democracy.

This book is an indispensable source of information for students and scholars academics interested in the process of democratization and East Asian politics.