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Institutional Patterns in the New Democracies of Asia: Forms, Origins and Consequences1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2010

AUREL CROISSANT  and
TERESA SCHÄCHTER
AUREL CROISSANT
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg, [email protected]
TERESA SCHÄCHTER
Affiliation:
Ruprecht-Karls University, Heidelberg
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Abstract

This article analyzes the institutional patterns of eight young democracies in Asia. The analysis originates from Lijphart's majoritarian-consensus framework. It illustrates that neither Lijphart's two-dimensional democracy pattern, nor an alternative pattern exists in Asia. Instead, the review of possible causes for the lack of conformity between Lijphart's patterns of democracy and the reality of the situation in Asia support the criticism in existing research literature regarding some of Lijphart's main assumptions and major conclusions. Furthermore, Asian realities provide only partial support for Lijphart's advice that the consensus option is the more attractive option for countries that designed their first democratic constitutions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Japanese Journal of Political Science , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , August 2010 , pp. 173 - 197
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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