East Asian Perspectives on Political Legitimacy : Bridging the Empirical-Normative Divide

This book is essential reading for academic researchers of East Asian government, politics and comparative politics. Normative political theorists and empirical political scientists collaborate in the study of political legitimacy in East Asian societies, providing evidence for a hybrid understanding of legitimacy - minben legitimacy - that is rooted in both Western and East Asian thought.

What makes a government legitimate? Why do people voluntarily comply with laws, even when no one is watching? The idea of political legitimacy captures the fact that people obey when they think governments' actions accord with valid principles. For some, what matters most is the government's performance on security and the economy. For others, only a government that follows democratic principles can be legitimate. Political legitimacy is therefore a two-sided reality that scholars studying the acceptance of governments need to take into account. The diversity and backgrounds of East Asian nations provides a particular challenge when trying to determine the level of political legitimacy of individual governments. This book brings together both political philosophers and political scientists to examine the distinctive forms of political legitimacy that exist in contemporary East Asia. It is essential reading for all academic researchers of East Asian government, politics and comparative politics.