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Asian Power and Politics

The Cultural Dimensions of Authority
  • Lucian W. Pye
  • In collaboration with: Mary W. Pye
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 1985
View more publications by Harvard University Press

About this book

Pye reconceptualizes Asian political development as a product of cultural attitudes about power and authority. He contrasts the great traditions of Confucian East Asia with the Southeast Asian cultures and the South Asian traditions of Hinduism and Islam, and explores the national differences within these larger civilizations.

Reviews

[A] rich and stimulating analysis which will be the subject of much scholarly debate.
-- Foreign Affairs

An extremely lucid, informative, and valuable work that meets a long-standing need for a readable and comprehensive view of the methods and cultural foundations of exercising power and authority in Asia.
-- Choice

Pye’s thesis is that as social psychology cannot be properly understood unless it is embodied in a context of individual psychology, so the phenomenon of power cannot be understood without reference to the cultural context within which it exists. Pye contends that those political scientists who study the nature of power have erred in treating it as a universal concept… Central to Pye’s thesis is his contrasting of the Western concept of individual autonomy with the Eastern concept of dependency on an idealized, benevolent, authoritarian leadership. Closely reasoned and brilliantly argued, this is a superb contribution to the international political debate.
-- Kirkus Reviews

Absorbing reading. It is written with a flair and dash that carries one along. Reading it is like following the figures in a richly textured tapestry. Pye’s mastery of this variety of complex cultures is impressive. It rings with authenticity.
-- Gabriel A. Almond, Stanford University

A broadly gauged analysis of contemporary Asian politics. This study is a fascinating mix of in-depth data and basic theses, both intra-culture and cross-cultural in nature. It will provide the basis for stimulating discussion and further research.
-- Robert A. Scalapino, Robson Research Professor of Government, University of California, Berkeley


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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
March 15, 1988
eBook ISBN:
9780674042414
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
430
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