In this volume East Asia is used as a unit of political and economic analysis to reveal an approach to modernization that is distinct from the Western model. The volume especially focuses on the interaction between nations of East Asia; the advantages and limits of export-led growth; relations between such processes as state formation, industrial growth, urbanization, and the movement from status- to class-based social hierarchies; and the links between state, market, and civic culture.

Each chapter takes at least one country as its topic. There also is a comparative and regional perspective provided within many of the contributions. All the chapters present fresh insights and analyses with intellectual and historical depth. Modernization in East Asia contains useful theoretical frameworks and empirical data for scholars, practitioners, and students.