This book illuminates the historical development trajectory of East Asia. Embracing a cross-disciplinary perspective, it summarises the history of the region and goes on to focus upon the rise of East Asia since the ruins of the Pacific War.

P.W. Preston is Emeritus Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Birmingham, UK. His recent publications include Political-Cultural Developments in East Asia (2017) and The Logic of Chinese Politics (2016).

Part One: Complex change and the logics of forms-of-life 1. Argument making in social science 2. Substantive theoretical traditions 3. Livelihood investigated Part Two: The shift to the modern world in East Asia 4. Colonialism and modernity: the overall trajectory 5. Colonialism and modernity: disentangling the issues Part Three: Successor elites and the pursuit of national development 6. The dissolution of state-empires 7. The formation of successor elites 8. Power, authority and dissent 9. Development issues faced Part Four: East Asia in the changing global system 10. The region in overview 11. Globalization and the end of history Part Five: East Asia: success and its costs 12. Elite projects and post-colonial goals 13. States, masses and the idea of democracy 14. Collective memory and national pasts 15. Performance and problems