Analyzing the Foundation for the Economic Priority in East Asia.

This paper analyzes the conflicts between Western and Eastern values, especially focusing on a question: Why do Asians stress economic development over democracy? To address this question, I analyze the social and cultural backgrounds for Eastern values and assume that Asian soft authoritarianism is based on social consent and is endorsed by traditionalism and authoritarianism in Asian society. To examine the arguments, I test the hypotheses against the second wave Asian Barometer Survey. The analytical result provides empirical evidence for my hypotheses, showing that economic development not only fulfill authoritative leaders' promises of satisfying people's material demands but also encourage people to prioritize higher economic development and persuade them into complying with government authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]