Governance in East and Southeast Asia: What’s new?

The question of good governance in East and Southeast Asia, as elsewhere, is linked to the degree of autonomy of the state, and the objectives it pursues. While the economy can never be fully disembedded from society, social transformation ending private powers of non-market coercion can promote both state autonomy and good governance. Both governance and autonomy are relational concepts and their quality and content are shaped by external influences and the ability of the ruling class to face up to the challenges. Autonomy of domestic policy has been badly eroded by the rise of licentious global finance but can be still defended as several countries and regions of East Asia have demonstrated. © 2002 European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes.