New in paperback. Hardcover was published in 2022. Why have some Asian countries become more democratic as they have grown richer, while others - most notably China - haven't? Dan Slater and Joseph Wong offer a sweeping and original answer to this crucial question. Of central importance is whether authoritarians are confident of victory and stability. In Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan these factors fostered democracy through strength, while democratic experiments in Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar were less successful and more reversible.