Do Economic Globalization and Political Freedom Go Together?

This is an empirical study of democratization and globalization in East and Southeast Asia and in Southern Africa (the country of Mauritius, specifically). By examining specific countries, I hoped to develop a general theory of democratization and globalization in rapidly developing countries, using a political economy approach. This approach was instrumental in discerning why some countries, notably Taiwan, were able to democratize and others, like mainland China, remain authoritarian, even in the face of rapid economic development. I compared countries at similar income levels and examined the relationship between their economic development path (globalization) and political liberalization (or lack thereof) to test the theses that globalization results in more or less political control by the government.