This open access book asks why and how some of the developing countries
have "emerged" under a set of similar global conditions, what led
individual countries to choose the particular paths that led to their
"emergence," and what challenges confront them. If we are to understand
the nature of major risks and uncertainties in the world, we must look
squarely at the political and economic dynamics of emerging states, such
as China, India, Brazil, Russia, and ASEAN countries. Their rapid
economic development has changed the distribution of wealth and power in
the world. Yet many of them have middle income status. To global
governance issues, they tend to adopt approaches that differ from those
of advanced industrialized democracies. At home, rapid economic growth
and social changes put pressure on their institutions to change. This
volume traces the historical trajectories of two major emerging states,
China and India, and two city states, Hong Kong and Singapore. It also
analyzes cross-country data to find the general patterns of economic
development and sociopolitical change in relation to globalization and
to the middle income trap.