Amid global concern over democratic backsliding, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are often viewed as exceptions—stable, healthy democracies. Yet illiberal trends have been quietly growing in each country since the early 2010s. South Korea’s martial law crisis in December 2024 shocked the world, and all three East Asian democracies face rising threats to elections, the rule of law, and civil and political rights.

Drawing on extensive multilingual research, Christopher Carothers traces the forces undermining democracy in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. East Asia’s Troubled Democracies identifies the crucial factor fueling challenges in each country: the overcentralization of power in Japan, political polarization in South Korea, and Beijing’s interference in Taiwan. In addition, all three countries have seen rising immigration, changing norms around gender and sexuality, and shifting views of national identity since the 1990s. This rapid sociocultural change has provoked political backlash, straining democratic norms. At the same time, as Carothers shows, historical, institutional, and demographic characteristics shared across these three societies have bolstered democratic resilience.

Compellingly written and rigorously argued, this book provides a nuanced corrective to overly optimistic views of the state of democracy in East Asia and reveals how global trends in democratic erosion are playing out in this critical region.