Description:
Thurbon offers a novel defense of the developmental state idea and a new framework for investigating the emergence and evolution of developmental states. She also canvasses the implications of the Korean experience for wider debates concerning the future of financial activism in an era of financialization, energy insecurity, and climate change.
Brief description: Elizabeth Thurbon is senior lecturer in international relations at the University of New South Wales, Australia. She publishes widely on the international political economy of techno-industrial development and change, with a focus on Northeast Asia and Australia.
Review Quotes:
Thurbon's new book is a welcome revitalization of the important discussion on the developmental state and improves our understanding of a distinct and path-dependent model of state-led capitalism that is emerging in East Asia. Her focus on the developmental mindset of the political elite is an important contribution to this understanding while at the same time raising many new questions for future debates... [I] strongly recommend this book for all scholars and students of development as well as those curious about Asian capitalism and its spirit.
--Thomas Kalinowski, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, South Korea "Pacific Affairs Book Reviews"