Democratization as socialization to "global culture" -- Buddhism and the Siamese alacrity toward global culture(s) -- Deepening Thai democracy : the 1990s, and beyond -- The Chinese Communist Party's pursuit of "multipolar modernity" -- Chinese cross-currents countered by "political civilization" -- Taiwan : democratization as de-sinification -- Threats to the consolidation of Taiwanese democracy -- The future of democracy and liberal-rational global culture in Asia.