The Open Economy and its Enemies: Public Attitudes in East Asia and Eastern Europe

There is a vigorous debate about the merits of globalisation for developing countries. Based on numerous focus-group discussions and over ten thousand interviews, this book studies economic and cultural openness from the perspective of the public in four developing or 'transitional' countries: Vietnam, (South) Korea, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine (both before and after the Orange Revolution). It contrasts public attitudes in East Europe with those in East Asia; and the attitudes of these publics with those of their officials. It reveals public demands for the state to act as national entrepreneur, protector and advocate, yet fears that it is a conspiracy against the public. The methodology provides a unique opportunity for the public in developing countries to 'speak with their own voices' about markets and openness - and highlights the subtlety, ambiguity, tensions, conflicts and emotion that statistics alone fail to capture.

Jane Duckett is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Glasgow William L. Miller is Edward Caird Professor of Politics at the University of Glasgow and a Fellow of the British Academy