Embedded state autonomy and legitimacy: piecing together the Malaysian development puzzle

Malaysia's development trajectory has been comparatively successful, and the country arguably represents another example of the 'Asian developmental state'. However, when examined more closely, the Malaysian development experience is a deviation from the ideal-type 'East Asian su...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inEconomy and society Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 324 - 353
Main Author Trezzini, Bruno
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Taylor & Francis 01.08.2001
Subjects
Autonomy
Cultural Pluralism
Culture
Developmental state
Economic Development
Economics
Embedded state autonomy
Far East
Human development
Late development
Legitimacy
Malaysia
Social Development
Sociology
Sociopolitical legitimacy
Southeast Asia
State
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Malaysia's development trajectory has been comparatively successful, and the country arguably represents another example of the 'Asian developmental state'. However, when examined more closely, the Malaysian development experience is a deviation from the ideal-type 'East Asian success model', in that it occurred in the context of a predominantly Islamic cultural background, marked ethnic-religious heterogeneity,a relatively democratic political system, a strong reliance on FDI, abundant natural resources and a confined state autonomy. This article puts the Malaysian puzzle into perspective by giving a holistic account of the country's success against all odds and by applying an analytical framework centred on the concepts of embedded state autonomy and sociopolitical legitimacy. It is concluded that Malaysia's distinctive social, political and economic features constitute a web of countervailing forces that evolved into a positively self-reinforcing, if sometimes precarious, system of socio-economic reproduction.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ObjectType-Article-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:0308-5147
1469-5766
DOI:10.1080/03085140120071224