The Limits of Autocracy

The new book China's Trapped Transition - The Limits of Developmental Autocracy - by Minxin Pei sounds interesting.  The Weekly Standard writes:

According to Pei, the widely accepted belief that East Asia's "strong government authority + pro-market policies = superior economic performance" neglects the crucial point, that a strong state can just as easily be a "grabbing hand" as a "helping" one; that is, be a "predatory state."

The results, he writes, are "dire." The belief that economic development under such conditions could lead to democracy is "wishful thinking because the predatory state and economic development are, logically, mutually exclusive."

To read more:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/237flvga.asp