'Dr Pollard has written a book that weaves skillfully together many recent strands of foreign, military and domestic politics in the Philippines and Japan ... His book is valuable to area specialists as well as to anyone interested in learning more about the complexity of politics in general.' Jim Dator, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA 'The author makes good use of his experience and knowledge of the Philippines and Japan to skillfully capture how their leaders, bureaucrats and NGOs deal with the wave of globalization and democratization sweeping those countries...The reader will find his extensive use of the property-space concept, tables and diagrams in describing and explaining policies, models, and ideas very reader-friendly. They help the reader get a quick view of timely and key sets of ideas in a nutshell.' Yasumasa Kuroda, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA 'This book does...successfully conduct a tightly-drawn thesis into a definitive academic book suggesting a useful paradigm for the future, by way of exploring the changing and the developing face of foreign policy-making in the Philippines and Japan.' Democracy and Security '...reflects solid research work...[the] focus on NGOs probably makes this volume attractive not only to academics, but also to activists, practitioners, journalists, etc...it leads to a better understanding of the electoral democracies in East and Southeast Asia.' Journal of Chinese Political Studies 'Pollard's book is most impressive when seen as a well-documented, thoroughly researched and incredibly detailed investigation of elite decision making in two distinctive Asian societies, with an impressive array of in-country investigation, interviews and use of original source material. It is an adept historical inquiry...' Political Studies Review 'Dr Pollard's book is a fascinating attempt to compare the engagement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in foreign policy-making in the presidential Philippines and in parli
