Politics, Culture and Self
East Asian and North European Attitudes
Geir Helgesen and Søren Risbjerg Thomsen (eds)

ISBN 978-87-91114-99-1
2006, 292 pp.

• Based on data derived from extensive and in-depth surveys conducted by a cross-cultural research team in East Asia and Northern Europe.
• Great care taken to reduce “cultural contamination”.
• Data augmented by a wealth of historical and analytical contexts.
• An essential read for anyone concerned with political behaviour.

Much is still made of the contrasts between Eastern culture (characterized by collectivism and belief in authority) and Western culture (characterized by individualism and belief in democracy). Such comfortable assumptions will be shattered for readers of Politics, Culture and Self. This volume indeed confirms that differences between East Asia and northern Europe do exist. Provocatively, however, it also points to major similarities (e.g., regarding social harmony and the role of the family in society) as well as significant contrasts mirrored within the two regions (e.g., concerning interpersonal and institutional trust).