Sociological Approaches to the Pacific Region

Sociology has been grounded in Western experience and philosophy, especially in the assumption that by studying the most industrialized — that is, Western — societies, sociology could produce general theories applicable to all societies. However, the growing industrial competitiveness not just of Japan but of the Asian newly industrializing countries has converged with a dissatisfaction with the current paradigms in sociology, producing a new challenge to the long-standing parochialism of American social science in general, and sociology in particular. Yet, so far, the role of sociological research on Asia in these developments has been relatively limited. This article looks closely at research on Japan in organizational and industrial sociology to address what significant sociological research has been done on Asia, what that has contributed to our understanding of Asia and to the discipline, and what the outlook is for the future as popular interest in the Pacific Rim grows. The emergence of new paradigms in sociology is increasing the prospects for using Asia as a venue for generating sociological theory as well as testing it.