How has South Korea’s development influenced and been influenced by world events? What light can it shed on the way that international struggles for hegemony affect local environments? Phoebe Moore seeks to address these questions critically, from the perspective of International Political Economics, and so provides important insight into one of the fastest growing Asian economies. She examines the neo-Gramscian school theories that world history reveals specific periods of hegemonic stability, such as during the post World War II period of ‘Pax Americana’ and refutes this position through an original account of Korean development. Instead, she observes that all economic development in this country has been carried out through ‘passive revolution’ driven by an elite, frequently supported by external forces, against the will of a large part of the population, namely the working classes. Moore draws out the relationships between socio-economic change, passive revolution, hegemony struggles and global politics, making this a key resource for Asian political economics, labour relations and international politics.