17. The fall of the Suharto regime in Indonesia
in 1999 is illustrative. Suharto had been in
power for over 30 years. When the Asia
Financial Crisis brought the country's
economy to its knees, large-scale protests,
the flight of capital, and the lack of
international support led Suharto to step
down in May of 1998.
18. Furthermore, the absence of international support for
Suharto, who had been a strong anti-communist ally for
decades, illustrated the lack of concern the United States
and the West had for the communist threat in Asia. In this
way, the increasingly globalized world had come to
weaken Suharto's position and ultimately laid the
foundation for his ousting. Finally, one of the most
prevalent critiques of globalization has been its effects on
‘culture’.
20. The number of McDonald’s stores in Asia has
grown dramatically over the last several decades,
from 1951 in 1987 to over 7,000 in 2002.
Furthermore, many domestic fast food chains are
also popping up throughout Asia to compete with
Western brands including Jollibee in the
Philippines, California Fried Chicken (CFC) in
Indonesia, MOS Burger in Japan, Jumbo King in
India, and so on. There has also been a rapid
expansion of supermarkets in the region.