Persistent conflicts between confucianism and democracy

There are a range of different relationships between Confucianism and democracy. This essay examines four models of the relationship between Confucianism and democracy: conflictive, compatible, hybrid, and critical. The article describes the background and key characteristics of each model and uses an empirical approach to test the claims of each model against reality. Empirically, the conflict model is much more accurate than the other models. It is largely true and relevant today, and it can even apply to the other three models, that is, all three models have some element of conflict or tension between Confucianism and democracy.