> What does any country "have going for it"? Military importance is a big one. Part of the reason Japan and Korea industrialized so quickly after 1950 was beca

> What does any country "have going for it"? Military importance is a big one. Part of the reason Japan and Korea industrialized so quickly after 1950 was because the West supported them economically as they were needed as a reliable bulwark against Communist expansion. The US also tolerates dictatorships worldwide (incl S Korea until 1988) if the regime is friendly to the US.