Search

In 2019, Thailand represents the case of an Asian country overshadowed by authoritarian forces, though it has time and again experienced attempts at democratization. This paper argues that democracy remains deficient in Thailand because, though there have been enormous advances in terms of the economy, social improvements and state stability, political space remains elusive and dominated by the monarchy and military. State formation in Thailand is a function of how entrenched social stratification has been reflected in a highly skewed distribution of economic resources. The paper asks the following five questions: First, why has Thailand, which appears to have become relatively strong in terms of economic and political stability, been unable to achieve democracy? Second, what has been the evolution of democracy versus authoritarianism in Thailand? Third, how have the linkages among state structures, economic relations and societal institutions evolved across time in Thailand? Fourth, what are the main features of their historical development today and how have these (as conditioned by domestic and international factors) affected Thailand's political conditions? Fifth, what is the likely future of Thai democracy? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the lifting of martial law in 1987, Taiwan has progressed toward one of Asia's most advanced democracies. This paper looks at the historical and socio-political circumstances and traces the global and domestic factors behind the transformation. Assuming that advanced levels of democratic governance can only be obtained through mediated social control over the state and the economy, the study explores whether democratic values and norms have become internalized and identifies the current caveats of further democratic development. More specifically, the paper argues that although Taiwan's democratization has been caused by external sovereignty-related factors, the discourse on national identity has repoliticzed the public political realm after decades of authoritarianism and led to the habitualization of democratic values and norms. The paper concludes with an assessment of the prospects for comprehensive and inclusive public participation in the shaping of Taiwan's political conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2018, Malaysia saw a change of ruling parties for the first time since its independence. Malaysian democracy however, remains monopolized by the ruling elites and dominated by a strong state. This paper looks at the multidimensional relations between state, economy and society that characterize the Malaysian democracy and is divided into five thematic sections. Firstly, the key characteristics of Malaysia's state, society and economy are discussed. Secondly, the paper looks at some of the main historical and transformative features of Malaysia's modern statehood including the colonial experience under the British, which institutionalized race-based politics as well as the government's overhaul of its economic and social policies in response to conflict in the late 1960s. The third section looks at some major factors that shape the politics of Malaysia, specifically the factors that contributed to BN's long hold on power. Section four of the paper looks at the major shifts in the relations between state, society and economy and its impact on Malaysian democracy. Finally, the fifth section assesses the challenges and prospect of the country since the change in ruling parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the determinants of voters' trust level regarding official candidates at presidential, legislative, and governor levels in the 2014 general election in Indonesia. Data from the 2014 National Socioeconomic Survey was utilized in this study. The data was analyzed using two-stage regression analysis. The first stage regression analyzed the determinants of individual trust in official candidates, while the second stage analyzed probabilities of individuals to vote. This study found that voters' experiences in vote buying reduced their trust in official candidates in the 2014 election. The second-stage regression results indicated that voters' experiences in disasters reduced their intention to vote at all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The landslide victory of the pan-democrats sent shockwaves through the political sector, including the Hong Kong and Chinese governments in the 2019 District Council election. A new phenomenon was observed in the election that voting was no longer based principally on utilitarian pragmatism as a driving force. This paper analyzes the 2019 District Council election results from a localism perspective. The adoption of a localism perspective is conduced by the political turmoil triggered by the extradition bill proposed by the Hong Kong government months before the election. The fundamental opposition to the extradition bill is the lack of trust toward Hong Kong leaders and the Chinese political system. This in turn is translated into an anti-China feeling among the Hong Kong general public. The rise of an anti-China feeling is related to rise of Hong Kong localism and the weakening of Chinese identity among the Hong Kong people. Localism plays an important role shaping the electoral politics and governance in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that the choice of electoral rules in Chinese villages results from the incentives that rural party elites face in their efforts to control electoral results. Using the rationalist approach, we propose four conditions under which they will adopt an institution that allows for electoral uncertainty: a large proportion of revenue from village-owned enterprises (VOEs), a large size of electorate, the presence of strong social groups, and frequent upper level government interventions. We use the 2011 Wukan incident to illustrate our argument. The cross-sectional analysis of survey data of 961 villages provides some evidence for the hypotheses: A larger number of labor force and frequent inspections by the upper-level government are significantly correlated with an increase of the likelihood that a village party leader allows villagers to freely nominate candidates. Theoretical and policy implications will be discussed in the end of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In contemporary Thailand, achieving effective civilian control of the armed forces is a daunting challenge. The country's long series of military coups are one outcome of the operational independence generally enjoyed by the military. In most cases, these military interventions have sought to support the political ambitions of the palace and its networks. For almost a decade, Thai politics has been polarized by reactions to the electoral success of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his perceived threat to military and royal power. The military has thus acted as arch-royalist “protector,” helping itself to enhance its political status in a monarchy-led parallel state. This paper examines how and why the armed forces continue to remain powerful in Thailand and what prospects exist for diminishing this clout in the messy aftermath of the 2006 coup. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

How have political families influenced parliamentary politics in Thailand? He sees a clash in Thai politics between military-backed "royalist elites" and "commoner [political] families", though elites dominate regardless (xiv). Though the author finds it ironic that the post-2019 arch-royalist Premier Prayuth Chan-ocha government had to rely on families of many post-2019 MPs who previously supported royalist-despised Premier Thaksin Shinawatra to form a coalition, arguably Prayuth simply succeeded in taking away these MPs from Thaksin. [Extracted from the article]

The Philippines is Southeast Asia's oldest democracy. Yet democratic institutions fail to show coherence in what is largely seen as a resilient oligarchical state that manages to control the state, economy, and society by constantly adapting and shifting along with the political contours. Despite its rich democratic tradition, the country has not been able to reduce centuries old socio-economic inequalities that have sustained clientelistic politics. The continuing failure to consolidate and deepen democracy has negatively impacted the Philippine state, the economy and society. This country study charts the various structural and institutional arrangements and accommodations that have resulted in the country's defective democratization. Using historical and contemporary process tracing, this study hopes to provide a nuanced understanding of the democratic and not so democratic trajectory that the country continues to experience. By providing a mapping of the defective democracy in the Philippines, this study provides a lens to see the conditions, depth and alterations within the course of pursuing democratization. The distinct and complementing structural and institutional arrangements over the years illustrate how power can lead to various patterns of domination and transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Western liberal democracy is in crisis. At the same time, since the end of the Cold War, new regions of the world and actors have risen to prominence. Contemporary discourse emphasizes, in particular, the rise of East Asia (including the Northeast and Southeast Asian sub-regions) and the empowerment of middle powers. This Special Issue of Asian Affairs: An American Review looks at the extent to which mid-sized East Asian states with significant democratic heritage embody hope for the liberal democratic project, and also the challenges they face. Furthermore, it considers how the analysis of the mode of interaction between state, economy and society allows a determination of the democratic conditions of any given country. The articles in this Special Issue originate from a project supported by the Asia Pacific department of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) exploring regional interdependencies of democratization in Asia. This introduction explores the theoretical framework of the project and elaborates further on case selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the political crises of Hong Kong after the mass sit-in of the Occupy Central Movement. Lasted for 79 days, the mass-in of the Movement was organized to force the governments of China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to adopt a genuine democratic process for electing the chief executive of Hong Kong in year 2017. The end of the Occupy Central Movement mass sit-in did not solve the disagreements between the government and the supporters from the pan-democratic camp on the issue of democratization. Hong Kong is suffering a certain degree of political decay with declining political strength in consolidating a democratic model, maintaining legitimacy, running an effective government, cementing social cohesion, and preserving high degree of autonomy. Consequently, the political capability of Hong Kong government to govern is weakening and its political strength is deteriorating. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Democracy promotion has never been an integral element of India's foreign policy. The pursuit of its national interests in the international arena has traditionally revolved around security, trade, and energy issues. This article demonstrates, however, that in recent times Indiahastaken a more active stance in promoting and supporting democracy abroad. It identifies the specific ways in which India has engaged in democracy promotion and support abroad. Nevertheless, ‘realist’ concerns about strategic and economic interests, namely India's desire to improve its relationship with the United States and enhancing its status as an emerging power, rather than any idealistic commitment to democracy, may help explain this behavior. The pursuit of traditional foreign policy objectives will continue to take precedence over democracy promotion and support abroad. As such, there are elements of both continuity and change observed regarding the issue of democracy promotion in India's foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Indonesians have political power, freedom of voice, and an array of civil and political rights that fifteen years ago would have been unimaginable. It is undeniable how much positive change has occurred in such a short amount of time. Indonesia's experience, like other countries in Asia, serves as an example of both the successes in democratization and the difficulties and challenges in consolidating democracy. This article looks at the status of democracy in Indonesia today. It asks how well democracy has been consolidated in Indonesia and what the continued challenges are. It focuses specifically on four significant challenges: corruption, military abuses, protection of minority rights, and Islamic radicalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After 1997, Thailand and Indonesia experienced dramatic political change. Indonesia is now on its fourth post-Suharto president, the constitution was changed, new political parties formed, the military's role in politics shrunk, and local governments have greater control and authority. In Thailand, a new constitution was ratified in the wake of the financial crisis and a new party took control in 2001. However, former Prime Minister Thaksin acted in ways that curtailed democracy and made a mockery of the 1997 reform movement. What happened to the post-1997 reforms? This article argues that democracy has been weakly consolidated in Indonesia and that Thailand has slid further from democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study which considered the process of establishing a democratic political system in Hong Kong under Chinese sovereignty. Essential elements of liberal democracy; Analysis of the conditions of democratic consolidation in Hong Kong; Issues concerning the maintenance of the Rule of Law in Hong Kong.

Deals with the political parties in South Korea. Democracy in the country; Analysis of the social bases of a sense of a membership in a political party; Issue differences between party identifiers and nonidentifiers; Conclusions.

Focuses on the anti-democracy campaign of the Burmese military government. Defeat of pro-democracy demonstrations through the use of force; Military government's defiance of the 1990 election results; Details of the emergence of the anti-government sentiments.