The ASEAN economic crisis presented Southeast Asia a democratic moment[1]; democracy and democratization are important political concerns of the region as each state grapples with the issue of political reform and stability. Southeast Asia, for long had spared the vigil of western democratization because of its market-oriented policies and also because of contingencies of cold war policies that favored anti communist authoritarian regimes in the region. The Asian value debate further shielded these nations from pressures of democratic change.
However, end of cold war politics and ASEAN economic crisis of the 1990’s debunked the debate of democracy being inimical to development; it has undermined regional norms shielding authoritarian rulers from foreign criticism and has increased international pressure on the member states to undertake political reform. Domestic, intra-regional and international pressure induced by the economic crisis and the impact of economic globalization has put authoritarianism on the defensive and has pushed this region towards acceptance of democracy- as a political as well as a moral ideal.
The countries in this region are Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. They represent different stages of progress towards democratization. Burma and Vietnam represent the lowest points of the spectrum with authoritarian regimes, Cambodia, and Laos are emerging of socialism, Singapore and Malaysia have one party government, East Timor is a newly independent state, and Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia have made great progress towards democracy.
[1] Amitav Acharya, ‘Southeast Asia’s Democratic Moment’, Asian Survey, Vol.39, No.3, May/June 1999, pp 418-432.
Anek Laothamatas ed., Democratization in Southeast and East Asia (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies), 1997.
Clark D. Neher and Ross Marley, Democracy and Development in Southeast Asia: The Winds of Change (Boulder: Colo. : Westview Press), 1995.
Don Emmerson, “ Region and Recalcitrance: Rethinking Democracy through Southeast Asia”, Pacific Review, 8:2, 1995, pp 223-248.