ABSTRACT
Southeast Asia, an economically dynamic and strategically vital region, seemed until recently to be transiting to more democratic politics. This progress has suddenly stalled or even gone into reverse, requiring that analysts seriously rethink their expectations and theorizing. The Routledge Handbook of Southeast Asian Democratization provides the first book-length account of the reasons for democracy’s declining fortunes in the region today. Combining theory and case studies, it is structured in four major sections:
- Stunted Trajectories and Unhelpful Milieus
- Wavering Social Forces
- Uncertain Institutions
- Country cases and democratic guises
This interdisciplinary reference work addresses topics including the impact of belief systems, historical records, regional and global contexts, civil society, ethnicity, women, Islam, and social media. The performance of political institutions is also assessed, and the volume offers a series of in-depth case studies, evaluating the country records of particular democratic, hybrid, and authoritarian regimes from a democratization perspective. Bringing together nearly 30 key international experts in the field, this cutting-edge Handbook offers a comprehensive and fresh investigation into democracy in the region
This timely survey will be essential reading for scholars and students of Democratization and Asian Politics, as well as policymakers concerned with democracy’s setbacks in Southeast Asia and the implications for the region’s citizens.
Part 1: Stunted Trajectories and Unhelpful Milieus 1. Democracy’s Mixed Fortunes in Southeast Asia: Torpor, Change, and Tradeoffs 2. Dead idea (still) walking: the legacy of the "Asian democracy and values" debate 3. Democratization & Human Rights in Southeast Asia 4. ASEAN, Regionalism and Democracy 5. The Global Context of Regime Change Part 2: Wavering Social Forces 6. Demystifying ‘People Power’: An Elite Interpretation of ‘Democratization’ in Southeast Asia 7. The Middle Class and Democracy in Southeast Asia 8. Conflict, Oppositional Spaces and Political Representation in Southeast Asia 9. Civil Society and Democratisation in Southeast Asia: What is the Connection? 10. Ethnicity and Democracy 11. Islam and Political Democracy 12. Women and democracy in Southeast Asia 13. Hype or Hubris? The Political Impact of the Internet and Social Networking in Southeast Asia Part 3: Uncertain Institutions 14. Electoral Systems in Southeast Asia 15. Rethinking Party System Institutionalization in Southeast Asia and Beyond 16. Democracy, Hybridity, and Accountability in Southeast Asia’s Legislatures 17. Courts and Judicialization in Southeast Asia 18. Democracy, the Rule of Law and Governance in Southeast Asia 19. Money Politics: Patronage and Clientelism in Southeast Asia 20. Southeast Asian Militaries in the Age of Democratization – From Ruler to Servant? Part 4: Country cases and democratic guises 21. Can the Philippines’ Wild Oligarchy Be Tamed? 22. Democracy in Thailand: Theory and Practice 23. Indonesia: Democratic Consolidation and Stagnation under Yudhoyono, 2004-2014 24. Singapore: from hegemonic to competitive authoritarianism 25. Malaysia: Pseudo-democracy and the making of a Malay-Islamic State 26. Myanmar: Transition, Praetorian Politics, and the Prospects for Democratic Change 27. Democracy and Vietnam
