Southeast Asia's Democratic Moment

Abstract

Among the multiple effects of the current economic crisis is the challenge it has posed to authoritarian rule. While governments of the region emphasize the social dislocation and potential for political instability caused by the economic downturn, Musa Hitam, a former Malaysian deputy prime minister, has pointed out that the present social, economic scenario, the human rights cause seems to be [the] winner here.1 Contrasting the political chaos and collapse of the Suharto regime in authoritarian Indonesia with the smooth leadership transitions in democratic South Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand, some advocates of democracy argue that democratic regimes are more capable of effective governance and crisis management than authoritarian ones. Furthermore, the notion of Asian values, once credited with the region's economic success, and for some time a powerful conceptual justification for authoritarian rule, is now being blamed for the economic crisis. The economic crisis necessitates a rethinking and reorientation of the literature on democratization in Southeast Asia.2 This literature, at least during