The Making of Contemporary Maldives: Isolation, Dictatorship and Democracy

Abstract

The Maldives, South Asian smallest nation, adopted democracy in 2008. The years has been seen the country hurtle from one political crisis to another, including the premature end to its first democratic government; an authoritarian reversal; and a tentative return to democracy. This article examines the type of society which has produces and, has been produced by, such political upheaval; and it reviews the role that region has played in shaping contemporary Maldivian society and politics. It asserts that the island nation’s geography, its isolation and long history of authoritarian rule and the long-term pursuit of centralized and unequal development policies has engendered a society increasingly torn between strengthening democracy and ‘defending [salafi] Islam’ the only religion its democratic Constitution allows. As the Indo-Pacific region becomes central to international geopolitics, and the geographical location of the Maldives becomes important to regional and global security strategies, this commentary provides an introduction to the factors and actors at play in contemporary Maldivian society.