Southeast Asia: Democracy Under Siege Democracy is in retreat across Southeast Asia. The U.S, pivot to Asia is one reason why. Joshua Kurlantzick explains. By Joshua Kurlantzick ‘Throughout much of the 1990s and early 2000s, Southeast Asia was one of the world’s bright spots for democracy. Even Myanmar, long one of the most repressive nations in the world, seemed to be changing. In 2010 and 2011, the xenophobic leadership of the Myanmar army, which had ruled the country since 1962, began a transition to civilian government by holding elections thatultimately helped create a partially civilian parliament. The country seemed poised for free elections in 2015 that would solidify its democratic change Since the early 2010s, however, Southeast Asia’s democratization has stalled and, in some of the region’s most economically and strategically important nations, it has even reversed. Over the past decade, Thailand has undergone a rapid and severe democratic regression and Malaysia’s democratic institutions and culture have regressed as well. While less drastic, there have also been troubling developments in a number of other countries. In Malaysia, the Jong-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition has cracked down on dissent and tried to destroy what had been an emerging, and increasingly stable, two-party system. However, this has changed since Malaysia’s BN government won a narrow victory in the 2013 election in large part because of its strong support from the most conservative and anti-opposition ethnic Malays. Following the election, the government has “rewarded” these loyal constituents by proposing a raft of new legislation that aims to suppress the opposition and entrench economic and political preferences for ethnic Malays, disempowering ethnic Indians and Chinese, who together represent about one-third of the country’s population For example, the government essentially reinstated the despised Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows Malaysia’s government to detain people without trial indefinitely, often on vague charges. Things have been just as bleak in Thailand, which has been mired in political crisis since 2006, when the Thai military launched a coup while then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was abroad. Since that time, Thailand has been plagued by repeated cycles of street protests and counterprotests, rising street violence and political instability, short-lived governments brought down through extra-constitutional means, and the return of harsh crackdowns on dissent. Thai institutions have become increasingly polarized and politicized, and few Thais now trust the integrity of the judiciary, the civil service, or other national institutions. Even the king, once so revered that Thais worshipped him like a god, has had his impartiality questioned by many Thais. algSince their high point in late 2012, Myanmar’s political reforms have regressed as well. After initially loosening media restrictions, the government has tightened them again. To cite just one recent instance, five journalists were arrested in February 2014 for reporting on the construction of a weapons factory in the country, alarming press watchdogs. Meanwhile, initial hopes that Myanmar’s military would scale back its role in politics have proven unfounded. The military has written clauses into the constitution reserving a quarter of the seats in parliament for the armed forces, effectively giving itself veto power over any constitutional amendments. Members of the military have also allegedly been involved in new anti-Muslim paramilitary groups that are emerging throughout Myanmar. These groups have been accused of bombing entire Muslim neighborhoods, as well as burning down Muslim homes and shops, and massacring Muslim families, President Thein Sein has alternated between ignoring the atrocities, defending the paramilitaries, or denying that mass Killings of Muslims have taken place at all. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia’s most authoritarian states have halted reforms. Over the past three years, Vietnam launched its largest crackdown on activists, religious leaders, bloggers, and other civil society leaders in more than a decade. It has also passed one of the most restrictive online speech laws in the world, forcing Internet providers to block and filter content more thoroughly. similarly, in Laos, which had cracked its door slightly open over the last two decades, the government has resumed tightening its grip over politics and society. In 2012, for example, the government shut down one of the few radio shows that discussed Lao politics and began forcing foreign aid workers to leave the country for making mild public criticisms of the government. Tobe sure, democracy has enjoyed some successes in Southeast Asia in recent years. For example, Indonesia’s presidential election this year brought to power former Jakarta Mayor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the first non-establishment candidate to hold the position. Moreover, outside observers deemed the elections free and fair, with some calling them the most transparent in the country’s history.