GFPP 2023

Politics of South-East
Asia
Introduction
 Outline
Defining Some Political
Concepts : Democracy,
Authoritarianism,
Dictatorship & Absolute
Monarchy
The Southeast Asia in a
Glance
 Democracy
demos (people) + kratia
(rule)
Ancient Greeks

the government of the

people, by the people, for
the people
Abraham Lincoln
The President of USA (1861-
1865)
 Types
a) Direct democracy

b) Representative democracy
 Authoritarianis
m
Political systems with limited, not
responsible, political pluralism,
without elaborate and guiding
ideology, but with distinctive
mentalities, without extensive nor
intensive political mobilization, except
at some points in their development,
and in which a leader or
occasionally a small group
exercises power within formally
ill-defined limits but actually
quite predictable ones (Linz 2000).
 Who Are The
Authoritarian
Regimes?
Sultanistic regimes
Military Regimes
Institutionalized dictatorship
Hybrid Regimes
The Diamond
Typology of Hybrid
Regimes
1. Liberal Democracy
2. Electoral Democracy
3. Ambiguous Regimes
4. Competitive Authoritarian
5. Hegemonic Electoral
Authoritarian
6. Politically Closed
Authoritarian
Liberal
Democracy
Emphasis: elected
elections, incorporation
of political rights &
constitutional democracy

Eleven components of
liberal democracy
Components of Liberal
Democracy
(Diamond 1999:11-12)
1.Control of state and its key
decisions and allocations lies with
elected officials.
2.Executive power is constrained,
constitutionally and in fact, by the
autonomous power of other
government institutions.
3.Not only are electoral outcomes
uncertain, with a significant
opposition vote and the
presumption of party alternation in
government but no group that
adheres to constitutional principles
is denied the right to form a party
 Components of Liberal
Democracy
(Diamond 1999:11-12)
4. Cultural, ethnic, religious and
other minority groups are not
prohibited from expressing their
interests in the political process or
from speaking their language or
practicing their culture.
5. Beyond parties and electioons,
citizens have multiple, ongoing
channels for expression and
representation of their interests
and values.
6. There are alternative sources of
information. Citizens are not
 Components of Liberal
Democracy
(Diamond 1999:11-12)
7. Individuals also have substantial
freedom of belief, opinion, discussion,
speech, publication, assembly,
demonstration, and petition.
8. Citizens are politically equal under
the law.
9. Individual and group liberties are
effectively protected by an
independent, non-discriminatory
judiciary, whose decisions are
enforced and respected by other
centers of power.
 Components of Liberal
Democracy
(Diamond 1999:11-12)
10.The rule of law protects the
citizens.
11.If political authority is to be
constrained and balanced,
individual and minority rights,
and a rule of law assured,
democracy requires a
constitution that is supreme
supremacy of constitution for
sustainable democracy.
Electoral
Democracy
Contested election
Acknowledges civil liberties;
but not necessarily
incorporate the civil liberties
the political rights
Low/Moderate degree of the
political freedom, fairness,
inclusiveness, and
meaningfulness of elections
Ambiguous
Regimes
Not a democratic nation

Not an authoritarian regime

Transitional period/newly
independent nations
Competitive
Authoritarian

In spite of significant
parliamentary opposition,
the ruling or dominant party
wins almost all the seats.
Hegemonic Electoral
Authoritarian
Authoritarian regime in which a
relatively institutionalized ruling
party monopolizes the political
arena, using coercion, patronage,
media control, and other means to
deny formally legal opposition
parties any real chance of competing
for power (Diamond 2002:25).
Also known as pseudodemocracy
authoritarian regime masked in a
form of democratic system
Politically Closed
Authoritarian
Non- democratic regimes
The South-East
Asia Region
Southeast Asian
Countries
Mainland Maritime
Thailand The
Myanmar Philippines
Vietnam Indonesia
Cambodia Timor-Leste
Laos Malaysia
Singapore
Brunei
The Region in
1914
Independence Post-
WWII
Indonesia (17 Cambodia (9
August 1945 - November 1953
declared) from France)
Vietnam (2 Singapore (9
September 1945 August 1965 from
from France) Federation of
the Philippines (4 Malaysia)
July 1946 from Timor-Leste (20
the US) May 2002 from
Myanmar (4 Indonesia; 28
January 1948 November 1975
from UK) from Portugal -
Laos (19 July proclaim)
1949 from Brunei (1 January
France) 1984 from the
UK)
Government System
(2016)
Thailand (Constitutional
Monarchy)
Myanmar (Parliamentary
Government since 2011)
Vietnam (Communist State)
Cambodia (Multiparty
Democracy under a
Constitutional Monarchy)
Laos (Communist State)
Government System
(2016)
The Philippines (Republic)
Indonesia (Republic)
Timor-Leste (Republic)
Singapore (Parliamentary
Republic)
Brunei (Constitutional
Sultanate)
Diamonds Typology
(Dayley & Neher
2013)
Thailand (Electoral
Democracy) the Philippines
Myanmar(Politically (Electoral Democracy)
Closed Indonesia (Electoral
Authoritarian) Democracy)
Vietnam(Politically Timor-Leste
Closed (Ambiguous Regime)
Authoritarian) Singapore
Cambodia(Hegemon (Hegemonic Electoral
ic Electoral Authoritarian)
Authoritarian) Brunei (Politically
Laos (Politically Closed Authoritarian)
Closed
Authoritarian)
Freedom Rating 2015
(Freedom House)
Each country score is
based on two numerical
ratingsfrom 1 to 7for
political rights and civil
liberties, with 1
representing the most
free and 7 the least
free.
 Freedom Rating 2016
(Freedom House)
Countri Freedo Political Civil
es m Rights Liberties
Rating
Thailand 5.5 6 5
Myanmar 5.5 6 5
Vietnam 6 7 5
Laos 6.5 7 6
Cambodi 5.5 6 5
a
* 1 representing the most free and 7 the least free
Brunei 5.5 6 5
 Freedom Rating 2016
(Freedom House)
Countrie Freedo Political Civil
s m Rights Libertie
Rating s
Indonesi 3 2 4
a
Timor- 3 3 3
Leste
Singapor 4 4 4
e * 1 representing the most free and 7 the least free
Income Level
(World Bank 2016)
High Income non-OECD:
Brunei & Singapore
Upper Middle Income:
Thailand & Malaysia
Lower Middle Income:
Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, the
Philippines, Indonesia, Timor-
Leste
Low Income: Laos
Chinese
Migration
Indian Influence
The Actors in
Political System
Executive
Head of States
Legislature
Electoral System
Political Party
Judiciary
Executive
Parliamentary Executive
Limited Presidential
Executive
Dual Executive
Unlimited Presidential
Executive
Parliamentary
Executive
Part of the legislature body
Prime Minister and a Cabinet
Cannot hold office without
majority support (or, at least,
strong minority support) in the
legislature, and coexists with a
symbolic head of state
Prime Minister leader of ruling
political party/coalition
No constitutional limit for
staying in terms; electoral
winning
Parliamentary
Executive
Fusion of Power: Executive =
Legislature

Check and balance:

1. Vote of no confidence
2. Whistle blower
Limited
Presidential
Executive
President (elected separately from
the legislature for a limited of
fixed-length terms & most power
are divided in the parliamentary
system between the head of state
and head of government) and a
Cabinet (nominated by the
president and confirmed by one of
the chambers of the legislature)

President formal leader of

ruling party/coalition
Limited Presidential
Executive
Separation of Power/ Check
and Balance

Removal of President: Death

or Impeachment
Dual Executive
Mixture of the Parliamentary and
Presidential Systems
Dividing Executive Powers between
1) an elected Executive President
serving fixed (but not always
limited) terms
And
2) a Prime Minister (head of ruling
political party/coalition in the
parliament) and Cabinet (the
elected legislature)
Head of State: President
Head of Government: Prime Minister
Dual Executive
President & Prime Minister not
necessarily from the same
political party
If they do, Prime Minister is a
functionary of President
Often they do not; President and
Prime Minister are independent .
With the separation of Executive
and Legislature, President relies
on Prime Minister and Cabinet to
govern effectively; passing the
policies/budgets, etc.
Unlimited
Presidential
Executive
President coexists with a
legislature.
Its dominant authority
rubber-stamp legislature
Balance of power among the
small elite group
Often resulted to
authoritarian leadership
Head of States
Head of Government

Head of State
 Head of

Government
Elected Leader with a
particular set of values and
goals that appeal to the
people who voted him/her into
office
Specific agenda driven:
ideology, economic
approaches, religion, ethnic,
regional, nationalism
Subject of supporting voters
Subject of political
supporters
Head of State
Either Elected or Appointed
Politically Neutral
Symbol of the Country
Few political power for arbiter
Legislature
Relationship with the
Executive
The Nature of
Representation
Terms of Office
Internal Structure
(Bicameral/Unicameral)
References
Abdul Rashid Moten & Syed Serajul
Islam. 2009. Introduction to Political
Science. 3rd Ed. Singapore: Cengage
Learning.

Linz, Juan J. (2000). Totalitarian and

Authoritarian Regimes. Boulder,
Colorado: Lynne Rienner