THE COMPARATIVE POLITICS OF SOUTHEAST ASIAASDP – June 22, 2011, East-West Center, Honolulu HI

Review of what is Southeast Asia

States in Early Southeast Asia

Political Systems in Post-War Southeast Asia

International Relations and Regional Instituitions

Today

Forest and waterways.

Tropical region, and this prevented land-based migration and invasion.

Also the forest provides an abundance of resources for daily like, building, eating, and so on.

Physical Geography

Rice: Likely native to the region. Other staples including taro and other starches.

Fish: Eating fish but also cooking with fish sauce and using fish and shrimp pastes in cooking

Palm: Abundant and used as a substitute for sugar and also to extract oil.

Common Diet

Waterways waterways,

temperate winds make region accessible by sea.

Migration and trade occur primarily by sea and by major river ways and deltas.

A physical region.

What is Southeast Asia?

People from southern coast of China migrated to Southeast Asia in early times.

Married and were essentially absorbed into population.

Did not consider themselves “Chinese.”

Chinese Influence

Resurgence of Chinese identity in SE Asia Rulers found it convenient to separate Chinese from indigenous population.

Mass migration after the Taiping rebellion.

The rise of Chinese nationalism in China itself (early 20th century).

“Sini-fication”

Bilateral kinship structure. Reverse of conventional dowry. Men often live with woman’s family. Women may have autonomous trade in

marketing. Step from trade to diplomacy is small.

External forces (Confucianism, Christianity, Islam, chipped away at this).

Role of Women in SE Asia

Women Leaders in Southeast Asia

It is a human region.

What is Southeast Asia?

The term emerges only in the context of World War II.

It becomes a theater of war after the Japanese invasion of the region.

Distinct from South Asia (India) and East Asia (China, Japan, Korea)

Where does Southeast Asia Come From?

It was heterogeneous in terms of culture. It was remote in terms of distance. It was imperially segmented.

Why so late?

Major religions come through Southeast Asia including Hindu, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam.

Hundreds of languages.

Dozens of ethnic groups, hundreds of sub-ethnic groups.

Heterogeneity

Remote

Japan

Unites many in the region.

Brings SE Asia to forefront.

Unites the Imperialists.

There were major communist rebellions in almost every single country in Southeast Asia.

And whereas India and China were largely “lost” and in any case too big to intervene, Southeast Asia was still contestable.

The Cold War

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) established in 1967.

Founding members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand (later Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia).

Promote regional economic growth, peace and security, and mutual assistance.

ASEAN

It is a political region.

What is Southeast Asia?

STATE FORMATION

What is the state?

“Administrative body that has a monopoly over the legitimate use of force over a

given territory.”-Max Weber

States

Regimes

Governments

Pre-Colonial State Formation Reid, Anthony.

1988. Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce, 1450-1680. The Land Below the Winds. Yale University Press.

Maritime trade absolutist regimes.

Pre-Colonial State Formation

Maritime trade in the region from the 14th century to the 17th century explains the consolidation of absolutist regimes during this period.

Trade brought expanded wealth and dissemination of firearms which enabled states to be more centralized, coercive and bureaucratic.

Colonialism was a consequence of the vibrant trade and economy in the region and not the reverse.

Pre-Colonial State Formation

Lieberman, Victor. 2003. Strange Parallels: Integration on the Mainland: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c.800-1830. Cambridge University Press.

Not only Maritime.

Comparisons to Eurasia.

Pre-Colonial State Formation Maritime economic and military

inputs.

Domestic agricultural and commercial expansion.

Locally-generated movements of religious/moral reform.

State Formation

Scott, Professor James C. 2009. The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia. Yale University Press.

Explores why some places and some peoples did not embrace states.

State Formation

Larger debates that political scientists and political sociologists have made about the rise of states and state formation.

Helps to historicize Southeast Asian politics and recognize agency of Southeast Asian actors.

State Formation in the Colonial Era Colonial era is long and complex and

difficult to summarize in terms of state formation.

But it is an important area of study because many scholars argue that the colonial era helped to define states and how they run in the post-colonial era.

Direct vs. Indirect Rule

Furnivall, J. S. 1956. Colonial Policy and Practice a Comparative Study of Burma and Netherlands India. New York: New York University Press.

Direct rule: Rule through colonial administrators.

Indirect rule: Rule through ‘native’ administrators.

Furnivall

Direct rule tends to wipe out the “constraint of custom” and reduces societies to the “lowest common denominator of economic gain and exploitation.

Indirect rules works better because it maintains some degree of autonomy and expression of the “social will.”

Furnivall

Plural society: “a medley of peoples - European, Chinese, Indian and native, who do mix but do not combine...with different sections of the community living side by side, but separately,

within the same political unit.”

State Formation in Indonesia

Sutherland, Heather. 1979. The making of a bureaucratic elite : the colonial transformation of the Javanese priyayi

The Priyayi straddle Dutch and Javese realms.

State Formation in Indonesia Empowered priyayi become a highly

corrupt class of administrators in the colony.

Divisions between upper and less priyayi.

Dutch policies at centralization, decentralization, and then recentralization.

Thai State Formation

Thai State Formation

The Philippines

Philippines as a weak state.

Pre-colonial?

Colonial? Spanish? American?

Why pre-colonial and colonial era? Colonial legacies may persist.

Problems and challenges may come from this era.

It contextualizes and historicizes the region’s contemporary politics.

“Continuity and Change”

Japan

Unites many in the region.

Brings SE Asia to forefront.

Unites the Imperialists.

Independence in Southeast Asia Thailand: 1238? Philippines: 1946 Burma: 1948 Indonesia: 1950 Indochina: 1954 Malaya: 1957 Singapore: 1965 Brunei: 1984 East Timor: 1999

POLITICAL SYSTEMS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Professor Ehito Kimura

Polisci 307b

September 30, 2008

Country Area (km2) Population(2009) Density (/km2) GDP USD (2009)GDP per capita (2009)

Capital

 Brunei 5,765 428,000 70 10,405,000,000 $25,386 Bandar Seri Begawan

 Burma 676,578 50,020,000 74 34,262,000,000 $571 Naypyidaw

 Cambodia 181,035 14,805,000 82 10,871,000,000 $768 Phnom Penh

 East Timor 14,874 1,134,000 76 590,000,000 $542 Dili

 Indonesia 1,904,569 240,271,522 126 539,377,000,000 $2,329 Jakarta

 Laos 236,800 6,320,000 27 5,598,000,000 $886 Vientiane

 Malaysia 329,847 28,318,000 83 192,955,000,000 $8,100 Kuala Lumpur

 Philippines 300,000 91,983,000 307 160,991,000,000 $1,745 Manila

 Singapore 710.2 5,076,700 7,023 182,231,000,000 $36,379 Singapore

 Thailand 513,120 67,764,000 132 312,605,000,000 $4,643 Bangkok

 Vietnam 331,210 88,069,000 265 93,164,000,000 $1,068 Hanoi

Philippines

Spanish/American colonialism. 1946-Independence from US. 1965-Election of Marcos 1972-Martial law 1983-Benigno Aquino assassinated. 1986-People power revolution. Cory Aquino becomes president.

Some sources

Wurfel, David. 1991. Filipino politics: Development and decay. Cornell Univ Press.

Anderson, Benedict. 1988. “Cacique Democracy in the Philippines: Origins and Dreams.” New Left Review I (160) (June): 3–33.

Hutchcroft, P. D, and J. Rocamora. 2003. “Strong demands and weak institutions: The origins and evolution of the democratic deficit in the Philippines.” Journal of East Asian Studies 3: 259–292.

Indonesia

Dutch colonialism. 1945-1950-Indonesian revolution. 1950-Independence. 1957-‘Guided democracy’. 1965-Coup, counter coup? “New Order” authoritarian rule by

Suharto. 1997-Asian Financial Crisis. 1998-Fall of Suharto.

Some sources

Crouch, Harold. 2010. Political reform in Indonesia after Soeharto. Singapore: ISEAS Publishing.

Hadiz, V. R. 2004. “Decentralization and democracy in Indonesia: a critique of neo-institutionalist perspectives.” Development and Change 35 (4): 697–718.

Slater, Dan. 2004. “Indonesia’s Accountability Trap: Party Cartels and Presidential Power After Democratic Transition.” Indonesia (78) (October): 61-92.

Timor L’este

1972-Portuguese colony. 1975-Declares independence but is

invaded and occupied by Indonesia. 1991-Santa Cruz Massacre 1996-Ramos Horta and Bishop Belo

receive Nobel Peace Prize. 1998-After fall of Suharto, President

Habibie allows referendum. 1999-Independence.

Some sources

Taylor, John G. c1991. Indonesia’s forgotten war the hidden history of East Timor. London, Atlantic Highlands, N.J., USA, Leichhardt, NSW, Australia: Zed Books. Pluto Press Australia.

Kammen, Douglas. 2001. The Trouble With Normal: The Indonesian Military, Paramilitaries, and the Final Solution to East Timor. In , ed. Benedict Anderson. Ithaca: Southeast Asia Program Publications.

Robinson, G. 2009. “ If you leave us here, we will die”: how genocide was stopped in East Timor. Princeton Univ Pr.

Burma (Myanmar)

Colonized by the British. 1947-Aung San and six members of

interim government are assassinated. 1948-Burma becomes independent state. 1962-Military coup by Ne Win. 1988 - Demonstrations and major

crackdown. 1990-NLD wins elections, results ignored. 1991-Suu Kyii wins Nobel Peace Prize. Present: SPDC still retains power.

Some Sources

Taylor, R. 1987. The State in Burma. University of Hawaii Press.

Callahan, M. P. 2004. Making Enemies: war and state building in Burma. NUS Press.

Malaysia

British colonial rule. 1948-British continue rule. 1957-British allow independence. 1963-Decolonization of Sabah,

Sarawak, and Singapore. 1965-Singapore withdraws. 1969-Race riot. 1971-National Economic Policy

(NEP) 1981-Mahathir becomes PM.

Some sources

Andaya, Barbara Watson, and Leonard Y Andaya. 2001. A History of Malaysia. Honolulu: University of Hawai`i Press.

Case, W. 1993. “Semi-democracy in Malaysia: withstanding the pressures for regime change.” Pacific Affairs 66 (2): 183–205.

Singapore

British Colonial Rule. 1959-Lee Kuan Yew becomes PM. 1963-Enters federation with

Malaysia. 1965-Breaks off from Malaysia

and becomes a republic. 1990-Yew steps down, Goh Chock

Toh new PM. 2004-Lee Hsien Loong (eldest son

on Lee Kuan Yew) becomes PM.

Some sources

Means, Gordon Paul. 1996. “Soft Authoritarianism in Malaysia and Singapore.” Journal of Democracy 7 (4): 103-117.

Lingle, C. 1996. Singapore’s authoritarian capitalism: Asian values, free market illusions, and political dependency. Edicions Sirocco (Barcelona and Fairfax, VA).

Brunei Darrussalam

1888-Brunei becomes British protectorate. 1929-Oil Extraction begins. 1959-First written constitution, makes

Islam state religion, British responsible for defense and foreign affairs.

1963-Brunei opts to remain a British dependency rather than join Malaysia.

1984-Brunei becomes independent nation.

Thailand

1782-Beginning of Chakri Dynasty. 1932-Constitutional Monarchy. 1947-Military coup. 1991-Anand Panyarachun becomes PM. 1997-Financial Crisis 2001-Thaksin Shinawatra wins PM. 2006-Military coup. 2008-now: Red-shirt yellow shirts.

Sources

Baker, Chris Phongpaichit Pasuk. 2005. A History of Thailand. Port Melbourne, Vic., Australia ; New York: Cambridge University Press.

Riggs, F. W. 1966. Thailand: The modernization of a bureaucratic polity. East-West Center Press.

Anderson, Benedict. 1990. “Murder and Progress in Modern Siam.” New Left Review I (June): 33–48.

Winachakul, Thongchai. 1997. Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation. University of Hawaii Press.

Vietnam

French colonial rule. 1954: First Indo-china war ends with fall

of Dien Bien Phu. 1954-1975: Second Indo-china war 1968-Tet offensive. 1973: Cease fire and US pull out. 1975: North invades South 1976: Socialist Republic or Vietnam

proclaimed.

Sources

Popkin, Samuel L. c1979. The rational peasant the political economy of rural society in Vietnam. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Kerkvliet, Benedict J. 2005. The power of everyday politics: How Vietnamese peasants transformed national policy. Cornell Univ Press.

Cambodia

French colonial rule. 1953-Independence. 1965-Breaks of relations with US,

allies with N. Vietnam. 1975-Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot

take power. Killing fields. 1979-Vietnam invades and

deposes Khmer Rouge. 1985-Hun Sen becomes PM. 1991-Paris Peace Accords.

Sources

Chandler, D. P. 1992. A history of Cambodia. Westview Press Boulder, CO.

Kiernan, B. 2002. The Pol Pot regime: race, power, and genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79. Yale Univ Pr.

Laos

French colonial rule.

1954-Independence to Constitutional Monarchy.

1960s-Theatre for war during Indo-China wars.

1975-Monarchy is deposed and replaced by socialist government in 1975 (Pathet Lao).

42 Timor-Leste 7.22 Flawed dem. Parliamentary Republic57 Thailand 6.55 Flawed dem. Const. monarchy, Parliamentary60 Indonesia 6.53 Flawed dem. Presidential system, Republic71 Malaysia 6.19 Flawed dem. Const. monarchy, Parliamentary74 Philippines 6.12 Flawed dem. Presidential, Constitutional Republic82 Singapore 5.89 Hybrid regime Parliamentary Republic100 Cambodia 4.87 Hybrid regime Const. monarchy, Parliamentary 140 Vietnam 2.94 Authoritarian Socialist republic, single-party communist 156 Laos 2.10 Authoritarian Socialist republic, single-party communist163 Myanmar 1.77 Authoritarian Military junta (de facto military dictatorship)??? Brunei ? ? Sultanate

The Landscape of Southeast Asian Politics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

Questions and Debates

Some scholars lament the lack of democracy in Southeast Asia.

Some scholars try to understand the variation in political systems.

Some scholars try to understand why democracy is spreading. What stands in its path?

Democracy

Participation

Competition.

Protection of civil and political rights.

Authoritarianism

One or a small group of individuals exercise power over the state.

Government is not constitutionally responsible to the public

Public has little or no role in selecting leaders.

Severe limits on individual freedoms.

Kinds of Authoritarianism

Personal Rule

Military Rule

One-Party Rule

Theocracy

Illiberal Regimes

Sources of Democracy and Authoritarianism in SE Asia Cultural explanations

Economic explanations

Cultural Explanation for Democracy ‘Western Culture’ is somehow well suited

for democracy.

Because of its individualism and non-hierarchical social structure.

A ‘Spirit of Capitalism.’

Asian Values

Loyalty to the family.

Community over individual. Development and security over individual

rights.

Consensus over majority rule.

Importance of social harmony.

The Asian Values Debate

Articulated by Asia’s leaders.

West vs. East

Western ‘decay’ vs. Asian growth.

Human rights.

Problems with Asian Values

Plenty of Asian dissenters.

More and more Asian democracies. Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia

Thompson, Mark. 2001. “Whatever Happened to ‘Asian Values’?” Journal of Democracy 12 (4) (October 1): 154-165.

Cultural Diversity and Authoritarianism Asian values suggests that all Asians

have something in common.

But Southeast Asia is diverse in culture.

Authoritarianism arises because of this diversity.

Economic Explanations for Authoritarianism There is a relationship between economic

growth and democracy/authoritarianism.

Rich countries tend to be more democratic.

WHY?

Recall that many of the arguments against democracy occurred during economic growth…

Middle Class and Democracy Richer countries have capitalist middle

class.

Middle class is more educated, able to articulate, and interested in political rights.

“No Middle Class, No Democracy.”

Middle Class and Democracy Moore, Barrington. 1966. Social origins of

dictatorship and democracy lord and peasant in the making of the modern world. Boston: Beacon Press.

Sidel, John. 2008. “Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Colonial State and Chinese Immigrant in the Making of Modern Southeast Asia.” Journal of Comparative Politics.

Social Origins 2008

Rise of a middle class in itself does not guarantee democracy. It is determined by the “degree of vigor and independence of a country's bourgeoisie.”

No middle class: Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam

Dependent middle class: Singapore, Brunei. Assimilated middle class: Thailand,

Philippines “Pariah” middle class: Malaysia, Indonesia

Middle Class + and Democracy Maybe the middle class are “contingent

democrats.”

In other words, they will join when it suits them and they will ally with other sectors such as the working class.

How do we understand the Philippines? Or how do we understand Singapore?

“Supply Side” arguments

Some argue that it is about the elites.

Regimes change when there is elite disunity.

Regimes are stable when there is elite unity.

Case, William. 2002. Politics in Southeast Asia: Democracy or Less. Routledge Press.

Elite Forces

Elite Cohesion Elite Disunity

Quiescent Constituents

Stable Authoritarianism

(Indonesia, Singapore)

Unstable Authoritarianism(Malaysia)

Participatory Society

Stable Democracy

(Philippines)

Unstable Democracy

(Thailand)

Democracies

Democracy Philippines (low-quality), Thailand

(unconsolidated) Semi Democracy

Singapore, Malaysia Pseudo Democracy

Indonesia Hard Authoritarian

Burma?

The Problem with General Arguments Tendency to generalize and hard to

explain exceptions.

Tendency towards determinism, backwards explanation. Hard to anticipate change.

Importance of historical context, key events, and individual leaders.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Politically unites the region and attempts to impose Japanese culture.

Brings Southeast Asia to the forefront of addressing the global threat Japan’s rise.

Brings the imperial powers together in their quest to retake the former territories.

Japanese in Invasion

Vietnam War, the bombing of Cambodia and Laos.

War between Cambodia and Vietnam.

Invasion of East Timor.

Conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Cold War

September of 1954, the United States, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, or SEATO.

Other countries in the region express less interest.

Disbanded after the Vietnam War in 1977.

SEATO

Regional and International Relations China and the South China Sea.

Shared concerns about terrorism.

International trade (AFTA).

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) established in 1967.

Founding members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand (later Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia).

Promote regional economic growth, peace and security, and mutual assistance.

ASEAN

a formal, official, multilateral dialogue in Asia Pacific region.

of 27 participants

foster dialogue and consultation, and promote confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the region.

ASEAN Regional FORUM (ARF)

all the ASEAN members, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, the People's Republic of China, the European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New

Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, East Timor, United States and Sri

Lanka.

ASEAN Regional FORUM (ARF)

Established in 1989 by the Australian PM.

Opposed by a variety of groups who wanted a more “Asian” grouping.

Elevated in 1993 by President Clinton at the Blake Island Seattle Summit.

Asia Pacific Economic cooperation

ASEAN

Realism a.ka. Realpolitik

A school of thought that explains international relations in terms of power.

The foundational principle of realism is dominance.

Realism is contrasted with Idealism, a school of thought that considers other factors than just raw power.

A collective way to counter China or other threats.

A tool of powerful states.

Largely symbolic and actually has very little power to influence the international system.

ASEAN AS….

Liberal IR is based on the idea of reciprocity.

It argues that states often cooperate with each other, contrary to the predictions of realism.

Principles of Liberal IR Theory

Interests between states can overlap.

Power is not zero-sum, it is positive sum.

Regional institutions help promote cooperation.

ASEAN as the Asian EU

Identity and International Relations

States don’t behave merely on material interests alone.

There are also social rationale for behavior.

Asean is more than just about reciprocal cooperation.

There is a process of identity building going-on.

There is something called an ASEAN or an Asia-Pacific way.

AN “ASIA-PACIFIC WAY”

open regionalism

cooperative security

soft regionalism

flexible consensus

Four ideas

ASEAN, ARF, APEC, etc. are all regional institutions that are run by and for the benefit of states.

Can we think of other ways in which to think about regionalism in Southeast Asia?

What about regional ties based on faith and “secret regionalism”

What about non-state regionalism?

Review of what is Southeast Asia

States in Early Southeast Asia

Political Systems in Post-War Southeast Asia

International Relations and Regional Instituitions

Today

Other Themes

Political Economy of Development

Political Ecology

Religion and Politics

Ethnic Politics and Conflict