Politics SSEA
Lecture 1 (14.9.2021), week 37
South and Southeast Asia: doing democracy
Readings:
William Case, 'Democracy’s mixed fortunes in Southeast
Asia: Torpor, change and trade-offs', in William Case
(ed.) Routledge handbook of Southeast Asian
democratization (2015), p. 3-28 (Chapter 1).
Simandjuntak, Deasy. "State of Democracy in Southeast
Asia." Heinrich Böll
Foundation, available at
https://th.boell.org/en/2018/10/19/state-
democracy-southeast-asia, 2018.
Jayal, Niraja Gopal. "The Limits of Representative
Democracy." South Asia: Journal of South Asian
Studies 32, no. 3 (2009): 326-37.
Stephen P. Cohen, 'The militaries of South Asia', in Paul
R. Brass (ed.),
Routledge handbook of South Asian politics: India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, and Nepal, pp. 351-363 (Chapter 24). Abingdon:
Routledge.
South-East Asia
- Politics with P – current political systems are in a
historical context. Democracy takes different shapes in
different parts of SSEA, why?
- Beyond the political, and beyond the state actors
Doing democracy South Asia
- India was seen as inspiration for democracy in the post-
colonial world
,Postcolonial trajectories
India and Sri lanka – parliamentary rule through competitive
elections in large measure
Pakistan – military has been dominant political force (coups
and mass movements to topple military regimes)
- Pakistan and India both inherent the military of
postcolonial Britain, but why are the political situations so
different?
Bangladesh – repeated failures of democracy until 1990 (coups,
counter-coups but democratic aspirations remain high)
Nepal – No direct British rule
from monarchy to parliamentary democracy constituent
assembly elections (2008, 2013) elections in 2017, dissolution
of parliament
- Even when you have democratic elected governments,
you have to see what the elections actually mean
Procedural vs. Substantive democracy
Procedural democracy
- Efficacy and integrity of political processes and
institutions
- Upholding rules for political participation and enhancing
actual participation
Substantive democracy
Equity outcomes?
- Social citizenship: economic welfare, social security
(public education, health)
- Conditions more demanding
, - Work in progress
Substantive democracy is a form of democracy in which the
outcome of elections is representative of the people. ... The
opposite of a substantive democracy is a procedural
democracy, which is where the relevant forms of democracy
exist but are not actually managed democratically.
The Indian case
Passed test for procedural democracy
- Except for the emergency (1975) alternation of power
between different political parties
- No military coups
- Huge and popular participation in elections
- Incorporation of middle and lower castes into electoral
politics
The period of Indian history since 1947 might be seen as the
adventure of a political idea: democracy
But
- Money for votes
- Electoral rigging
- Corruption
- Criminalization of politics
- Turn to authoritarianism or democratic autocracy
Middle class becomes more and more powerful, in south and
southeast Asia
Democracy and ‘freedom
Growing authoritarianism
• Censorship
• Illegal detentions
• Extrajudicial killings
Lecture 1 (14.9.2021), week 37
South and Southeast Asia: doing democracy
Readings:
William Case, 'Democracy’s mixed fortunes in Southeast
Asia: Torpor, change and trade-offs', in William Case
(ed.) Routledge handbook of Southeast Asian
democratization (2015), p. 3-28 (Chapter 1).
Simandjuntak, Deasy. "State of Democracy in Southeast
Asia." Heinrich Böll
Foundation, available at
https://th.boell.org/en/2018/10/19/state-
democracy-southeast-asia, 2018.
Jayal, Niraja Gopal. "The Limits of Representative
Democracy." South Asia: Journal of South Asian
Studies 32, no. 3 (2009): 326-37.
Stephen P. Cohen, 'The militaries of South Asia', in Paul
R. Brass (ed.),
Routledge handbook of South Asian politics: India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, and Nepal, pp. 351-363 (Chapter 24). Abingdon:
Routledge.
South-East Asia
- Politics with P – current political systems are in a
historical context. Democracy takes different shapes in
different parts of SSEA, why?
- Beyond the political, and beyond the state actors
Doing democracy South Asia
- India was seen as inspiration for democracy in the post-
colonial world
,Postcolonial trajectories
India and Sri lanka – parliamentary rule through competitive
elections in large measure
Pakistan – military has been dominant political force (coups
and mass movements to topple military regimes)
- Pakistan and India both inherent the military of
postcolonial Britain, but why are the political situations so
different?
Bangladesh – repeated failures of democracy until 1990 (coups,
counter-coups but democratic aspirations remain high)
Nepal – No direct British rule
from monarchy to parliamentary democracy constituent
assembly elections (2008, 2013) elections in 2017, dissolution
of parliament
- Even when you have democratic elected governments,
you have to see what the elections actually mean
Procedural vs. Substantive democracy
Procedural democracy
- Efficacy and integrity of political processes and
institutions
- Upholding rules for political participation and enhancing
actual participation
Substantive democracy
Equity outcomes?
- Social citizenship: economic welfare, social security
(public education, health)
- Conditions more demanding
, - Work in progress
Substantive democracy is a form of democracy in which the
outcome of elections is representative of the people. ... The
opposite of a substantive democracy is a procedural
democracy, which is where the relevant forms of democracy
exist but are not actually managed democratically.
The Indian case
Passed test for procedural democracy
- Except for the emergency (1975) alternation of power
between different political parties
- No military coups
- Huge and popular participation in elections
- Incorporation of middle and lower castes into electoral
politics
The period of Indian history since 1947 might be seen as the
adventure of a political idea: democracy
But
- Money for votes
- Electoral rigging
- Corruption
- Criminalization of politics
- Turn to authoritarianism or democratic autocracy
Middle class becomes more and more powerful, in south and
southeast Asia
Democracy and ‘freedom
Growing authoritarianism
• Censorship
• Illegal detentions
• Extrajudicial killings
