Politics in Contemporary Southeast Asia Authority, democracy and political change Damien Kingsbury posuere 1 Introduction “The counties of the region known as Southeast Asia make, on fice valve, an ol combination. They comprise sever leet countries, one big the world’s fh Tange sate by population ~ some 250 willon predoauinanty Masia people ving on ronda thind of is aost 18,00 sank aro» 5,000 flometre-wideatchipelgo of slot twa milion aquie blometrs. This county, Indoness, achieved independeace fn 149, prior to which xs costitent pars comprised the Dutch East fies. A: the other end ofthe sale & Tumor Leste, one of die work's salle state by popabion, ‘with around 1.2 alion predominantly Catholic people living on ite moe than hal fof ans of aie over 15,000 square Kilometres. It achieved independence in 2002 prior to which i was colonised by Tndonesis far 24 years ad, before dt, by Pongal. All ofthe counais in etween have been Europea colonies bat for Thailand, which maaged 4 avoid the frality of that arrangement by being allowed to bafirbetwoeu Deis and French colonial eerste “The region that comprises Southeast Asin is hounded to the west by na, t the forth by China, 1 the east bythe Pace Olean and ts sand sates al to the sth by Australia, Like all such boundries, there ae somewhat arbitrary, making roughly sognaphie, specially colon and sometimes etnic distinctions, Manifested at Sutes, Southeast Asa includes continental Myanmar, Thailand, Taos, Cambodia and ‘View andthe marime Maly, Indonesia, Singapote, Brune, the Philippine and Timor-Leste Like all such boundaries, the distinctions between thee states nl the people wo live in them tend to blur and the lived realy is ch les lear than the delineaions on a imap, Inegions were denied by cthniaty rather thin state osndrcs,chere wold ‘be a considerable ambiguity around ths regions eds. Yet Southeast Asai at iden fied region and sss, in reg dacuuson wid elf oth the Avociation af Southeast Asian Nations, on tat bass "The original inhabitants ofthe more southern puts ofthis broad region were Ausinloid peoples, biited remnants of whom occupy some of the mountainous ares (eg the ‘Orang Aa of Malay. Subsequent populations asived in the region in waves pray fiom around 2000 acy, having miggated oath fom the Tibetan peas, over Gora regions of what now southern China and fiom souti-eastern China and Taiwat out toward the Pacific Ocean, Sich waves of migaon have, teas forthe ine being eflectively finshed However, lone of the more recent waves of migation wis the Hong, fom the highlands of uth fra China to the highbnds of northern Viewtm, Laos and Thailand. Their migation Tegan in dhe te eighteen century and dl not effectively conease wn the early 1970s2 anosion ‘While the waves of migration that have popalite Southeast Asi canbe character ‘by relatively nor anatomical dferences, ore welll they Gl nto phyla of ngage: the Sino-Tiben Languages to the west, sy Myanmar: Ti-Kadat in Thailand, 0s fand Myaninars Shan sate andthe Austro-Asiatic Languages groupe of Proto. Mon Khmer acon the rest of mainland Southenst Asa, Austronesian lnguagerof the Maly Polynesin group douninate throughout the archipelago, but forthe Papuan phylom of the region's outh-estem edges, where Southeast Asta bias withthe south-west Pai "The region also his sigaficant Han Chinese (nosy Hoklo/Hakka) population of round Sion, some of wim have been resent a ters for hinds of years Bt ‘many of whont migeited daring the clonal era (or sumedtly ales taking alan Lage of incre economic opportaniies. While many Chinese have inermaried wi ‘thes or hive amit in name and Ligue (ey the Reranakan, oF descend’ of Indes) there remain sipiieant an ten gone distinct etic CI hroughout the gion ‘cia sicuce, with elements of Dah sh pats of Tides noubly Portuguese cares tading centres of Malseca and Tinioe-Lete, and Spanish i the Piippines ‘While thee is mach to diinguith the various ethnic groups of Southeast Asia, there are ako number of commonaiies crow dhe region In parila, cou to al Dut a {ew hghlind ube the cavation of ice, pracy wet or pad ce Whale wet ice sgrculye dot universal duoughout the tegion ~ thee is abo some dy rice Eeming ‘long with other staple crop it ha li he fondation forthe cestion of the major c= Tons and hence key cultural infuences ofthe region. These le seed chitons that at diferent ies, held sey ene sigpiticantempies, ice che Angkorian Khmee ‘piethe dys of Central and Est ova (he mos extensive of which was Maja), {he cent! Dorn emp, the pue-Lao sete of Lan Xan, dhe rie of Th cers ad the Sudhivard expansion of View Parle to the exablshment ofthis agricultural phenomenon, auth ental poli ‘ea eytenn i hlped engender, wae the Hind-nepired cul of the deri (godin) and the development of stonglyhirtchiclpaton-clent relations Ths Hi lence ‘ws noticeable cre the rein bu forVietnar, which wae more stony nfvenced by (China the extern parts of Indonesia sd the Phlppins, whose fire mje exter ial ence wt an, aid seme othe soath-esser lane sid the norern Php, here lier forms of Christianity were mos nvental Prior 19 colonialism. with the exception of Vietnam, states in Southeast Asa did not Juve demarcated borders, but porous center of power tht waxed and waned Thi dy ‘nism of sates based on an ‘exemplary cent’ has been likened by some scholars to Sanda’ model of pobiisl organiston, where the god-ing sts atthe panmacte of ovr, surrovnaded by scene cles of noble, courtiers and athen sn descending ‘der of polities] smportance often encompassing salle sites of power within ts Lge, Framework a irer ser of rend and enemy sites By deiion, such medel, ian enemy wate expands, one’ own sate contricts, and vice-versa so that shiing ‘equilib becomes the only conmtant sn ter-state ais, Poputions i this contest ‘see important much ls i ere other ethnicity than as a principal wurce of booe zed Hence power, Interrupted and in aiguficant pact shaped by colnialan, regional Sates have lrgely adapted to Wesphalan state model, partculnly around notions of fixe border, ‘Within the taditiona patron cient node, rulers usualy had some degree of recipo- calrelations with thei subjects. This tended to decline in mote centralise, mandls-ype Inductive 3 poll systems where the monarch st Bath a the serie and on top ofthe politic y= tem, protected by courier and oer underlings in concent ele of aot. More Tocsed,wilge level political systems teed oma sac more det relation beeen ‘he rler aa there. “The notion ofa all: powerfl euler ha ot enielydiappeared in Southeast Asis and royalty and other tog leader, and charimaticmdwidal, have quently contined rele! both the extraozinay sass of rvakysich a Thad King Bhumibol Adutade) ‘ Catnbodiss Norodom Sitanouk, or the penonsicaion of power. This prsonifiction fof power ca also be seen in Myannar’s Ang Sa, NeWin, Aung Sn Sus Kyi;Cambodis Hin Sen;Viewnm Ho Chi Min fndonesas Sukirno and Suharto; Malays Mubatir ‘Mota Singapore’ Lee Kwan Yew; the Plilippiner Raton Maguyay and Ferdand ‘Macox Brunet Sultan Blkish; and Tinot-Lete Xana Cus Sighficant auwibutes of powerfl rulers were elected tough the so-called Asan Values debate of the 1980 and 1990s in which here was chimed to bea specially ‘Asin’ way of derstanding and applying poll power This was std to reflect mains ‘of community over the individual and consequent esterprtations of civ and pali- ‘al ight respect for and obedience to elders and leaders, bard work, and dhe vag oF ‘education. Te dificulty wid this asertion was that although it contained element of teh, there wee perhaps more exceptions tothe ale shan these was gsecent with [Moreover neatly rect the politcal iteres ofa pectic ats quo and allowed, ‘by definition, cong challenge to thearton, The: people power moveent of the Phlgpines ad the democratisation of Fadonesa afer 1998 hl much wo danse the’ Asin claim Singpporent lene Lee Kes Yew [bee mode the tern to menn“ConfacinVales which, having 4 Chere connotation cleay dil not apply t0 mort Stone Asam In the ed, what we purported tobe omnon characteratic of Soueat Adan people wanspied to he» cannon chirater- ‘cof authoritarian leaders mote widely dspersed What it mea to be Southeast Sin seas less an overt pola contraction and mere a mater of having to adres com ‘ons of cllenges around development an some ests, democtasion adil at pola ight Tm comunon with many societies fr resnoed fom Southeast Asi, patrn-cien rl ‘ous continue to form much of the bass of ciety and politics, and olen of econczies and commerce At one level his tend o construct a muy support and rece set of teltions which Help bond together pariculr societies or socal oders, However, wanted into the post-colonial er and in particular into 4 modern economy such Jton-ebent telaots abo lend themselves to corruption, particule of political fice ‘shee erstonally there wate or no dinction between power and reward, One, ‘without formal taxation there was requirement for alert un the sate fom theicown, ands and there was some notion ofrecprociy More recently, however, rales have been able to rely on sate reve ad the eiprocal inks argey broken leading to corcupon, Scandal sich athe secumltion of more thin USSS blion by Fendinand Macot and Spprosiately US$35lalon by Subarto and his fy "While i zelavely simple to dently sacl coaimovabties or dhe major rch oF linguistic Fes across Southeast Aa descent into ethnic vay more capex ‘The ate mor dhan 90 langage group arrose eon ach oten ding sto ally Btn! Languages and det To stats, we there ae two principle language soaps sn the tiny fallsnd of Tisnor-Lese, hs 2 distinct languages and ree 16 dale amng is 1.2 aallon people Neighbouring Wen Pap (a part of lnlomesi) las ore4 station than 300 stint nguages. Even tltively ethnically cohesive tats, ach neta, hve ‘more tha 60 languages wich 4 common experience throng the eon "The region ngustc diversity elects its acted geography, with ep mounts and sea viding peoples into historically relatively soated comuruitisfas throug such teltive lation that not only dil ditinct Inguages ae, but 40 100d oe ca5- tons, belie syste ad specific forms of socal organation, Without Westphalian hoe