Democracy and Middle Classes in Laos

By: Boike Rehbein

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 CONTENTS

• Country Data
• Lao History in Brief
• Western vs. Lao Democracy
• Limitations in Lao Democracy
• Nationalism, Globalization and Social Structure
• Civil Society, Middle Classes and Democracy
• Conclusion

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 Country Data

• Area: 236,800 sq km, 85th in the world

• Population: 7,234,171 (July 2018 est.)
• Ethnic groups: Lao 53.2%, Khmou 11%,
Hmong 9.2%, Phouthay 3.4%, Tai 3.1%,
Makong 2.5%, Katong 2.2%, Lue 2%, Akha
1.8%, other 11.6% (2015 est.)
• Languages: Lao (official), French, English,
various ethnic languages
• Religions: Buddhist 64.7%, Christian 1.7%,
none 31.4%, other/not stated 2.1% (2015
est.)
• Independence: 22 October 1953 (Franco-
Lao Treaty recognizes full independence)
• GDP (official exchange rate): $16.97
billion, (2017 est.)
• GDP - real growth rate: 6.9% (2017 est.)
• Current account balance: -$2.057 billion
(2017 est.)
• Debt - external: $14.9 billion (31 December
2017 est.)
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 Lao History in Brief

• Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan
Xang, established in the 14th century under King FA NGUM.
• For 300 years Lan Xang had influence reaching into present-day
Cambodia and Thailand, as well as over all of what is now Laos.
• Laos came under the domination of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th
century until the late 19th century, when it became part of French
Indochina.
• The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border
with Thailand.
• In 1975, the communist Pathet Lao took control of the government,
ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a strict socialist
regime closely aligned to Vietnam.
• A gradual, limited return to private enterprise and the liberalization of
foreign investment laws began in 1988.
• Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997 and the WTO in 2013.

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 Western vs. Lao Democracy
• West Democracy
– More or less as the norm of any
democratic system in the world. It is
becoming the democracy of the
minority.
– It has itself come under attack and
no longer be a perfect democracy
– Inclusive of the population only to a very
limited degree it runs by a group of
professional politicians
• Laos Democracy
– Seems authoritarian and utterly
undemocratic, but it tries to
integrating the entire population into
decision making process.
– Socialist one-party state but entire
population are integrated into the
decision making process
– Lao government gives its people more
power than the liberal —by engaging
in party debates at the grassroots
level on the state policies
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 Limitations in Lao Democracy

• The visions of the world opposing the party line cannot be voiced
• The role of classes that are not part of the socialist apparatus, especially
that of the educated upper middle class, is restricted in Lao politics
• There is no civil society in the strong sense

These are limitations from a Western perspective but the Lao government would argue
that multiple parties, functional elites and civil society organizations are not necessary
ingredients of a democracy.

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Nationalism, Globalization and Social Structure

• In 1986, the Soviet Union cut its assistance, Laos was forced to turn to
international community.
• International and regional organizations demand institutional reforms,
ethnic groups develop a visible identity, the urban middle classes call for
more political space, and the market economy raises material wishes
• Government argues that urban middle class could form the social
backbone of a Western-type democracy, while the delimited group in
Laos is the upper class or elite
• The social group that might favor a Western-type democracy is very
small in Laos, all groups favor socialism or precolonial forms of political
and social organization — baan, muang.
• Laos today were historically organized into village and the social
structure mainly determined by kinship.
• Peasants in densely populated areas and mostly focus on having enough
food until the next harvest season.
• There is no coalition between an upper middle and an entrenched ruling
class.
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 Civil Society, Middle Classes and Democracy

• There are various types of civil society in Laos that correspond to

different socio-cultures or historical layers of Lao society, namely the
village, the socialist party and the market economy.
• INGOs have been active in Laos since the colonial period but national
and local NGOs have begun to emerge very recently and were not able to
be publicly recognized until 2009
• Lao democracy is more inclusive as lower milieus do participate in the
socialist party, but the power of the middle class is very limited in
contrast to all democracies of the Western type

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 Conclusion

• The social structure of Laos is beginning to be vertically and horizontally

differentiated to a hitherto unknown degree, which also entails political
differentiation, more political differentiation will take place in the coming
years
• Nor is differentiation identical with the abolition of one-party rule,
though the party is increasingly unable to accommodate all social
interests and to regulate all social processes respectively.
• The government expects the emerging civil society to assist in
implementing official policies and uses its power to channel urgently
needed funds to back its claims.
• The party represents most of the precapitalist milieus and integrates the
capitalist class, but fails to include the upper middle class, which
comprises the functional elites, such as technocrats, intellectuals,
mediumsize entrepreneurs and the liberal professions.
• Possibly, socialist rule would come up with a new formula to integrate
the middle class without establishing a Western-type democracy.