Demokratie in Südostasien auf dem Rückzug?

Abstract

Is democracy in crisis in Southeast Asia? The article gives an overview over the status of democratization in Southeast Asia by looking at established democracy indices such as the Freedom House data and Bertelsmann Transformation Index. After mapping the regime types of Southeast Asian states, the article analyses the state of consolidation in Southeast Asia's young democracies with Linz/Stepan's model of democratic consolidation. The article shows that democracy has received serious setbacks only in Thailand (and to certain extent also in the Philippines), whereas Indonesia's democracy has gained maturity in recent years. These developments are reflected in constitutional consolidation, political party development and the reform of the militaries of the region. The prospects for democratization are quite gloomy, since most of the authoritarian regimes in the region lack the conditions considered conducive for democratization, such as economic development, vivid and active middle class or vigorous working class. External influences also favour the status quo and do not support democratization.