Governance and Politics of Southeast Asia
❖ Common trends or features or characteristics of the
southeast Asian countries
Introduction:
Southeast Asia is a region of the Asian Continent, consisting of countries and
territories- south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of
Australia. Southeast Asia is bordered by East Asia to the north, South Asia and the
Bay of Bengal to the west.
The majority of the region is located in the Northern Hemisphere, making it the
only Asian continent in the southern Hemisphere. Southeast Asia is considered a
combination of two geographic regions: -
Continental Southeast Asia.
Maritime Southeast Asia.
However, the present world is divided into two camps - developed and
developing. The South and southeast Asian countries are developing. That’s why
the political process and other trends of all South and Southeast Asian countries
are almost similar. Needless to say, South and Southeast Asia is a shining example
of colonialism in modern history. Before World War II, almost all countries in
South and Southeast Asia (except Thailand) were colonies of Western powers.
After being freed from the grip of colonial rule, some common characteristics can
be seen among the independent countries of southeast Asia like political,
historical, economic, social and cultural and religious etc.
In this unit we shall explain the common trends among the Southeast Asian
countries elaborately...
Southeast Asian countries: Southeast Asia consists of 11 counties like Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,
East Timor and Vietnam.
Southeast Asian official languages: Burmese, English, Filipino, Khmer, Lao,
Indonesian, Malay, Mandarin, Portuguese. Tamil, Thai, Vietnamese etc.
Southeast Asian Religions: Southeast Asia is home to four main religions:
Buddhism (Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia Laos, Vietnam), Islam (Malaysia.
Indonesia, Brunei), Christianity (Philippines and East Timor, and Hinduism.
Contemporary history in the Southeast Asia: Most countries in this Region
maintain national autonomy, democratic forms of government are practiced in
most southeast Asian countries and human rights is recognized but dependent
on each nation state, Socialist or communist countries in southeast Asia include
Vietnam, Laos. ASEAN provides a framework for the integration of commerce and
regional responses to international concern.
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Governance and Politics of Southeast Asia
Common trends or characteristics of the southeast Asian countries:
The common characteristics or trends of southeast Asian countries include
Climate, Environment, Economy, Governmental system, Political system etc. The
features are described below: -
Government and Political Regimes in southeast Asia:
Southeast Asia as a region varies widely in its cultures, history, and political
institutions. Due to this variety of regime types and the large variance of
theoretically relevant explanatory factors, southeast Asia presents Political
scientists with a natural Laboratory.
The region of 11 countries falls into three broad Regime categories Cambodia,
Malaysia, Singapore is the example of electoral authoritarianism, Brunei
Darussalam, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam after 2014 are closed autocracies that lake
multiparty elections.
Finally, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor makeup the region's defective
democracies.
Political Characteristics:
The newly independent people of South and Southeast Asia have some common
political characteristics, such as-
1. Nationalist political party: The emergence of nationalist political parties in
the politics of Southeast Asia is a special feature of the politics of this
region. During the colonial rule, a handful of western-educated groups in
these countries formed nationalist political parties with the aim of building
nationalist independence. The members of all these political parties are
responsible for the governance of the country.
2. Charismatic Leadership: Charismatic leadership has emerged at various
times among the leading individuals of South and South-East Asian
countries. Burma was initially led by YU Min and later by Yu Nu. In India,
Mahatma Gandhi was the epitome of hypnotic leadership. Ho Chi Minh in
North Vietnam and Sukarno in Indonesia possessed hypnotic leadership.
3. Bureaucratic politics (Bureaucrats in Politics): In Southeast Asian
countries, bureaucrats participate in politics and give leadership. In all
these countries bureaucrats were entrusted with massive responsibilities
to the people after independence. That’s why bureaucrats gradually
became enthusiastic about politics. As a result, there was conflict between
the government bureaucrats and the politicians and ultimately the
bureaucrats won.
4. Influence of Religion in Politics (Influence of Religion of Politics): In
South and South-East Asian countries, religious influence exists to a
considerable extent in the political field. The number of religious political
parties in these countries is excessive.
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Governance and Politics of Southeast Asia
5. Mixed Political Party: The presence of mixed political parties can be
observed in South and Southeast Asian countries. Political parties of all
countries do not do politics on the basis of indigenous. Most of the political
parties in these countries are based on the party system of the western
countries.
6. Massive Participation of the Middle Class in Politics: The massive
participation of the middle class in the politics of South and Southeast
Asian countries can be observed. And political leadership is formed from
this class. Political parties based on the middle class became more popular
in all these countries.
7. Obduracy of the Government and Opposition Party: Obduracy of the
government and opposition parties is another special feature of the politics
of Southeast Asian countries. In all these countries, the opposition parties
composed of ambitious elite class people criticize the ruling party and
leaders exclusively for their political interests.
8. Lack of specific organized interest groups: A small number in Southeast
Asian countries Organized interest groups exist. The interest groups of all
these countries are actually belong to some political party.
9. Army Intervention in Politics: In South and Southeast Asian countries, the
military emerged as a well-organized force. In all these countries, the
military mainly undertakes nation-building programs through economic
development. They strengthened the existing political crisis in the country:
tried to achieve political development. Military intervention has become an
everyday occurrence in the politics of almost all Southeast Asian countries.
Economic Characteristics:
Southeast Asian countries, were largely self-sufficient before colonization. All
these countries had an agriculturally based economy. The production system was
also mainly agricultural. But immediately after colonization, the economy of all
these countries began to flow into different sectors. Some of the economic
characteristics of South and Southeast Asian countries are mentioned below: -
I. Undeveloped Agriculture: The agricultural systems of Southeast Asian
countries are very undeveloped and traditional. In all these countries,
cultivation is still done with the help of traditional agricultural implements.
The use of modern agricultural implements has not been fully introduced
till now. As a result, agricultural production per acre is much lower than in
other developed countries.
II. Poverty: A special feature of the economy of South and Southeast Asian
countries is poverty. 80 percent of these countries live below the poverty
line. Underdeveloped agricultural system, industrial backwardness, political
instability, foreign exploitation etc. are only prolonging this poverty.
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Governance and Politics of Southeast Asia
III. Food Crisis: Another economic feature of South and Southeast Asian
countries is food crisis. None of these countries are self-sufficient in food.
Therefore, a large part of the foreign exchange earned through their
exported raw materials is used to import food.
Needless to say, the export-dependent raw material-based economic system is
making the development process of South and Southeast Asian countries
protracted and interdependent. As a result, their political and economic systems
are largely under the indirect control of the developed world. For the same
reason, their political stability and economic progress is progressing at a very slow
pace.
Social Characteristics:
Previously, the countries of South and Southeast Asia had their own culture and
high civilization. But now it has changed. The main carriers of this change are
colonial rule, education and political system. As a result of these countries
following the economic, political and social systems of industrialized societies, a
wide gap appears in all areas. The introduction of colonial education and
governance led to the emergence of new social classes. As a result, old social
hierarchies are broken and new social hierarchies are created. The traditional
society, religion, caste, changed into a secular social system, a single creed
attitude and above all, a single sense of nationality.
Concluding Context:
Finally, it is evident that the political, economic and social characteristics of non-
Western countries, especially South and Southeast Asian countries, are largely
the same. These features paint a clear picture of all these countries.
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