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Introduction Drawing on a rich array of resources and data, this report offers country-specific analysis, highlights areas of improvement, strengths and vulnerabilities to provide a snapshot of the state of democracy in Asia today.
Quotes from the Paper “Democratic governance has been strengthened by a functioning political system. The executive and judiciary have been strong and continue to contribute to the strengthening of the democratic fabric of the country. Challenges remain with regard to overcoming exclusions in society, the polity, and the economy. The full realization of citizenship rights for women, Dalits, tribal members, and minorities continues to be problematic” - Society for Participatory Research in Asia “Since the reformation in 1998, Indonesia’s democratization process has expanded and deepened in many ways. Indonesia’s democracy can be argued to be one of the most stable and solidly progressing in the region. (…) The biggest challenges stem from two major issues. The first is rampant corruption and the second is the problem of identity politics, or the politicization of religious and ethnic issues.” – Centre for Strategic and International Studies Indonesia “The Geron NPO (…) has conducted a questionnaire survey of Japanese intellectuals as part of its preparations. (…) A nearly identical 47% replied that democracy is “not functioning appropriately” and “somewhat not functioning appropriately.” (…) Among a host of replies, 46% said that “winning elections is the primary concern and politicians are not squarely facing their tasks,” and 40% pointed out the “inability of journalism (or media organizations) to serve as a watchdog over politics and a provider of venues for sound debate.” – Genron NPO “The year 2015 was the 25th anniversary of Mongolia’s first multiparty universal elections, and it was the year in which Mongolian democracy reached adulthood. (…) However, twenty-five years represents only about 1% of Mongolia’s over two millennia of statehood. For a nation whose monarchy had lasted so long and who had experienced 70 years of communist rule, democratization was a giant leap.” – Academy of Political Education “While effecting significant change in two national elections in 2015, Sri Lanka faces the both daunting and exciting prospect of restoring governance to all of its peoples with meaningful reconciliation and unity. From constitutional reform to transitional justice and fundamental economic reforms, a host of challenges created and sustained by systemic defects as well as the bad governance and criminality of successive governments must be overcome.” – Centre for Policy Alternatives “Democracy in Taiwan performs quite well in various aspects including free elections, the rule of law, freedom of the press, political participation, anti-corruption, and the protection of minority rights. There are some aspects where the functioning of democracy can be improved. The first one concerns the legacy of the authoritarian regime. (…) The second aspect concerns democratic values, which are an important but often omitted issue. (…) The third issue concerns political polarization.” – Asian Barometer & Academia Sinica “Thailand is among many countries that oscillate between democratic and non-democratic governance. Absolute monarchy ended in 1932 and Thailand became a constitutional monarchy with a Prime Minister as the head of the government and a hereditary monarch as the head of state. However, democratic transition is ongoing and has yet to be consolidated.” – King Prajadhipok’s Institute
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