Peter Gourevitch Cited on International Relations and Domestic Politics
The state of democracy in Southeast Asia
06/24/2012
Chayut Setboonsarng,
The Malaysian Insider
The great philosophical question about the elements of a perfect democracy and their relation to capitalism remains unsettled, and is likely to remain thus.
Yet the recent history of Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand calls for a more practical conversation about the nature and extent of democratic transformation in Southeast Asia.
The demand for democratic institutions is typically associated with the rise of an educated middle class, and the organisers of pro-democracy demonstrations in the streets of Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur certainly fit this demographic. But the evolution of democracy has not necessarily followed the same pattern across the whole of Southeast Asia. This is most notable in Myanmar where there is no middle class and the reformist president, Thein Sein, is acting on geopolitical and economic considerations.
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Peter Gourevitch is professor of Political Science at IR/PS. He can provide commentary on questions of international relations, international trade, domestic politics in relation to international trade issues, and comparative politics in advanced industrial countries of North America, Europe and Asia. He speaks fluent French, and has lectured and taught in that language.
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