[Citizen College Season 7] #4 Democracy in Asia: Why Democracy in Southeast Asia Will Worsen?

On May 17, 2023, the Seongbuk Adult Education School, PDI, and the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University held the fourth lecture of the Citizen College Season 7  “Politics in Everyday Life” in Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University.  In this lecture Professor Shin, Jae Hyeok from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University presented on the topic of “Democracy in Asia: Why Democracy in Southeast Asia Will Worsen?”.

The lecture, titled “Democracy in Asia: Why Democracy in Southeast Asia Will Worsen?”, deals with the current status, causes and prospects of widespread democratic regression in Southeast Asia. The collapse of democracy is observed in countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. In these countries, the military (Myanmar, Thailand) or the ruling party (Cambodia) has historically enormous influence in the name of maintaining domestic order, and no political force has yet emerged to check them. The military or the ruling party has the power and institutional mechanisms to regress democracy whenever necessary. The corrosion of democracy is observed in Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. These countries have relatively long democratic experience with Western-style political systems such as parliaments and elections before colonial independence. This experience is preventing a decline in the level of procedural democracy. However, because of its poor tradition of individualism (human rights) or liberalism, the majority’s resistance to the ruling forces suppressing the opposition, controlling critical media, or abusing the human rights of criminal suspects is not strong. Because of this, civil liberties are being undermined and democracy is being corroded. The democratic regression in Southeast Asia is expected to last for a long time because it has structural causes. In this lecture, we also discussed the current status of Korean democracy and the possibility of regression. There have been discussions and question-and-answer sessions between speakers and citizens on the view that the nation has a weak individualistic and liberal tradition, and that emotional polarization will dampen civil liberties and lead to a high possibility of a democratic retreat.