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Southeast Asia Seminar 2016: The Promise and Challenge of Democracy in 21st Century Southeast Asia
19 November, 2016 - 22 November, 2016
Open for applications: until 4th August 2016
Southeast Asia is facing uncertainty in its political development, and what is central to this uncertainty is the broad possible paths to democratic governance. Since the 1980s, the wide range of experiences with democratic transition has highlighted the difficulties that characterize the region to this day. Increased public participation in democratic processes has been accompanied by opposing trends towards more authoritarian rule. In every country in the region, government accountability is becoming an increasingly important facet of rule. Interestingly, however, the number of full-fledged democratic states in Southeast Asia is still limited. The majority of states can be categorized as different types of hybrid regimes, in which democratic and non-democratic elements exist side-by-side in the same political system. There is great hope for a future of more democratically oriented politics in the near future, but at the same time there is little ground for optimism about democracy and democratization in 21st century Southeast Asia.
This academic seminar looks at the challenges of democracy in politics, society and natural resource management, and explores the possibility, potentiality and probability of democracy in the region. Democracy usually means a series of political institutions, such as free and fair elections, a national parliament with sufficient authority, and competition among political parties. However these institutions do not function without other broader conditions; state governability, rule of law, and accountability; a shared sense of equal citizenship, a knowledge of civil rights, and freedom of speech; economic stability, economic inclusiveness, and physical safety. The speakers in this seminar will address significant issues and concerns relating to the politics of/in democracy, social movements in the making and unmaking of democracy, and the interaction between nature and democratic/undemocratic governance. The seminar includes a one-day field trip within Yangon.
