PARTICIPATION WITHOUT DEMOCRACY: Containing Conflict in Southeast Asia

摘要

Over twenty years ago, William Case asked "Can the 'Halfway House Stand? "' in Southeast Asia-i.e., can hybrid regimes that are neither fully democratic nor fully authoritarian be sufficiently stable to avoid comprehensive liberalization without abandoning all pretenses of democracy ("Can the 'Halfway House' Stand? Semidemocracy and Elite Theory in Three Southeast Asian Countries," Comparative Politics 28, no. 4 [1996]: 437-464). Contrary to widely-held expectations of the time, Southeast Asia's hybrid regimes have proven highly resilient. Indeed, democratic features are ubiquitous across the region, with all countries aside from Brunei holding elections that have more candidates than positions. Yet procedural and structural deficits abound, with the region's political elite often appearing impervious to evolving pressures from the populace. In short, the halfway house of semi-democracy has proven to be a remarkably stable equilibrium across the region.