{"id":25615,"date":"2016-03-30T11:00:49","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T00:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=25615"},"modified":"2016-03-30T10:43:16","modified_gmt":"2016-03-29T23:43:16","slug":"aseans-destructive-elites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/","title":{"rendered":"ASEAN\u2019s destructive elites"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has long been envisioned as a foundation stone for stability, security, and increased prosperity in Asia. But with uncertainty plaguing the political systems of Burma, Malaysia, and Thailand, ASEAN may be entering a period of policy and diplomatic inertia. At a time when China\u2019s economic downturn and unilateral territorial claims are posing serious challenges to the region, ASEAN\u2019s weakness could prove highly dangerous.<\/span><\/p>\n

The problems that are now bedeviling Burma, Malaysia, and Thailand may appear to have little in common. But they all spring from the same source: an entrenched elite\u2019s stubborn refusal to craft a viable system of governance that recognizes new and rising segments of society and reflects their interests in government policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet, despite the shared roots of these countries\u2019 political dysfunction, their prospects vary. Surprisingly, hope is strongest in Burma, where the military junta recognized the need for change, exemplified in the 2010 decision to free the long-imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and embark on a transition to democracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Burma\u2019s former military leaders, it seems, looked ahead dispassionately and saw a stark choice: either relinquish gradually their absolute power, allowing for a democratic transition, or permit China to tighten its grip on their country. China\u2019s efforts to impose development plans that would deliver few, if any, benefits to Burma made the choice somewhat easier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, Suu Kyi is Burma\u2019s paramount leader. Though the constitution imposed by the junta prevents her from serving officially as president, she holds the real power in the current government led by her National League for Democracy, which secured a landslide victory in last year\u2019s general election.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, there is no guarantee that Burma\u2019s democratic transition will succeed; after all, beyond barring Suu Kyi from the presidency, the junta\u2019s constitution reserves all of the \u201cpower\u201d cabinet posts for the military. But with Suu Kyi carefully establishing the NLD\u2019s authority, and with friends in India, Japan, and the United States monitoring any potential backsliding, there is a legitimate hope that most of the members of Burma\u2019s military elite will continue to reconcile themselves, if begrudgingly, to modern democracy, just as Eastern Europe\u2019s former communist rulers once did.<\/span><\/p>\n

The situations in Malaysia and Thailand are less promising. Extreme political polarization is almost as deeply entrenched in these countries today as it was in Burma before 2010. But whereas Burma\u2019s generals recognized the need to escape their cul-de-sac, the Malay and Thai elites seem to be doubling down on political exclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Malaysia, the problem is rooted in ethnic and racial divisions. Since gaining independence, Malaysia\u2019s leaders have pursued policies that favored the indigenous Malay majority, at the expense of the country\u2019s minorities, most notably the sizable Chinese and Indian populations.<\/span><\/p>\n

But throughout Malaysia\u2019s first decades of independence, the United Malays National Organization, the country\u2019s largest political party, did seek to incorporate minority interests, despite commanding the loyalty of the vast majority of the electorate. This inclusive approach began to break down with the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when a coalition of political parties was forged by former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim \u2013 who was subsequently jailed on contrived sodomy charges \u2013 to challenge the UMNO\u2019s authority. With Prime Minister Najib Razak and his government now enmeshed in a vast corruption scandal, the UNMO is relying more than ever on Malay chauvinism.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Thailand, the source of deep political polarization is economic. Simply put, the \u201chaves\u201d want to keep the \u201chave-nots\u201d from having a voice.<\/span><\/p>\n

For much of Thai history, the elite\u2019s rule was untroubled. But the enactment in 1997 of what came to be known as the \u201cPeople\u2019s Constitution\u201d enabled previously discounted political forces to rise. None rose faster or higher than the business tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, who exploited the resentments of the long-disempowered rural poor to forge a mighty political machine that challenged the entrenched royalist political establishment, which includes the monarchy, the military, the judiciary, and the civil service.<\/span><\/p>\n

The clash between the two factions led to two military coups, one in 2006 to push Shinawatra out of power and another in 2014 to drive out his younger sister, Yingluck Shinawatra. The conflict became increasingly violent, with both sides willing to go to great lengths to maintain their grip on power.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, the ruling military junta is systematically cracking down on dissent; it has banned Thaksin-aligned politicians from entering politics, and is trying to impose a new constitution. And Thailand\u2019s troubles may be about to worsen: With King Bhumibol Adulyadej\u2019s health failing, his seven-decade reign may be near its end. Should the royal succession be contested, Thailand could enter yet another period of chaos and violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as India, Japan, and the US have been helping to shepherd Burma through its transition, they should take a more proactive role in saving Malaysia and Thailand from their elites\u2019 self-destructive behavior. Standing idly by while two of ASEAN\u2019s core members consume themselves is simply not a viable option.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has long been envisioned as a foundation stone for stability, security, and increased prosperity in Asia. But with uncertainty plaguing the political systems of Burma, Malaysia, and Thailand, ASEAN …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":491,"featured_media":25617,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[189,102,212,236,157],"class_list":["post-25615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-asean","tag-malaysia","tag-myanmar","tag-regionalism","tag-thailand"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nASEAN\u2019s destructive elites | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ASEAN\u2019s destructive elites | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has long been envisioned as a foundation stone for stability, security, and increased prosperity in Asia. But with uncertainty plaguing the political systems of Burma, Malaysia, and Thailand, ASEAN ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-30T00:00:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-03-29T23:43:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/4107290250_f94480d0c4_z.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"428\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Yuriko Koike\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Yuriko Koike\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/4107290250_f94480d0c4_z.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/4107290250_f94480d0c4_z.jpg\",\"width\":640,\"height\":428},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/\",\"name\":\"ASEAN\u2019s destructive elites | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-30T00:00:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-03-29T23:43:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/4e37bfe5e53b73d707a5f863a870233c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ASEAN\u2019s destructive elites\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/4e37bfe5e53b73d707a5f863a870233c\",\"name\":\"Yuriko Koike\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/245dd56e14a5b92e8c64615608d7707c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/245dd56e14a5b92e8c64615608d7707c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Yuriko Koike\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/yuriko-koike\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ASEAN\u2019s destructive elites | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ASEAN\u2019s destructive elites | The Strategist","og_description":"The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has long been envisioned as a foundation stone for stability, security, and increased prosperity in Asia. But with uncertainty plaguing the political systems of Burma, Malaysia, and Thailand, ASEAN ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2016-03-30T00:00:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-03-29T23:43:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":428,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/4107290250_f94480d0c4_z.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Yuriko Koike","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Yuriko Koike","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/4107290250_f94480d0c4_z.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/4107290250_f94480d0c4_z.jpg","width":640,"height":428},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/","name":"ASEAN\u2019s destructive elites | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2016-03-30T00:00:49+00:00","dateModified":"2016-03-29T23:43:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/4e37bfe5e53b73d707a5f863a870233c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/aseans-destructive-elites\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ASEAN\u2019s destructive elites"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/4e37bfe5e53b73d707a5f863a870233c","name":"Yuriko Koike","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/245dd56e14a5b92e8c64615608d7707c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/245dd56e14a5b92e8c64615608d7707c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Yuriko Koike"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/yuriko-koike\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25615"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/491"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25615"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25618,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25615\/revisions\/25618"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}