In recent years, some Southeast Asian societies have
shown signs of evolving toward more democratic forms.
In the Philippines, the dictatorial Marcos regime was
overthrown by a massive public uprising in 1986 and replaced
by a democratically elected government under
President Corazon Aquino (b. 1933), the widow of a popular
politician assassinated a few years earlier. Aquino
was unable to resolve many of the country’s chronic
economic and social difficulties, however, and political
stability remains elusive; one of her successors, ex-actor
Joseph Estrada, was forced to resign on the charge of corruption.
At the same time, Muslims in the southern island
of Mindanao have mounted a terrorist campaign in
their effort to obtain autonomy or independence.
In other nations, the results have also been mixed. Although
Malaysia is a practicing democracy, tensions persist
between Malays and Chinese as well as between secular
and orthodox Muslims who seek to create an Islamic
state. In neighboring Thailand, the military has found it
expedient to hold national elections for civilian governments,
but the danger of a military takeover is never far
beneath the surface.
In Indonesia, difficult economic conditions caused by
the financial crisis of 1997 (see the next section), combined
with popular anger against the Suharto government
(several members of his family had reportedly used
their positions to amass considerable wealth), led to violent
street riots and demands for his resignation. Forced
to step down in the spring of 1998, Suharto was replaced
by his deputy B. J. Habibie, who called for the establishment
of a national assembly to select a new government
based on popular aspirations. The assembly selected a
moderate Muslim leader as president, but he was charged
with corruption and incompetence and was replaced in
2001 by his vice president, Sukarno’s daughter Megawati
Sukarnoputri (b. 1947).
The new government faced a severe challenge, not
only from the economic crisis but also from dissident elements
seeking autonomy or even separation from the
republic. Under pressure from the international community,
Indonesia agreed to grant independence to the onetime
Portuguese colony of East Timor, where the majority
of the people are Roman Catholics. But violence provoked
by pro-Indonesian militia units forced many refugees
to flee the country. Religious tensions have also
erupted between Muslims and Christians elsewhere in
the archipelago, and Muslim rebels in western Sumatra
continue to agitate for a new state based on strict adherence
to fundamentalist Islam. In the meantime, a terrorist
attack directed at tourists on the island of Bali provoked
fears that the Muslim nation had become a haven
for terrorist elements throughout the region.
In Vietnam, the trend in recent years has been toward
a greater popular role in the governing process. Elections
for the unicameral parliament are more open than in the
past. The government remains suspicious of Westernstyle
democracy, however, and represses any opposition to
the Communist Party’s guiding role over the state.
Only in Burma (now renamed Myanmar), where the
military has been in complete control since the early
1960s, have the forces of greater popular participation
been virtually silenced. Even there, however, the power
of the ruling regime of General Ne Win (1911–2003),
known as SLORC, has been vocally challenged by Aung
San Huu Kyi (b. 1952), the admired daughter of one of
the heroes of the country’s struggle for national liberation
after World War II.
World History
