MEcon@MR Blog

The Case for Competitive Authoritarianism in Cambodia or The Case Against Authoritarianism in Cambodia (Take Your Pick)

July 21, 2017 Anirudh Bhati

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen at the ASEAN-Russia Summit in Sochi May 2016; Image: Kremlin.ru

The question on everyone's mind since the communal elections in Cambodia is, naturally, what's going to happen in the national elections next year?

Whither Southeast Asian Liberalism?

July 20, 2017 Anirudh Bhati

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and the visiting Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith on 15 May 2017 Photo: VNA

Francis Fukuyama's prediction of the "end of history" and the inevitability of the establishment of liberal democracy clearly took a hit after the third wave of democratization as we continued and continue to observe roll backs of individual rights across the globe. So, why has this been the case? What exactly do we know about democratization?