Contrary to expectations and hope, precarious democratic drives in Southeast Asian countries have been stalled for the past decade. On the other side of some nominal aspects of democracy such as elections, the Southeast Asian countries on the continent became under authoritarian or military-backed regimes, and those on islands are witnessing political scandals, corruption, and human rights issues. This article looks into the factors affecting democratization in order to understand different levels of democratization in the countries of Southeast Asia, considering political, economic, social, cultural and international dimensions whose data are tested to determine which factor is most likely to explain the causality. As found in the case in Sub-Saharan Africa, are press freedom and corruption still the major factors that influence democratization in Southeast Asia? The case of Southeast Asia tells a similar but different story. As in Sub-Saharan Africa, the most important factor affecting democratization in Southeast Asia turns out to be press freedom, but literacy and globalization as factors are more relevant in Southeast Asia, rather than in Africa.
Contrary to expectations and hope, precarious democratic drives in Southeast Asian countries have been stalled for the past decade. On the other side of some nominal aspects of democracy such as elections, the Southeast Asian countries on the continent became under authoritarian or military-backed regimes, and those on islands are witnessing political scandals, corruption, and human rights issues. This article looks into the factors affecting democratization in order to understand different levels of democratization in the countries of Southeast Asia, considering political, economic, social, cultural and international dimensions whose data are tested to determine which factor is most likely to explain the causality. As found in the case in Sub-Saharan Africa, are press freedom and corruption still the major factors that influence democratization in Southeast Asia? The case of Southeast Asia tells a similar but different story. As in Sub-Saharan Africa, the most important factor affecting democratization in Southeast Asia turns out to be press freedom, but literacy and globalization as factors are more relevant in Southeast Asia, rather than in Africa.
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