Economic Development & Democratization in East Asia   Term Paper ID:27708 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Focusing on Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, & Indonesia, questions whether economic development promotes democratization.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Focusing on Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, & Indonesia, questions whether economic development promotes democratization. Paper Introduction: Economic Development and Democratization Introduction Early development theory held certain tenets to be truths about how development was to proceed in countries that were not yet industrialized. The assumption was, for example, that the first priority was to create infrastructure, such as roads, dams, and airports, to support an industrial economy. Development theory has been refined, and in some instances changed, as the development process has proceeded in a number of different types of countries around the world. There are still some principles that are basic tenets of traditional development theory. One of these is the idea that population growth tends to fall as development increases and per capita income rises. Another is the belief that economic development promotes democratization. The focus in this paper is Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The Chinese family and the spread of Confucian values. Perhaps these models simply donot fit as the attempt to prescribe uniform models of development hasseemed not to work in much of the world. Thatseemed to mean that there was some shared power in the country and someseparate political parties, although without real power to challenge thearmy. What exactly does that mean for Ichimura and Morley (1993), forexample? This has certainly not always been the case, however. In other words, therole of the political parties was to support the authoritarian militarygovernments, not to serve as any kind of check and balance upon it. However, the interdependence between these is quitecomplicated. Trying to expand the definition toquasi-democratic systems seems to remove meaning from the definition. Sharpe.World Bank. One clue to their understanding of democratization is in thediscussion of Thailand. Armonk, NY: M.E. (1991). Clearly there are no democracies here as we understand it in the West. For example,in looking at Indonesia's economic timeline, the only association thatmight be made between economic issues and political change might be thehyperinflation of the mid-196 s. Indonesia actually gained its independence in 1949 and had ademocratic society for a few years. It was not until 1985, according to the World Bank (1993) timeline, thatSingapore actually experienced its first severe recession. One of these is theidea that population growth tends to fall as development increases and percapita income rises. For him, this has created conditions in which a regionalcompact, such as that of NATO, could create ongoing stability and securityin which economic interdependence can further develop and countries thrive. As Ichimura andMorley (1993) noted, it, too, began as a democracy guided by Britishprinciples. Development theory has been refined, and in some instanceschanged, as the development process has proceeded in a number of differenttypes of countries around the world. Thus, the focus of development theory in theWest has been the development of Western-style capitalism with Western-style institutions, including a democratic government and a citizenrysupported by certain civil rights, such as free speech and a free press.For the most part, however, governmental stability has been favored evenmore than democratization. In J.W. The independence movement in Indonesiahad been quite strong and there was sufficient support to institute aparliamentary democracy ruled by coalitions of the country's factions.However, this democratization was reversed in 1957 with the centralizationof power of the regime after unrest in the country. In combination with the political andeconomic timeline chart in the World Bank (1993) book, this provides a goodunderstanding of some of the major political changes in the region. He contended that there hasactually been an unmistakable and strong trend toward democratization incertain East Asian countries, such as South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, andthe Philippines. Under rule of the British it wasguided toward democratic institutions, joining the Malaysian Federation in1963, but declaring its independence from Malaysia in 1965. These are very different countries.Singapore had been managed by the British for many years before it wasgiven its independence. Following that was military rule, a mid-197 s democraticexperiment, and further military rule, although with some constitutionalelements. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Ebrey, P. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Chan, S. In turn, this has led to the West's support ofauthoritarian regimes on the right, while they waged both hot and cold waragainst authoritarian regimes on the left and rebellions of the left. Instead, there seems to be more of an association betweenethnic and ideological difficulties and political changes. There are no parliamentary democracies like that in Britain, orrepresentative democracies as in the U.S. Economic Development and DemocratizationIntroduction Early development theory held certain tenets to be truths about howdevelopment was to proceed in countries that were not yet industrialized.The assumption was, for example, that the first priority was to createinfrastructure, such as roads, dams, and airports, to support an industrialeconomy. This seems clear in looking at Singapore, too. On the other hand, the path of Thailand does seem to be quite distinctfrom that of the others. They were alloccupied by the Japanese during World War II, experiencing much hardship.The latter three have all experienced considerable political turmoil,including internal movements of rebellion. (1993). The East Asian miracle. It remains authoritarian. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. On the other hand, Singapore, too, had a brief period of democracy,but much later, during the mid-196 s. 28). According to Chan (1993), regional stability in East Asia is supportedby increased democratization in the area. At the same time, the authors note that the leaders and the party haveconsiderable popular support and seem to manage to coopt most oppositionleaders rather than killing them as in many other authoritarian countries. This has beenfollowed by recovery and increased economic growth.A Problem of Definition Perhaps part of the problem in discussing this issue is one ofdefinition. What exactly is democratization, or what do these specificauthors mean when they state that individual countries are moving towardgreater democratization? Yet in somerespects, each started from the same basic position. For them, before the coup by Krapayoon in 1991,Thailand could be described as having a quasi-democratic system. Within Malaysia, there hasbeen more emphasis on suppression than on democratization from thebeginning. The focus in this paper is on East Asiandevelopment and whether development in several countries in that region ofthe world has promoted democratization or not.The Diverse Countries The main focus in this study is on the experience of Singapore,Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. This may have led to the level of unrestwhich created conditions for the army takeover and massacre of the PKIsupporters. Once they were placed in an environment that wasfavorable to business development, Confucianism may have contributed totheir achievement. Yet, authors continue to talkabout movement toward democratization. Introduction: The varieties of Asia-Pacific experience. Ichimura andMorley (1993) provide a useful chart of the changes in regime in the regionsince the end of World War II. In looking at these political timelines in conjunction with theeconomic timelines provided in the World Bank (1993) book, there does notseem to be much association between economic development anddemocratization. There was opportunity to move towarddemocratization during the 197 s, however, when economic growth was strong. As noted by Ichimuraand Morley (1993), the PAP essentially took control in 1968 and has notrelinquished it since. Recovery from the recession of the mid-198 s does not seem tohave led to democratization, but an increased power struggle that led tofurther repression in 1987 (World Bank, 1993). Similarly with Malaysia. East Asian dynamism. Nonetheless, there is no apparent straight line relationshipbetween economic development, economic growth, or positive economicsituations, and democracy or democratization. In G. This seems to be the case with Singapore, too. Yet, the actual state of affairs seems to be what they stated intheir summation of rule from 1979 through 1991 as "governments weresupported by coalitions of political parties" (p. It does not seem that this represents the essence of democracy ordemocratization. Although a definitive conclusion seems difficult to assert, it seemsthat political change has more to do with internal stability, ethnicconflicts and rivalries, and ideological power struggles than it has to dowith economic issues. (1993). However, inorder to stabilize the country and suppress dissent, the leading party -the PAP - took control in 1968 and has not allowed any significantopposition since that time. Any definition of democracy would have to contain someunderstanding of it as allowing a meaningful role for the people in theirown government, as well as the establishment of institutions that providechecks and balances on each other. 29). and Morley, J.W. InSingapore, the PAP established ascendance, detained or coopted theopposition and maintained its power. At the same time, the periodof non-oil led recovery since the late 198 s has not led to any massivechanges in the government. For Malaysia, the situation was somewhat different. That was furtherconsolidated under Sukarno, with that regime replaced by that of Suhartoin 1967 (Ichimura and Morley, 1993). Morley (Ed.) Driven by growth. Another is the belief that economic developmentpromotes democratization. It is not as clear that democratization is any naturaloutgrowth of that achievement in any of these countries.Democratization in East Asia Not too surprisingly, because much modern development theory has beenwritten by the Western industrialized countries, it tends to favor modelsthat have worked in the West. In looking at that political timeline, there ismuch more variation since the mid-194 s and Thailand's democraticexperiment. In Malaysia, too, an alliance offorces, including the Malay, Chinese, and Indian political/ethnic partieshas established a hegemonic control over the country, while alsosuppressing dissent, sometimes quite violently. (1993). What might be more fruitful, then, is to stop trying to fit othercountries into Western models, whether those are models of "democracy," orof "capitalism," "socialism," or the like. There are still some principles thatare basic tenets of traditional development theory. Rozman (Ed.) The East Asian region. Again, in looking at the economic timeline,ongoing development efforts seemed to coincide with ethnic conflict, whichled to the first serious suppression and reconsolidation within thegovernment. BibliographyIchimura, S. According to both authors, the heritage of Confucianism mayhave served the Chinese well by providing them with characteristics thatenabled them to succeed more as expatriates than as citizens of arepressive China. It had a constitutional monarchy and an elected parliament.Although Ichimura and Morley indicate that its solution was quite differentfrom that of Singapore, it actually seems to have some similarities. Ichimura and Morley (1993) indicated some uncertainty aboutwhether the coup by General Suchinda Krapayoon would represent a reversionto a more authoritarian, hard-line regime or whether the weak trend towarddemocratization and shared power would continue. Thailand long experienced rule by a king.Malaysia and Indonesia have large Muslim populations. As Ichimura and Morley(1993) noted, by 1968 any significant political opposition had ended inSingapore and "democracy as an open, competitive system was ended" (p. In general, though, the economic problems of the country havenot led the population to demand replacement of the authoritarian regime,at least not at a sufficiently strong level. Itmight be more useful to understand it in terms of openness or shared poweror other terms, but not exactly as democratization. Interestingly enough, accordingto both Chan (1993) and Ebrey (1991), all are also essentially ledeconomically by Chinese elites, which are economically dominant in waysthat do not represent their numbers in the population, except forSingapore. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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