Democratic Transformation and Regional Institutions: The Case of Myanmar and ASEAN
The focus of this article is Myanmar’s transition to democracy, which is taking place after almost half a century of military rule. The former military rulers are themselves the architects of transition. This article notes that one of the key challenges faced by military regimes during this kind of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2013-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jsaa/article/view/639 |
| _version_ | 1818190983435649024 |
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| author | Catherine Shanahan Renshaw |
| author_facet | Catherine Shanahan Renshaw |
| author_sort | Catherine Shanahan Renshaw |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The focus of this article is Myanmar’s transition to democracy, which is taking place after almost half a century of military rule. The former military rulers are themselves the architects of transition. This article notes that one of the key challenges faced by military regimes during this kind of transition is the problem of “credible commitments”. In short, the issue is this: a transition will only be successful if it has the support of the political opposition and the public at large. But why should these groups believe in the promises of former tyrants? Problems of credibility and low expectations about the intention and capacity of the military to effect reform can cause destabilisation and undermine prospects for a successful transition. In worst case scenarios, instability leads to a resurgence of authoritarianism, or to a(nother) military coup. This article highlights the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in assisting the transition and stabilisation of Myanmar’s fledgling democracy. The argument is that ASEAN provides a means whereby Myanmar’s leaders can make credible commitments about their intentions in relation to liberalisation and democratisation, lending support to Myanmar’s reformist government at a crucial time in the transition to democracy. The article concludes that under certain circumstances, even regional organisations such as ASEAN, which are not comprised of a majority of democratic states, can (to a degree) influence perceptions about a democratising regime’s commitment to reform. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T00:07:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-98b2b85906de4be990a801a54265e2ed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1868-1034 1868-4882 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T00:07:23Z |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |
| spelling | doaj.art-98b2b85906de4be990a801a54265e2ed2022-12-22T00:45:04ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs1868-10341868-48822013-01-013212954Democratic Transformation and Regional Institutions: The Case of Myanmar and ASEANCatherine Shanahan RenshawThe focus of this article is Myanmar’s transition to democracy, which is taking place after almost half a century of military rule. The former military rulers are themselves the architects of transition. This article notes that one of the key challenges faced by military regimes during this kind of transition is the problem of “credible commitments”. In short, the issue is this: a transition will only be successful if it has the support of the political opposition and the public at large. But why should these groups believe in the promises of former tyrants? Problems of credibility and low expectations about the intention and capacity of the military to effect reform can cause destabilisation and undermine prospects for a successful transition. In worst case scenarios, instability leads to a resurgence of authoritarianism, or to a(nother) military coup. This article highlights the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in assisting the transition and stabilisation of Myanmar’s fledgling democracy. The argument is that ASEAN provides a means whereby Myanmar’s leaders can make credible commitments about their intentions in relation to liberalisation and democratisation, lending support to Myanmar’s reformist government at a crucial time in the transition to democracy. The article concludes that under certain circumstances, even regional organisations such as ASEAN, which are not comprised of a majority of democratic states, can (to a degree) influence perceptions about a democratising regime’s commitment to reform.http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jsaa/article/view/639Democratisationregionalismpolitical scienceIndonesiaMyanmarBurmaASEANdemocratisationcredible commitmentsregionalism320324327328Southeast Asiacontemporary |
| spellingShingle | Catherine Shanahan Renshaw Democratic Transformation and Regional Institutions: The Case of Myanmar and ASEAN Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs Democratisation regionalism political science Indonesia Myanmar Burma ASEAN democratisation credible commitments regionalism 320 324 327 328 Southeast Asia contemporary |
| title | Democratic Transformation and Regional Institutions: The Case of Myanmar and ASEAN |
| title_full | Democratic Transformation and Regional Institutions: The Case of Myanmar and ASEAN |
| title_fullStr | Democratic Transformation and Regional Institutions: The Case of Myanmar and ASEAN |
| title_full_unstemmed | Democratic Transformation and Regional Institutions: The Case of Myanmar and ASEAN |
| title_short | Democratic Transformation and Regional Institutions: The Case of Myanmar and ASEAN |
| title_sort | democratic transformation and regional institutions the case of myanmar and asean |
| topic | Democratisation regionalism political science Indonesia Myanmar Burma ASEAN democratisation credible commitments regionalism 320 324 327 328 Southeast Asia contemporary |
| url | http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/jsaa/article/view/639 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT catherineshanahanrenshaw democratictransformationandregionalinstitutionsthecaseofmyanmarandasean |