Handbook

The Politics of Southeast Asia is a broad survey course of the eleven political systems making up the Southeast Asian region: Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The focus is on the contemporary period. The course critically evaluates various frameworks that are employed by political scientists to understand the political process: democratic, electoral democracy, semi-democratic, semi-authoritarian, authoritarian pluralist, Leninist and military regime. Then the course examines in detail constitutional structures, the process of political change and transition, leadership, opposition, civil society, the political role of the military, political Islam, corruption and crony capitalism, and political violence and armed separatism.