The Diplomat
Overview
The State of Democracy in Asia
Associated Press, Ahn Young-joon
Cover Story

The State of Democracy in Asia

Has the global narrative of democratic decline held true in the Indo-Pacific region?

By Yun-han Chu, Michael Vatikiotis, Mosharraf Zaidi and Catherine Putz

In November 2020, all eyes are on the United States as it concludes a contentious presidential election. Donald Trump’s original victory in the 2016 presidential polls fed into a growing wave of despair about democracy’s decline around the world: the growth of populism and majoritarianism among politicians coupled with increasingly illiberal and nationalist sentiments in the general public across the world. 

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated some of those trends, especially amid the economic chaos resulting from lockdowns and shutdowns around the world. In our cover story, we examine the current health of democracy in our four main coverage regions: East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Central Asia. Which countries are backsliding, and which are avoiding a democratic decline?

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The Authors

Yun-han Chu is distinguished research fellow of the Institute of Political Science, Academia Sinica, and professor of political science at National Taiwan University. He also serves as director of the Asian Barometer Survey, a large-scale comparative survey project that conducts regular face-to-face surveys on citizen politics, democracy, governance, and development in 19 Asian countries and territories.

Michael Vatikiotis is author of “Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia.”

Mosharraf Zaidi is a newspaper columnist and currently works for Tabadlab, a policy think tank. He has previously served as advisor to Pakistan's foriegn office.

Catherine Putz is Managing Editor of The Diplomat.
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