Establishment of Political Structures Flashcards
Explain the factors that made Philippines initially democratic
Colonial legacy: peaceful transition with tutelage through the 1904 Ph Act to form the Senate, HOR and President & the 1934 Tydings McDuffy Act which created the constitution.
Local politics: Illustrados were pro US due to economic opportunities and guarantee of trade with the US (US Bell Act) for the next 8 years
Communists: subdued because they challenged the landowning illustrados and got outlawed in 1932 as the PKP and then in 1948 as the Huks
Military: Subservient to the US as they fought against the Huks and later on during the Cold War conflicts
Explain the factors that made Malaysia initially democratic
Colonial legacy: Peaceful transition with tutelage through the 1946 Union Plan, 1948 Federation of Malaya that gave the political structure while outlining the special positions of the Malays and allowed clear pathways into politics and nation-building.
Local politics: Alliance in UMNO-MCA-MIC were familiar with westminster system and adhered to democratic norms by taking part in the 1952 Municipal elections. Commitment to democracy also seen in 1955 Baling talks when Tunku affirmed anti-communist stance
Communists: Subdued after the British declared emergency which gave them special powers to wipe the communists out. Communists were outlawed and effectively ended
Military: Remained professional throughout as they played their role in maintaining internal security by fighting against the communists
Explain the factors that made Singapore initially democratic
Colonial legacy: Peaceful transition with tutelage through the development of the constitution and politics with locals through
- 1948 legislative council elections
- 1951 greater exposure to constitutional norms
- 1953 Rendel commission gave more political control
- 1955 and 1959 elections gave political control directly
Local political elites:
- western educated and exposed to the westminster parliamentary democracy. Mostly anti-communist with Lim Yiew Hock crushing Communists and LKY manouevring them out of PAP
Communists: managed to be subdued by LKY through his PAP tactics and winning of the vote of confidence. Wiped out in operation coldstore
Military: non-existent pre-independence, forces were put under British during internal self-governance
Why did the Philippines democracy fail and turn to authoritarianism
Initial democracy had pitfalls
- econ devt led to economic disparity as the Illustrado
dominated businesses
- illustrado kept buying votes through their patron-client relationships
hence the rising tensions, rampant patron-client networks led to a decline in respect for democratic values and faith in political leaders was very low
Explain the factors that made Burma initially democratic
Colonial history: power handed over to local leaders with little resistance as they restored the Burmese legislature with self-governance in 1948. They set up the transfer of leadership earlier by appointing Aung San and 5 other AFPFL leaders into the British administration. 1947 Panglong Agreement set condititons for peaceful and stable political structure in Burma
Local political elites: were largely peaceful through Aung San’s leadership who had popular support from all segments of the Burman life including the communists, military, minorities and Sangha which were rallied in the 1946 Pagoda demonstration for self-governance
Communists: contributed to the democratic system by lending their support to the AFPFL before 1946 to proclaim independence. They also supported violent sabotage against the British leading to them ceding independence with inherited democratic structures.
Military: Not a major political force but intimidated the British into granting independence.
Explain the factors that made Cambodia initially democratic
Colonial History: Ruled by the French with a constitutional monarchy under the political autonomy granted in 1947 which preserved democracy
Local politics: Initially committed to democracy with 3 main parties contesting led by Prince Yuthevong, Prince Norodom and the Khmer Issarak who participated in elections til 1947 and appointed their prime ministers to rule through democracy
Communists:Khmer Issarak agitated through violence and pushed the French to give independence quickly, thus inheriting the democratic system.
Military: Were not a huge political force but threatened the French by being increasingly militaristic till they gained independence in 1954
Why did Cambodia then transition to authoritarianism ?
Conditions for Instability in early independence:
- factiousness within 3 leading parties in Prince Yuthevong whow anted immediate indep with democratic reforms, Prince Norodom who wanted gradual democratic reforms and Khmer Issarak who were violently anti-colonial
- Democrats were not even united when they won the 2 elections till 1947
- Bunch of short-lived prime ministers form 1947-1949
Leaders inability in democracy:
- King Sihanouk had enough and bypassed National Assembly to dismantle it in 1949 to agree to an independence treaty alone (superior power as he previously ruled as king under the french monarchy system with no exposure to democracy)
- Sihanouk dismissed cabinet again in 1951 when democrats won the elections again and opposed whatever he did + suspended constitution and proclaimed martial law in 1953
Explain the factors that made Laos initially democratic
Colonial history: 1953 constitutional monarchy under the Royal Lao government with King as head and the prince as the PM, legislature, national assembly all established by the French therefore preserving democracy
Local politics: Only Laotian nobility were allowed hence there was no local elite participation + Laotian nationalism was limited as it was concerned with Vietnamese immigration and not self-governance –> Democracy was protected by the French
Communist: Souphanouvong led the Pathet Lao to declare a rival government in the northeast with the backing of the Vietminh
Why did Laos then transition to authoritarianism?
Conditions for Instability in early independence:
- Pathet Lao established a rival government in the northeast of the country with backing of the Vietminh
Inability of leaders in democracy:
- Laotian leaders were mere figureheads in the 19th century with no experience in democracy
- 1953 Constitutional Monarchy meant little local political participation hence deviance from democracy was to be expected with this lack of knowledge to navigate democratic mechanisms
Explain the factors that made Vietnam authoritarian
Colonial history: 1944 Brazzaville Declaration, 1946 Treaty of Hanoi meant no native political participation, not even from the pro-french educated elites as the French wanted to maintain their interests in the region –> sour relations with French officials leading to outbreak of 1st indochinese war
Political elites: No experience with democracy hence struggled against the colonialists through 9 years of guerilla warfare + formation of ICP in 1930 and Vietminh in 1941 to gain independence
Communists: Strong allies in China and USSR, defeated the French in Dien Bien Phu. Had their own style of governance during this period by collecting taxes and upholding social welfare + replaced pre-war bureaucratic system and replace it with people comms and advocated for equal rights
Military: Historical legitimacy from the Vietminh –> advocated for that authoritarianism too
Why did Indonesia then transition to authoritarianism?
Conditions for Instability in early independence:
- factiousness among the leading political groups like PNI, PSI, PKI, NU, Masjumi within the precarious balancing act of the NASAKOM govt
- Madiun Affair 1948 PKI PSI declared indonesian Soviet republic
Leaders inability in democracy:
- Sukarno was a populist and a strongman who resented checks and balances on his power as he felt that he was at his best when could engage the people directly
- did not believe western ways to be better than mushawara and gotong royong
- Sukarno’s economy was a basket case reaching 500% inflation at one point that delegitimised his democratic government
- antagonised the military and communists by playing them against each other which led to increasing civil-military relations
Explain the factors that made Indonesia initially democratic
Colonial history: Dutch maintained democracy by reimposing control forcefully in
- 1945 Battle of Surabaya
- 1946 Linggadjati Agreement (reinforcing democracy through United States of Indonesia)
- 1947 First Police Action
- 1948 Second Police Action
Local politics: Had some administrative experience from the Japanese and governed the state democratically initially as they had a well-defined structure with the president, vice-president and constitution with the KNIP being formed and the Pancasila as the state ideology
Communists: Contributed to the democratic system via political participation through the PKI as they commanded the support of the rural locals. Because of the threat they posed, the US quickly declared Indonesia independent and therefore putting in place democracy initially
Military: helped to push for independence as they were trained by the Japanese and fought against the returning British and Dutch
Why did Burma then transition to authoritarianism?
Conditions for Instability in early independence:
- death of Aung San led to deteriorating relations between groups of societies that he united
- Expulsion and split of the communists into Red and White flags supported violent sabotage methods
Inability of leaders in democracy:
- Minorities were no longer appeased by U Nu and hence civil war broke out from the Karens and has not stopped since
-communists started threatening as U Nu couldn’t unite the political factions within the AFPFL
Why did Thailand transition from democratic to authoritarian then?
Pridi’s government was unstable;
- 1946 constitution included political liberalisation
- antagonised the military through his constitution that reduced their political power
- marginalised elites were pissed
Climate:
-under mass demonstrations
-post-war depression
- King Ananda Mahidol just died and it got blamed on Pridi by the military
