Elections in Asia, written by experts in the field, presents the first-ever compendium of electoral data for all the 62 states in Asia, Australia, and Oceania from their independence to the present. Exhaustive statistics on national elections and referendum are given in each case. The two volumes provids the definative resource for historical and cross-national comparisons and electoral system worldwide.
This two-volume work continues the series of election data handbooks published by OUP. It presents a first-ever compendium of electoral data for all the 62 states in Asia, Australia and Oceania from their independence to the present. Following the overall structure of the series, an initial comparative introduction on elections and electoral systems is followed by chapters on each state in the region. Written by knowledgeable and renowned scholars, the contributions examine the evolution of institutional and electoral arrangements, and provide systematic surveys of the up-to-date electoral provisions and their historical development. Exhaustive statistics on national elections and referendums are given in each chapter. Together with the other books of this series, Elections in Asia and the Pacific is a highly reliable resource for historical and cross-national comparisons of elections and electoral systems world-wide. The first volume of Elections in Asia and the Pacific includes a total of 32 independent states situated in the three 'western' regions of the Asian continent: the countries of the Middle East (including Turkey); the post-Soviet states of Central Asia and the Caucasus; and the countries situated in South Asia (including Afghanistan and Myanmar).
In the past century, Asian nations have experienced a wave of democratisation as countries in the region have gained independence or transitioned from authoritarian military rule towards more participatory politics. At the same time, there has been an expansion of judicial power in Asia, whereby new courts or empowered old ones emerge as independent constraints on governmental authority. This is the first book to assess the judicial review of elections in Asia. It provides important insights into how Asian courts can strategically engage with the political actors in their jurisdictions and contribute to a country’s democratic discourse. Each chapter in the book sheds light on the judicial review of elections and the electoral process in a specific Asian jurisdiction, including Common Law Asia, namely Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, and Singapore, as well as jurisdictions in Civil Law Asia, namely Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. It fills a gap in the literature by addressing a central challenge to democratic governance, namely the problem of partisan self-dealing in the electoral processes. By exploring the constantly evolving role of the courts in addressing pivotal constitutional questions, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian Law, Governance and Politics.
The 1990s can be characterized as the decade when the Asia-Pacific Rim Nations embraced elections. How Asia Votes focuses on twelve countries and examines how their elections have been conducted, the domestic implications, and how the elections have differed from one another and from elections in the West. While elections had previously been used to justify and legitimate the selection of rulers in several Asia-Pacific countries, the broad acceptance and use of elections to select rulers is a relatively new phenomenon. The fourth in a heralded series of books on comparative elections following New Labour Triumphs: Britain at the Polls, How Russia Votes, and How France Votes.
This work continues the series of election data handbooks published by OUP. It presents a compendium of electoral data for all the 62 states in Asia, Australia and Oceania from their independence to the beginning of the 21st century.
Behind the Façade examines the question of why authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia bother holding elections. Using comprehensive case studies of Cambodia, Myanmar, and Singapore, Lee Morgenbesser argues that elections allow authoritarian regimes to collect information, pursue legitimacy, manage political elites, and sustain neopatrimonial domination. He demonstrates how these functions are employed to manage the complex strategic interaction that occurs between dictators, political elites, and citizens. Far from being mere window dressing or even a precursor to democracy, flawed elections, Morgenbesser concludes, are paramount to the maintenance of authoritarian rule.
Democracy for Sale is an on-the-ground account of Indonesian democracy, analyzing its election campaigns and behind-the-scenes machinations. Edward Aspinall and Ward Berenschot assess the informal networks and political strategies that shape access to power and privilege in the messy political environment of contemporary Indonesia. In post-Suharto Indonesian politics the exchange of patronage for political support is commonplace. Clientelism, argue the authors, saturates the political system, and in Democracy for Sale they reveal the everyday practices of vote buying, influence peddling, manipulating government programs, and skimming money from government projects. In doing so, Aspinall and Berenschot advance three major arguments. The first argument points toward the role of religion, kinship, and other identities in Indonesian clientelism. The second explains how and why Indonesia's distinctive system of free-wheeling clientelism came into being. And the third argument addresses variation in the patterns and intensity of clientelism. Through these arguments and with comparative leverage from political practices in India and Argentina, Democracy for Sale provides compelling evidence of the importance of informal networks and relationships rather than formal parties and institutions in contemporary Indonesia.
While popular movements in South Korea rightly grab the headlines for forcing political change and holding leaders to account, those movements are only part of the story of the construction and practice of democracy. In Top-Down Democracy in South Korea, Erik Mobrand documents another part – the elite-led design and management of electoral and party institutions. Even as the country left authoritarian rule behind, elites have responded to freer and fairer elections by entrenching rather than abandoning exclusionary practices and forms of party organization. Exploring South Korea’s political development from 1945 through the end of dictatorship in the 1980s and into the twenty-first century, Mobrand challenges the view that the origins of the postauthoritarian political system lie in a series of popular movements that eventually undid repression. He argues that we should think about democratization not as the establishment of an entirely new system, but as the subtle blending of new formal rules with earlier authority structures, political institutions, and legitimizing norms.
"No external observer knows more about Myanmar’s security and intelligence apparatus than Andrew Selth. In this book he presents an account of the structure and functions of Myanmar’s deep state, along with a tale of personal ambition, rivalry and ruthless power politics worthy of John Le Carre. A thoroughly educative, entertaining and intriguing read." — Professor Michael Wesley, Dean, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University "Andrew Selth has once again amply illustrated the depth and penetration of his study of Myanmar/Burma and its institutions. This work on the more recent aspects of the country’s intelligence apparatus goes beyond a masterful and comprehensive analysis of the Burmese intelligence community, and probes the social and institutional bases of the attitudes giving rise to that critical aspect of power. We are once again in Dr Selth’s debt. This is required reading for serious observers of the Burmese scene." — David I. Steinberg, Distinguished Professor of Asian Studies Emeritus, Georgetown University "By lifting the lid on a pervasive yet secretive intelligence apparatus, Andrew Selth makes an outstanding contribution to Myanmar Studies. For scholars and practitioners alike, this book provides an essential history of a security state that remains powerful even during the transition away from overt authoritarian rule." — Professor Ian Holliday, Vice-President (Teaching and Learning), The University of Hong Kong
