Southeast Asia: Democratic Deficit

Images of disgruntled tourists marooned at Bangkok’s airport have drawn unwelcome international attention. Mass demonstrations organised by the misnamed People’s Alliance for Democracy to unseat the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat not only disrupted tourism in the ‘land of smiles’ but also lost the export oriented economy $78 million per day. Yet the unfolding crisis represents only part of a wider pattern of political uncertainty besetting the leading economies of Southeast Asia and threatening the growth and integrity of the regional Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) which had to postpone the summit it planned to hold in northeast Thailand in mid December.