아세안

The 20th century was optimistically hailed as the century of demo­cracy (Kothari 2005), in which age-old hegemonies and ideological doctrines like fascism, communism, and authoritarianism were entirely reproached (Zakaria 2007). Due to the growing delegitimisation of these regimes, the future trajectory of democracy looked bright, as many former authoritarian and hybrid regimes became democracies. Contrary to this, things in the political landscape of Southeast Asia unfolded differently. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the power of the military in some Southeast Asian nations generally declined with most countries experiencing a reduction in the military’s political influence. Myanmar, however, stood out as an exception as its military consolidated its political control by consistently marginalising and suppressing opposition forces (Mietzner 2012). The military has alternately held direct and indirect power in Myanmar ever since the nation gained independence.