Investigating the survival of democracy in Southeast Asia: Examining influencing factors on the growth of democracy in SEA

Reputable political thinker, Claude Lefort describes democracy as an empty place of power in which there do not exist one group which maintains hegemonic control. In the third wave of democratization, Southeast Asia still remains a region where modern political democracy has faced much difficulty in having a footing in. Till today, Southeast Asian nations retain their autocratic/ authoritarian nature in their governing systems. The analysis of this dissertation is based on a rigorous selection of theories and discussion (secondary research) which had been previously carried out by reputable scholars in the field of political science. It aims to provide insight into the political topography of the Southeast Asian region, investigate the possibility of the evolvement of liberal democracy in the region and derive possible explanations as to why liberal democracy has been widely unsuccessful in the region thus far.Bachelor of Art