Abstract
This chapter explains why leftist movements and parties, which were major actors in Southeast Asian politics before, during and immediately after World War II, subsequently faded and have not significantly recovered. It argues that most of these groups, except in Vietnam and Laos, followed Maoist tenets, which proved unsuitable to their countries’ conditions, while authoritarian repression and developmentalism further undercut their appeal. Leftists’ inflexibility precluded a successful shift from armed struggle to electoral politics, leaving them mostly marginalised in new democratic dispensations. The few social democratic and non-party formations are constrained by oligarchic domination of political life, entrenched patronage and corruption, and political institutions that limit effective political contestation.
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Notes
- 1.
Some groups, like SocDem Asia (see below) refer to themselves as “pre-party” formations, signalling their intention to become political parties in the future. Other NGOs have no such intention.
- 2.
Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo and Sarawak merged to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. Singapore was expelled from the Federation in 1965.
- 3.
Nasakom combined nasionalisme (nationalism), agama (religion), and komunisme (communism) into an Indonesian form of socialism.
- 4.
Sarawak joined Malaysia, but Brunei remained a British protectorate until independence in 1984.
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Quimpo, N.G. (2020). The Post-war Rise and Decline of the Left. In: Carroll, T., Hameiri, S., Jones, L. (eds) The Political Economy of Southeast Asia. Studies in the Political Economy of Public Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28255-4_5
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