“State Repression and Democracy Protest in Three Southeast Asian Countries” Boudreau

Democratic Transitions 1986-1998: Three (3) Dictators Fall in Response to Demo Movements Burma: Ne Win (1988) Philippines: Marcos (1986) Indonesia: Suharto Democratic Transitions: Did it Occur or Not? Did Philippines and Indonesia become Democratic? Did Burma miss the boat?

Political Context: State Repression. Movement Repertoires (29) W/M/S each used repression to maintain control. They used repression strategically. SM and State Repression: Determined “Relational Possibilities” In each country, activists learned how to adapt to the unique repressive tactics of each dictator. Patterns of repression eliminated some SM, but left others intact. In such repressive environments, the distinction between legal and illegal became very clear, and SM activist used such distinctions tactically. The interaction between the state and SM shaped the “relational possibilities” available to Democratic activists.

Burma Burma: Ne Win seized power in a military coup in 1962, then used the military to clear urban areas of any politics, or protest. Military ran the govt through the Burma Socialist Program Party. Hence, openings for protest only emerged during periods of “crisis”

Indonesia Indonesia: Suharto took power by eliminating (through mass murder) his only opponents: the PKI or Indonesian Communist Party. But he tolerate some types of unorganized protest (except for separatists). The state would typically move to ban groups after the fact, leading activists to continually create new groups, and to define them as “moral” rather than “political.” Though this kept alive protest, it prevented them any groups from getting too large.

Philippines Philippines: Marcos declared marshal law as a means seize power. But Marcos never eliminated protest. Rather, he sought to split moderates from communists by coopting the former and crushing the latter.

Burma: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/burma601/video_index.html