Democracy and ‘Asian Values’
This article is a response to an article in the last edition of The Sydney Globalist, entitled ‘Democracy: A Consensus?’. To view past editions of the magazine, click on ‘Past Editions’ in the menu above.
In their respective articles, Anshu De Silva Wijeyeratne, Kate Sullivan, and Elizabeth Watt address the efficacy of Asian democracies. Although cultural homogenisation has occurred across the globe, nations retain distinct cultural characteristics that will continue to form the bedrock of their particular societies. National systems of governance are subject to contextually relevant social phenomena that neither enhance nor diminish the value of any of their possible democratic models, of which the Western liberal model is only one.
Accordingly, ‘Asian democracy’ is a valid system of representative government in the context of Asia’s particular priorities and cultural values. Chan Heng Chee observes a number of characteristics unique to Asian democracies. This includes a greater acceptance of, and respect for, authority and hierarchy, and a tendency for states to be strong and interventionist, with a centralised bureaucracy.
On this basis, it can be argued that Asian democratic models are, perhaps, adequate in the cultural and social circumstances unique to the region. Indonesia is a prime example of Western democratic concepts failing because of their unsuitability in a particular socio-cultural situation, with improvements in Indonesia’s ‘democratic rating’ being measured by inapplicable Western indicia. As such, it may be the imposition of Western values on Asian institutions that is flawed, rather than the concept of Asian democracy itself.
