The question “why transplanted Western democracy in Southeast Asia could not
thrive as intended” has yet to be answered. A possible answer to the question could
be found in the dynamics of cultural encounter between the traditional Southeast
Asian society and Western democracy. The case of the Muslim province of Lanao
del Sur in the Philippines provides us an understanding how Western democratic
institutions were translated and localised. The adaptation of Western democracy
meant to restructure the political boundaries and especially for the Muslim Maranao
to integrate into the bigger Christian dominated polity. Although the system of
authority changed from the traditional to the so-called legal one, the traditional
conception of social relations and authority still shape the Maranao politics. Western
democratic institutions are observed only superfcially. And the transformed Western
democracy caused conflicts and armed struggle among the locals