Canberra, ACT : Dept. of Political and Social Change, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University.
Abstract
In recent years there have been some dramatic changes of political leadership in the
Asia-Pacific region, and also some drama without leadership change. In a few
countries the demise of well-entrenched political leaders appears imminent; in others
regular processes of parliamentary government still prevail. These differing patterns
of regime change and regime maintenance raise fundamental questions about the
nature of political systems in the region. Specifically, how have some political leaders
or leadership groups been able to stay in power for relatively long periods and why
have they eventually been displaced? What are the factors associated with the stability
or instability of political regimes? What happens when long-standing leaderships
change?This paper is a modified version of a chapter forthcoming in V. Selochan and RJ. May (eds). The Military and Democracy in Asia and the Pacific.This paper is a modified version of a chapter forthcoming in V. Selochan and RJ. May (eds). The Military and Democracy in Asia and the Pacific