Parliaments in Asia ─ Institution Building and Political Development

Much writing on politics in Asia has been devoted to the discussion of democracy and democratisation generally, or to political parties. This book, on the other hand, focuses on parliaments, considering, for key countries of East, Southeast and South Asia, a wide range of questions, such as How representative are parliaments? How far are parliaments able to influence other political actors or how far are parliaments constrained by the political environment in which they operate? How far are parliaments able to translate into action the expectations and aspirations of individuals? These are key questions for politics in Asia, at a time when long-ruling parties have suffered defeat in parliamentary elections in Japan and Malaysia, when the results of parliamentary elections in Thailand have led to political turmoil, and when military intervention in politics continues to be a threat in many countries of Asia.

Zheng Yongnian is Professor and Director of East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore.

Lye Liang Fook is a Research Fellow at the East Asia Institute, National University of Singapore.

Wilhelm Hofmeister is the Director of the Konrad Adenhauer Foundation’s Political Dialogue with Asia Program, based in Singapore.