Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia

The countries of Southeast Asia, most of which won their independence after World War II, have had varying degrees of success in establishing governments and political systems that have achieved political legitimacy in the eyes of their citizens. Because these countries have much in common and at the same time differ in important ways - with their political arrangements varying from Leninist state to monarchy, personal dictatorship to quasi-democracy - they offer what might be considered a naturally occurring political science experiment. This book studies political legitimacy in seven Southeast Asian countries - Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Among the questions it addresses are: what is the meaning and nature of legitimacy? what are its constituent elements? on what basis is authority claimed, acknowledged, resisted? why do legitimation projects succeed or fail? It presents specific conclusions on political legitimacy in Southeast Asia and provides a framework for the study of political legitimation in other countries.