In-Person Panel PS5.3

Navigating Political Transitions: Monarchies, Populist Resurgence, and Peacebuilding Initiatives in Asia

The Revival of a Past Glory: A Monarchical Strongman in Malaysia 

Pey Wen Liaw 

Johor polity is rather unique in Malay peninsula compared to other Malay states. Located adjacent to Singapore, the importance of geographical proximity experienced by Johor during colonial period staged Johor polity in an alternative episode of modernised history. This paper attempts to examine the contemporary Sultan of Johor in Malaysia regarding the situation of “midlevelization” (Hutchcroft, 2001), where power inclines to concentrate on the state strongman. The concentration of power on strongman has grown in the recent transfer of political power and resources from the federal to the state governments in Malaysia. This study aims at investigating how a monarchical strongman at the middle level government attempts to control over the state affairs through strategic manoeuvre skillfully in the state’s administrative domain. The study examines the state politics and business and the monarchical strongman’s influence over the local governance through top-ranked bureaucrats. There is potential risk for a strongman to possess certain degree of room for manoeuvre, particularly fostering patron-client business clusters and political influence. The case of Johor displays several components underlying within the structural mechanisms with possibilities for a constitutional monarch to initiate the formation of midlevelisation of government. The components include: 1) a traditional institution with its historical convention, 2) considerable royal powers grounded in State Constitution, 3) strong and loyal administrative bureaucracy as monarchical supporting organisations; all these components help strengthen and consolidate the strongman’s influences at mid-level government.

“We Defeated Corporates in Their Own Game”: Late Socialism, Sub-national Populism and the Communist Party’s Social Media Campaigns in Kerala 

Lucas Scheel, Anand Sreekumar

In the prevailing landscape dominated by the influence of Hindutva and the BJP in Indian politics, Kerala stands out as an exception. Despite the near-obliteration of the parliamentary Left in electoral battles in states like West Bengal and Tripura, the 2021 elections saw the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India (CPI(M)), securing a resounding victory with 99 out of 140 seats. What made this victory even more surprising was the re-election of the incumbent government led by Pinarayi Vijayan, breaking a four-decade-long trend of alternating governments in Kerala. Naturally, the election campaign was fiercely contested – especially in the digital sphere, where populist narratives were abundant.  

This paper offers an examination of the populist narratives underpinning the CPI(M)'s digital campaigns as a starting point for understanding this victory through contextualising these debates within a framework of (left-wing) populism proposed by Ernesto Laclau. Therefore, specific populist discussions and digital campaigns on platforms like Facebook and YouTube are analysed against the backdrop of political contradictions related to so-called late socialist populism. It is argued these populist narratives effectively helped to bridge the discrepancies between communist rhetoric and limitations in a neoliberal setting, possibly contributing to the party's re-election.

From Insurgency to Political Legitimacy: Stories of Peacebuilding and Political Transformation from Indonesia 

Bustanul Arifin 

Peacebuilding plays a significant role in the transition from armed conflict to an enduring peace. In many places worldwide, however, peacebuilding efforts fail to maintain peace and to reach consensual values among stakeholders, especially between the government, insurgent group and society. There are only a few cases where peace was successfully achieved and sustained through political transformation. Indonesia is a country that has experienced both failure and successful peacebuilding and political transformation following a serious insurgency. So, this paper sets out to explore the meaning and practices of peacebuilding and insurgent transformation in Indonesia. It asks, what has made peacebuilding and insurgent transformation successful and positive in some cases but not in others? First, I describe the success of the peacebuilding and insurgent transformation in Aceh Province. It demonstrates that local autonomy and local parties give insurgents and local society space to build a positive security environment. Next, I examine what is happening in Papua Province. Here I find that local people and insurgents are not much accommodated through the local autonomy and local privileges. Then, I take a closer look at the role that ideology and identity play in moving from an insurgency to political legitimacy. I argue that the key is to build mutual trust. Finally, I conclude that the transformation and acceptance of insurgents into a political party are crucial for a sustainable peace.

China's Foreign Aid and Regional Competition in Southeast Asia 

Qian Qin 

This paper examines China's use of foreign aid as a diplomatic tool in Southeast Asia. While China is frequently portrayed as a primary global challenger against the United States, it has yet to become a full-fledged global power because China lacks the capability to exercise its comprehensive power in multiple regions. To become a "true" global power, China needs to enhance its capacity to exert its extensive powers across multiple regions and establish its strategic partners' network and leadership. The strategic deployment of foreign aid plays a pivotal role in this endeavor, resulting in aid rivalry with established regional powers, many of which are aligned with or act as proxies of the United States, such as Japan. This paper delves into the foreign aid competition between China and Japan in Southeast Asia, shedding light on the power competition at the regional level, where a rising power has the potential to challenge the existing global hegemon.