Just a generation ago, much of Southeast Asia was ruled by autocrats or generals. The 1986 ouster of strongman Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines and President Suharto in Indonesia in 1998 has brought in change which has spread, in fits and starts, across the region.
Controlled democracies in Singapore and Malaysia are now more liberal, military-backed regimes have given way to elected governments in Thailand and Indonesia is now seen as the most pluralistic state in the region. Full story
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