Democratic Transitions in Asia focuses on political changes in the Asian region. Since the 1997 economic crisis, countries of the region are seeing greater demands for the accountability of leaders. Symbolic of the region's continuing struggle for democratisation, the President of South Korea, Kim Dae Jung was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000, joining other recent Asian Nobel laureates, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Dalai Lama, Bishop Carlos Belo and Jose Ramos Horta.

In the Philippines, popularly elected President Joseph Estrada was forced to step down by "People Power 2" when the impeachment process failed. In Indonesia, President Abdurrahman Wahid who became Indonesia's president after the democratic elections of 1990, faces multiple challenges. In Thailand, in the first elections held under a new democratically drafted constitution, millionaire Thaksin Shinawatra was popularly elected as Prime Minister while under investigation for failure to disclose assets. In Malaysia, the political scene is still coloured by the sacking and conviction of former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim. In Singapore, there is much talk of civil society, but tight government control remains. Meanwhile, in Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu kyi remains under house arrest, Vietnam and Laos are still reluctant to open up and the politics of violence continues to plague Cambodia.

In this volume, politicians, civil society activists, journalists and academics talk about how to translate democracy into practice. They examine the reforms needed for democratic transitions in Asia: democratising political institutions and processes, human rights, the rule of law, free media, civil society, decentralisation, demilitarisation, local economy and the development of a free market.

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