The transformation of dominant parties in Asia: Introduction to the special issue
| Author | Yuko Kasuya,Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee |
| Published date | 01 March 2019 |
| Date | 01 March 2019 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/2057891119831470 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
Editorial
The transformation
of dominant parties
in Asia: Introduction
to the special issue
Yuko Kasuya
Keio University, Japan
Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee
Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
Abstract
Dominant political parties have been the subject of study since the 1950s. As they have emerged
both in democracies and non-democracies, they have become an intriguing research theme for
scholars who study politics in a variety of world regions. This introductory note to the special issue
on the transformation of dominant parties in Asia first reviews how “dominant parties” are defined
by scholars who study this subject. Then, it turns to a discussion of the existing research on
dominant parties and analyzes how scholars have examined the question of how they emerge and
are sustained. Lastly, the articles included in this special issue are introduced.
Keywords
dominant parties, Asia, political parties, transition, political institutions
Introduction
Asia has undergone a substantive transformation over the past several decades. China’s economic
size surpassed that of Japan around 2010. India and Southeast Asia are now called “emerging”
economies rather than “developing” countries. Along with the shift in economic power balance,
security issues such as border disputes and counter-terrorism entered a new stage of heated con-
tention. Several countries experienced regime transition from authoritarianism to democracy, such
as the Philippines (1986), Korea (1987), Indonesia (1998), Myanmar (2015), and Malaysia (2018).
Corresponding author:
Yuko Kasuya, Keio University, Japan.
Email: ykasuya@law.keio.ac.jp
Asian Journal of Comparative Politics
2019, Vol. 4(1) 3–7
ªThe Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/2057891119831470
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