Executive-Legislature Relations in Democratization

Research Project

Project/Area Number	12620077
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Politics
Research Institution	The University of Tokyo
Principal Investigator	FUJIWARA Kiichi The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Law and Politics, Professor, 大学院・法学政治学研究科, 教授 (90173484)
Project Period (FY)	2000 – 2001
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2001)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000) Fiscal Year 2001: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000) Fiscal Year 2000: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000)
Keywords	Legislature / Executive / Second image reversed / democratization / 行政・立法関係 / フィリピン政治 / マレーシア政治 / タイ政治 / 比較政治 / 予算決定 / 行政立法関係 / 大統領制
Research Abstract	This study has focused on the changing relationships between the legislature and the executive in a number of Southeast Asian Nations. I have directed most of my attention to the interplay between international factors and the changes in domestic political institutions, most notably in two cases, the Philippines and Thailand, with references to Malaysia and Indonesia This is especially an interesting question when we study the Asian region, where media has put so much blames on external factors while so little attention has been paid by scholars. To angry Muslim in Jarakrta, the transition to the Megawati administration in Indonesia was but another example of American intervention into domestic affairs ; very few comparativists will make such connections, even if Washington may have had a hand in the choice of Megawati. What seems obvious to the unlearned mind is but another conspiracy theory to the professionals. My study has indicated suggestive agendas, as follows The first and obvious … More point is mat external factors, either in form of overall structures or more specific actors, always weighted heavily in Filipino politics, while played only limited role in Thai history. The market, which had ignited political instability in the Philippines, was more of a political opportunity in Thailand. Such national differences outweigh differences in the phases of political change. We do not know whether external factors exert more influence in the transition to democracies rather than in regime changes of the reverse direction, from democracy to authoritarianism. It seems fair to say, however, that some regimes are more vulnerable to changes in external factors than others. The sudden fall of post-authoritarian rule in Thailand after the currency crisis seems to indicate that any assumed rigidity or elasticity toward external influence may be superficial. The case of Indonesia also affirms such speculation : the Suharto regisme, so independent from external pressures, collapsed like a wreath made of snow. Less