ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the exercise of power, authority, and the transition toward democracy in several capitalist states that are undergoing such transitions. Democracy since the crisis of 1969 was sustained in Malaysia at the cost of significant curbs on political freedoms, particularly those of the press. These limitations were justified by the view that too much political discourse in an ethnically divided society like Malaysia is more likely to inflame passions and result in political violence than it is to resolve them. In Southeast Asia, power arrangements were traditionally mirrored in a social hierarchy interlaced with a broad network of personal obligations. Authority in East Asia, particularly China, had a similarly divine connection, as typified by the "Mandate of Heaven" with which every successful and legitimate ruler was said to be endowed. The fundamental concern was with economic and political stability backed by a sufficient base of power and authority.
