ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the politics of corruption and reform in Southeast Asia through adding a short description of corruption and society in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to the in-depth treatment of Thailand and the Philippines. It examines these countries to a consideration of electoral corruption and talks about wider issues of political and social change in these societies. The chapter also examines the different routes to reform for these various patterns of corruption using a critical schema proposed by Michael Johnston which looks to the value of "balance". It shows that some of the Southeast Asian countries fit into the categories more snugly than others, and Johnston's approach to the politics and economics of corruption is quite useful in encouraging a more complex discussion. Serious imbalances on continuum foster corruption, and Johnston argues that "political and economic reforms can aid both democratization and anti-corruption efforts".
