Comparative Analysis of the Politics and Government of ASEAN Nations:
Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos
Sophia G. Campaña
CAMBODIA: HISTORY
After 25 years of civil war, postwar rebuilding, a socialist
one-party state, and a centrally planned economy in Cambodia,
the country has seen three major transformations. On September
25, 1991, after the signing of the Paris Peace Agreements,
UNTAC was established to facilitate Cambodia's transition from
civil conflict into postwar stability. As UNTAC ended in 1993,
Cambodia's government, politics, economy, and society began
to undergo considerable reforms. A multiparty system, including
regular elections, multiparty rivalry, and the emergence of a civil
society, succeeded the one-party state of the Cambodian
People's Party (CPP). Despite this, most political scientists
believe that regular multiparty competitive elections coexist
with weak civil and political rights and inadequate horizontal
and vertical accountability in the same country. In addition, the
majority party is in charge of the voting process in the country.
In the ninth century, the Khmer Empire of Angkor, the
historical forerunner of today's Kingdom of Cambodia, may be
traced back to research by Ricklefs (2010). With an empire that
spanned from Laos to Thailand in 13th century, Angkor was the
largest in Southeast Asia at the time. In 1431, Siam conquered
the Kingdom of Angkor. Since its "Golden Age," the Khmer
Kingdom has lost most of its authority and territory in the area
as a consequence of external challenges from Siam and Champa,
along with internal succession conflicts. When the French
declared in 1887 that Indochina had been established, they
included Cambodia as well as the three Vietnamese areas of
Tonkin, Annam and Cochin-China. 1 Until 1897, Cambodia's
top colonial official was a re'sident supe'rieur appointed by the
Ministry of Marine and Colonies in Paris, answerable to the
French Governor General and appointed by Paris's Ministry of
Marine and Colonies.
There was less political activity in Cambodia in the 1930s
compared to the Vietnamese-populated provinces of the
Indochina, according to research by Brocheux and He'mery
(2011). That changed in World War II when the French
administration in Vichy was obliged to allow Japanese forces to
enter the nation, as Ricklefs (2010) points out. King Norodom
Sihanouk (1922–2012) was pushed by the Japanese to proclaim
independence in March 1945, but the Japanese surrendered and
the enthusiasm for independence quickly faded. As a result of
the passage of a new constitution in 1947, Cambodia was no
longer a French protectorate in 1949, and it was given full
independence inside France. In November 1953, the Kingdom
gained complete national sovereignty.
Peou (2000) noted that new personalistic authoritarian
regime: King Sihanouk resigned and became prime minister in
1955. Sihanouk's personal regiment, which he dubbed the
"Khmer Rouge," was persecuted by both bourgeois and
communist opponents. Sihanouk allowed the use of Cambodian
land as a safe haven and supply route for the South Vietnamese
Communists in accordance with a policy of international
neutrality. According to Heder (2004) that it was in 1970 that a
coup led by Lon Nol and a coalition of military officers and
civilian elites against Sihanouk while the Cambodian leader was
on vacation led to military rule in the country for the first time
in its history. As a result, Sihanouk formed an alliance with the
Khmer Rouge in order to rally the local populace. A series of
intensive purges by the Khmer Rouge dictatorship led to the
defection of a large number of military and party cadres to
Vietnam. The Khmer Rouge rule was eventually overthrown in
December 1978 when the xenophobic regime shifted its
attention to Vietnam and Vietnamese soldiers attacked the
country's eastern region.
It was in 1989 that the Vietnamese government decided to
withdraw its forces from combat. Although the Cambodian
military still had a numerical advantage, the administration in
Phnom Penh could no longer expect for success. Official peace
discussions in Paris in 1991 were a result of informal
conversations between the CGDK and the SoC. The warring
parties signed the Paris Accords in 1991, which mandated the
establishment of an interim government, the United Nations
Transitional Authority in Cambodia, under the guidance of the
UN Security Council's Permanent Five and supported by the
governments of Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and other concerned
states (UNTAC).
This organization was tasked with monitoring Cambodian
authorities in the fields of foreign policy, defense, finance,
information and public safety for a period of five years.
Furthermore, UNTAC failed to ensure the impartiality of crucial
ministries including Defense, Security and Home Affairs and
Finance. A quarter of all combatants were disarmed and
demobilized, mostly FUNCINPEC and KPNLF and a few CPP
forces, but not the Khmer Rouge, which withdrew from the
peace process in 1992. UNTAC's biggest success was the
election of a Constituent Assembly in 1993, boycotted by the
Khmer Rouge. The assembly adopted a constitution that
envisaged parliamentary monarchy with King Norodom
Sihanouk as head of state. UNTAC ended its mission in
September 1993.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Hun Sen's "personalist" rule
rests on four pillars, including his control over the electoral
process and access to state resources. He has created a form of
"institutionalized nepotism" in which power and authority are
highly personalized and concentrated in his hands. While the
opposition has no access to material rewards or protection from
state repression, it can participate in the distribution of state
resources and the exploitation of the national economy.
The opposition has a possibility of pulling off an electoral shock
despite the fact that the country's elections aren't free and fair. a
united opposition was successful in winning 55 of the 123
National Assembly seats in 2013.
THAILAND: HISTORY
The regime strives to legitimate its claim to power against
its citizens and the international community. Hun Sen stylizes
himself as the only person able to guarantee economic
development and social peace. Elections at national and local
level serve the purpose of legitimating the regime vis-a'-vis
international donors and Western governments.
The government tolerates basic human rights violations
committed by members of the regime coalition, such as land
grabbing, illegal-logging, and real estate speculation. This does
not signal increased political liberalization, but instead
authoritarian consolidation, as the Hun Sen government no
longer feels the need to rely on hard repression to secure its
political survival.
According to Levitsky & Way (2002) stated that though
Hun Sen's dictatorship seems to have found a balance between
repression, legitimacy, and co-optation, a number of latent
threats to his reign exist. It is important to note that the presence
of competitive elections allows the opposition to question and
damage the government inside its own institutions. Opposition
parties and civil society groups may take on authoritarian rulers
because of the presence of institutions ostensibly dedicated to
democracy. The electoral sphere is the most significant of them.
The Kingdoms of Sukhothai and Ayutthaya are traditionally
considered the beginning of Siam. During the reign of King
Mongkut (Rama IV, 1850–1868), Siam yielded to pressure of
Western powers. Rapid social change, conflicts between new
and old elites weakened the power of the absolute monarchy.
Following the overthrow of the absolute monarchy in 1932, a
"bureaucratic" state became the primary arena of political rivalry
for parcels of state control between two major forces: civilian
bureaucrats and military elites. In contrast, King Bhumibol
Adulyadej (Rama IX, 1946–2016) was symbolizing the
historical continuity of Siam (Thailand) since ancient times but
had little real political power himself. Long-term processes of
economic and social change starting in the 1950s created new
socioeconomic groups with new political demands and
ideologies.
During the anti-communist and highly repressive government of
Thanin Kraivichien (1976–1977), thousands of intellectuals,
student protesters, and trade-union activists fled to join the
Communists in the jungle. In the 1980s, a new electoral
authoritarian regime emerged when Army Commander General
Prem Tinsulanonda became the unelected prime minister. When
the government reintroduced parliamentary elections and
legalized political parties, provincial capitalists turned their
economic fortunes into political capital by financing political
parties and mobilizing rural voters.
In 1988, gradual liberalization under Prem opened the door for
a short-lived democratic interregnum with an elected prime
minister. Growing military suspicion of civilian interference in
its domain, however, eventually led to an army coup under.
General Suchinda Kraprayoon in February 1991. Mass protests
took place in Bangkok from May 17–20, 1992. A series of shortlived coalitions took turns at governing in the following years.
At the height of the Asian Financial Crisis, a new constitution
came into force in October 1997.
Nevertheless, the well-intended assumptions that this 1997
"People's Constitution" would pave the road for Thailand's
democracy to expand and consolidate turned out to be false.
Since the start of the millennium, Thailand has been in a state of
political instability and upheaval. According to Abuza (2016),
from 2001 to 2016, the nation witnessed five of eight sitting
prime ministers overthrown by court decrees or military coups,
two out of six Lower House elections invalidated, and a series
of popular mobilization events. In addition, a century-old battle
erupted anew in Thailand's three southernmost provinces in
January 2004, killing or wounding almost 7000 people until June
2016.
Thailand's current political crisis was not a social conflict at the
outset. However, because of the way in which Thaksin
Shinawatra took advantage of the plight of the poor, it quickly
became one. By doing so, he threatened the informal,
monarchical network that had formed since the 1970s that
connected royalist elites in politics, military, civil service,
economy, and society.
TRT was disbanded, Thaksin and many top party leaders were
excluded from politics, a new constitution was written, and
general elections were held in late 2007. It gained 48 percent of
the seats despite a skewed electoral system that favoured TRT's
successor, allowing pro-Thaksin supporters to establish a
coalition government. Returning to electoral democracy did
nothing to reduce political division. An impeachment and PPP
ban followed extended PAD demonstrations.
In 2010, the pro-Thaksin United Front for Democracy Against
Dictatorship (UDD) staged major rallies in Bangkok that the
Thai military violently dispersed, killing 23 and wounding
hundreds. Nonetheless, another Thaksin-affiliated political
party, the Puea Thai Party (PTP), won the 2011 election and
created a government led by Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin's
sister. In response, the People's Democratic Reform Committee
(PDRC) campaigned for another military coup, reviving the antiThaksin protest movement. On May 20, 2014, Thailand's
military declared a state of emergency, led by Army Chief Gen.
Prayuth Chan-ocha. General Prayuth led the military junta that
was formed two days later. Since then, it has been ruled by the
military. Thailand also lost a unique source of stability and
societal harmony when Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej died in
October 2016.
VIETNAM: HISTORY
Vietnam's official name, "Socialist Republic of Vietnam," has
been in use since 1976. It is one of only five "communist
dictatorships" in the world that still exist after the fall of the
Soviet Union. North Vietnam has been run by the Communist
Party since 1954, and all of Vietnam since 1975. This makes
the Communist Party one of the parties that has been in
power the longest in the world.
A study by Schirokauer and Clark (2004) stated that the
Kingdoms of Aun Lac and Nam Viet, which were founded in
the third century B.C., are historically considered the cradle
of ancient Vietnamese sovereignty. In 111 BC, the Han
Dynasty established Nam Viet as a Chinese prefecture. From
the eleventh century forward, successive kingdoms were
able to oust Chinese dominance, while Chinese customs and
neo-Confucian official orthodoxy remained widespread and
the administration of the Kingdom of Dai Viet under the Le
Dynasty (1428–1788) followed the Chinese model.
Dai Viet's power was initially limited to northern Vietnam
(Tonkin) and parts of central Vietnam (Annam), but
expansion at the expense of Cambodia and Champa was a
recurring theme. In the eighteenth century, the Nguyen
dynasty took control of the south and expanded its reach to
the royal seat of Thang Long (Hanoi) in the north. Nguyen
Anh proclaimed the Empire of Viet Nam in 1802 and founded
the new capital in Hue in central Vietnam.
Vietnamese unification under Nguyen collided with French
expansion into Indochina. French troops occupied Da Nang,
then Saigon (today, Ho Chi Minh City, HCMC) and
neighboring provinces in 1858 and 1862, and forced the
Nguyen Emperor to relinquish sovereignty over all of South
Vietnam to France in 1874. Annam and Tonkin became
French protectorates in 1882; these protectorates remained
under nominal sovereignty of the Vietnamese court.
The colonial misgovernment, corruption in the old but
powerless Vietnamese bureaucracy, excessive taxation, and
poverty and misery among the peasantry resulted in social
unrest and localized protest. French repression of
anticolonial movements unintentionally strengthened the
communist movement, which gained strong support from
workers and the urban intelligentsia. The French
suppressed the Yeˆn Ba'i mutiny of 1930, but it indicated a
failure of the policy of forcible depoliticization.
Blanc (2004) noted that the Communist Party of Vietnam
was formed in February 1930 when the Communist Party of
Indochina merged with the Communist Party of Annam and
the Communist League of Indochina. In order to include all
of French Indochina, including Cambodia and Laos, the
party, led by Nguyen Tat Thanh, better known as Ho Chi
Minh, renamed itself the Indochinese Communist Party in
October 1930. First from China, then from a base in Vietnam,
the Communist Party was able to relaunch covert activities
despite the efforts of the French government.
This opportunity for the Communist Party to take control of
the anticolonial struggle was provided by Japanese conquest
in July 1941 and Vichy cooperation. A revolutionary
uprising was launched in March 1945 by the Vietnamese
Independence League (Viet Minh), who swiftly seized
control of the country. On September 2, 1945, shortly after
the Japanese capitulated, Ho Chi Minh announced the
establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV)
in Hanoi. The Provisional Government of the French
Republic had to acknowledge the DRV as a sovereign state
inside the French Union because France was unwilling to
give up her colonial empire.
The French-Vietnamese or First Indochina War lasted until
French troops were defeated by the Viet Minh in the battle
of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. Negotiations between France and
the DRV government without participation from South
Vietnam resulted in the Geneva Accords. North and South
Vietnam remained separated, and while the north followed
the political and economic lead of the Soviet Union and
China, the south came under American influence.
LAOS: HISTORY
Dimitrov (2013) noted that the Democratic People's
Republic of Lao is one of only five communist single party
regimes in the world today. As a landlocked country with a
sparsely populated hinterland, Laos struggles with
unfavorable circumstances for economic development.
Wedged in by more powerful neighbors, the country was
frequently threatened both politically and military.
Furthermore, Evans (2002) stated, the Kingdom of Lan Xang,
founded in 1354, was the precursor of modern Laos.
Historical memories of the ancient kingdom play a key role
in postcolonial nation-building and Laos's socialist politics
of legitimacy. The emergence of Lao nationalism delayed the
emergence of French colonialism between 1893 and 1946.
party. In recent years, nationalist-oriented (instead claims of
legitimacy have become key ingredients of the party's
legitimation strategy.
During World War II, the Japanese Imperial Army took direct
control over Laos, along with the rest of French Indochina.
The Japanese supported the formation of a non-communist
nationalist movement called Lao Issara. While French troops
regained control of the country in 1946, France agreed to
proclaim Laos as a self-governing constitutional monarchy
within the French Union in 1949. In November 1953,
however, Laos gained full sovereignty. During the Vietnam
War or Second Indochina War, the country quickly became
another front in the escalating conflict. The conflict was
exacerbated by the massive American bombing campaign to
disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the main North Vietnamese
supply line that passed through Laos. During this phase of
the conflict, more bombs were dropped on Laos than on
Germany during World War II.
Some observers argue that the communist regime in China
can no longer be meaningfully characterized as communist,
but has become a "post-socialist" political order. The
socialist ideology still serves as a disciplinary instrument to
control party cadres and society (Lintner 2008, p. 173) and
while the commitment to the economic and social program
of socialism remains suspect, adherence to the political
structure of the communist party state signifies the enduring
importance of Marxist–Leninism.
Since 1975, the single-party regime of the Laotian
Revolutionary Party (LPRP) has gone through various
stages. In the initial phase of establishing party rule, the
LPRP took complete control of the government and state
apparatus. The collectivization of agriculture resulted in
food shortages and swelled the stream of refugees. Central
economic planning only began with the first 5-year plan in
1981. The 1991 Constitution marks the passage from
revolutionary to consolidated party rule. Laos remains a
closed single-party regime in which the LPRP monopolizes
access to political office. Performance-based legitimation
from economic growth and improving the livelihoods of the
population are important new sources of legitimacy for the
The absence of any significant political opposition within
Laos reflects the strength of single-party rule in the country.
However, the LPRP still faces some challenges that could
potentially endanger regime stability in the long term. The
economic transformation has resulted in rising horizontal
socioeconomic inequalities, amplifying problems of
socioeconomic inequality. Inefficient institutions will likely
persist, which would stabilize party rule in the short- to
medium-term, but threaten the legitimacy and survival of
the communist party state.
JUDICIAL
BRANCH
NATIONAL
AND LOCAL
GOVERNMEN
T
The legislative
branch of the
Cambodian
government
is made up of a
bicameral
parliament.
The country
has a
constitutionall
y independent
judiciary
composed
of lower
courts, an
appeals court,
and a Supreme
Court.
The National
Assembly of
Thailand is a
bicameral
legislature and is
composed of two
houses: the Senate
and the House of
Representatives.
The
Constitutional
Court of the
Kingdom of
Thailand, the
Courts of
Justice, the
Administrative
Courts and the
Military
Courts.
ASEAN
COUNTRIES
EXECUTIV
E BRANCH
LEGISLATIV
E BRANCH
CAMBODI
A
The Royal
Government of
Cambodia
(RGC)
THAILAND
The cabinet is
the primary
organ of the
executive
branch of the
Thai
government.
HIGHLIGHT
SOME
GOVERNMEN
T POLICIES
ECONOMY
CULTURE
Cambodia is a
unitary country
with a three-tier
subnational
government system.
The 1993
Constitution
referred to the
division into
provinces and
municipalities.
Driven by garment
exports and
tourism,
Cambodia's
economy sustained
an average annual
growth rate of 7.7
percent between
1998 and 2019,
making it one of
the fastest-growing
economies in the
world.
Cambodians
have
developed a
unique
Khmer
culture and
belief system
from
the syncretis
m of
indigenous
animistic
beliefs and
the Indian
religions of
Buddhism
and
Hinduism.
• Economics
• Health
• Pandemic
• Education
• Job Opportunities
• Women’s Rights
Three systems:
central
administration,
local
administration, and
local autonomy
(under the State
Administration Act
of 1991)
Thailand's
economic freedom
score
is
63.2,
making
its
economy the 70th
freest in the 2022
Index. Thailand is
ranked 13th among
39 countries in the
Asia–Pacific
region, and its
overall score is
Buddhism
and the
monarchy
have
historically
been seen as
sources of
order and
stability in
society and
continue to
act as
symbols of
• Public transport
• Strategic
Planning
• Environmental
Policies
• Urban Realm
policies
above the regional
and world averages.
unity for the
Thai people.
VIETNAM
The
government
(Chính phủ),
the main
executive state
power of
Vietnam, is
headed by the
Prime Minister,
who has
several Deputy
Prime
Ministers and
several
ministers in
charge of
particular
activities.
The National
Assembly
(Vietnamese:
Quốc hội) is a
unicameral
legislative body,
and is governed
on the basis of
democratic
centralism.
The court
system
consists of the
Supreme
Court, the
provincial
People's
Courts and the
district
People's
Courts
Vietnam has a
three-tier local
government
structure: provincial
, district and
commune levels.
There are 63
provincial units
including 5 cities.
Vietnam's economi
c freedom score is
60.6, making its
economy the 84th
freest in the 2022
Index. Vietnam is
ranked 18th among
39 countries in the
Asia–Pacific
region, and its
overall score is
above the regional
and world
averages.
Vietnamese
culture
was heavily
influenced by
Chinese
culture due to
the 1000
years of
Northern
rule.
• Information and
Education
• Economic
Instruments
• Policy support
LAOS
The president
is elected by
the National
Assembly for a
five-year term.
The prime
minister and
the Council of
Ministers are
appointed by
the president
with the
approval of the
National
Assembly for a
five-year term.
The National
Assembly (Sapha
Heng Xat) has
164 members
(158 are LPRP, 6
independents),
elected for a fiveyear term.
The Supreme
Court, the
local Court
and the
Military Court.
The politics of the
Lao People's
Democratic
Republic
(commonly known
as Laos) takes place
in the framework of
a one-party
parliamentary
socialist republic.
The only legal
political party is the
Lao People's
Revolutionary Party
(LPRP).
Laos is among the
least developed and
poorest countries in
Asia,
but significant
economic growth
in the past decade
has benefited the
country.
Lao culture
is centered on
the pleasures
of life: eating,
drinking,
sleeping and
chatting with
friends.
• Employment
policies
• Security policies
• Health policies
• Safety policies
• Education
• Regulatory
policies
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