Authoritarian regimes and their evolution in the Indo-Pacific

This chapter takes stock of the evolution of dictatorships in the Indo-Pacific by exploring common trajectories of its political regimes (revolutionary pathways, military-personalist hybrids, monarchic survival, etc.) by identifying and presenting critical junctures since WWII that contributed to regime formation, transformation or adaptation to ever-changing international contexts. Relying on the (adapted) political regime classification by B. Geddes et al. the chapter compares their civilian-military relations, their stability and potential for cooperation. The chapter concludes that a renewed surge of personalist dictatorships is possible as great power rivalry continues to increase, which could have dire consequences for the peace and stability of the region; and that democratic cooperation is unlikely to be effective due to the different cultural legacies of states and their transitions in the Indo-Pacific.