BANGKOK -- Amid a resurgence of autocratic regimes and the erosion of free speech in various parts of the world, civil society in Southeast Asia finds itself at a crossroads. The new leaders of Myanmar and the Philippines could hold the key to shaping the political culture of the region.
The end of Cold War marked the culmination of what Samuel Huntington termed "Third Wave" of democratization, when several countries across the world, including a number in Southeast Asia, achieved the difficult transition to democracy.