Is democracy in trouble in Asia? From the removal of an elected president by less than constitutional means in the Philippines to an attempt to remove another sitting president in Taiwan to questions concerning the eligibility of the presumptive prime minister in Thailand to a near-coup by the ruling party in Japan and "premature lame duckism" in South Korea to disturbing political instability in Asia's newest and most fragile democracy, Indonesia, the democratic process seems under attack -- and many point to last fall's events in Florida to argue that, even after over 200 years, kinks remain.
Fortunately, with a few notable exceptions, one can argue that recent events merely represent democracy -- "the worst form of government, except for all the others," as Winston Churchill once observed -- very much in progress, and not in serious peril. The key point is that, so far at least, the political process and its self-correcting mechanisms still generally work. And, while some Asian leaders took delight in making barbed remarks about the need for overseas observers at U.S. elections, most comments came from officials who remain unprepared to submit themselves to a similar test of the people's will.
The Florida experience nonetheless should remind Americans that democracies are not perfected overnight and need constant nurturing and fine-tuning. That fine-tuning is very much in evidence in many of Asia's emerging democracies today. Efforts by nations like Thailand to root out corruption, for example, while causing some short-term pain and disruption, augur well for the future of democracy there. Others would still do well to follow the Thai model, despite its obvious imperfections and growing pains.