Transparency and Authoritarian Rule in Southeast Asia 1st Edition by Garry Rodan 9780415335829 0415335825

1: INFORMATION CONTROL AND AUTHORITARIAN RULE IN EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA: UNDER CHALLENGE?

Introduction

Capitalism and democracy as natural partners

Governance and authoritarianism

Asian crisis, transparency and institution building

The study

2: BEDDING DOWN MEDIA AND INFORMATION CONTROL IN SINGAPORE AND MALAYSIA

Introduction

Taming and harnessing the domestic media in Singapore

Sorting out the domestic media in Malaysia

Tightening the screws on the international media in Singapore

Institutionalising self-censorship

Importance of Mahathir’s comfort zone and the international press

Legal intimidation: emulating Singapore

Information business in the 1990s

Conclusion

3: BUREAUCRATIC AUTHORITARIANISM AND TRANSPARENCY REFORM IN SINGAPORE

Introduction

Bureaucratic authoritarianism, state and business

Strategic information control

Financial sector promotion, globalisation and transparency reform

Co-option in the finance sector

GLCS and persistent information voids

Finance sector, transparency and media

What matters to investors?

Governance versus transparency

Conclusion

4: KEEPING CIVIL SOCIETY AT BAY: MEDIA IN SINGAPORE AFTER THE CRISIS

Introduction

Blocking political pluralism

Testing the new information regime

Image remake: Singapore goes ‘funky’

Consolidating media control

The business of cyberspace

Regulating cyberspace

Exploiting transparency rhetoric

Conclusion

5: CRONY CAPITALISM AND TRANSPARENCY REFORM IN MALAYSIA

Introduction

Crony capitalism and authoritarianism

Initial transparency reforms

State interests versus transparency

Bailing out the cronies

Politicised and selective regulation

Civil society and transparency reform

Rise and fall of investor confidence

New reform offensive: reconstituting Malaysia Inc.

Investors impressed

Conclusion

6: CHALLENGES to MEDIA CONTROL IN MALAYSIA

Introduction

Crisis and renewed attacks on the international media

Polarisation of local and international media

Public relations offensive

Rise of non-establishment media

Political anxiety and intensified efforts to stymie non-establishment media

Commercial pressure applied to international media

Civil society and the media

Repressing civil society and reviving the BN

Conclusion

7: CONCLUSION

Advanced market systems, information flows and political regimes

Disaggregating ‘transparency’ and ‘information’

Institutional convergence: towards democracy or Weberian rationalism?

Markets, media and civil society

Emulating media control

SARS and the latest ‘information crisis’

NOTES

1 Information Control and Authoritarian Rule in East and Southeast Asia: Under Challenge?

2 Bedding Down Media and Information Control in Singapore and Malaysia

3 Bureaucratic Authoritarianism and Transparency Reform in Singapore

4 Keeping Civil Society at Bay: Media in Singapore After the Crisis

5 Crony Capitalism and Transparency Reform in Malaysia

6 Challenges to Media Control in Malaysia

7 Conclusion: Advanced Market Systems, Information Flows and Political Regimes