The role of collective identities in democratization processes. The case studies of the European Union and east and southeast asia

Abstract

In this essay, I examine the role of collective identities in democratization processes in Europe and East and Southeast Asia. This study contributes to the latest academic “neorealist-liberal debate” and constructivist theories, by emphasizing a crucial acknowledgement. With the exception of the case of the European Union, which boasts the only peaceful democratization process in the post-war era, in East and Southeast Asia there is strong evidence that the orthodoxy of democratization processes is going to take place. This means that in this vast area, democratization processes will be long-lasting social constructions mixed with strong ethnic consciousness, and therefore, not so peaceful but rather violent processes.