Civil Society Endorsement on Democratization: A Lesson from Myanmar

Abstract

Democracy and democratization are a spectrum of universal values that describe a condition regarding community involvement in a country's government and political systems. One of the pillars that can be used as a measure of democracy and the democratization process is the presence of the role of civil society because one of its functions is to represent the involvement of the community in participating and criticizing government policies. One interesting topic to discuss regarding the role of civil society is its efforts to restore the democratic system when the authoritarian regime rises to power. This study aims to examine the process of empowering civil society under authoritarian leadership by taking a case study in Myanmar. By using qualitative methods, this research uses secondary data by elaborating the study of literature, documents, and other sources related to the role of civil society in Myanmar. The results of this study indicate that the contribution of the civil society under the authoritarian regime of Myanmar faces enormous challenges. However, it still has the potential to support the democratization process by underpinning civil society with three processes: decreasing multiethnicity segregation, gaining support from INGOs, and strengthening backup from the young generation.