7 - Conclusion

Summary

In this study, I analysed in what ways institutional reforms concerning the three dimensions of accountability (electoral, vertical, and horizontal) reshaped the quality of democracy in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In other words, I addressed to what degree institutional engineering concerning these three dimensions of accountability contributed to a deepening, stagnation, or regression of the democratization processes in the three countries.

To this end, I first analysed what kind of institutional reforms have been undertaken by political decision-makers who intended to transform political accountability in each of the three cases. Then I connected these findings with their impact on the respective democratization processes. From a comparative perspective, this study found that electoral accountability is strongly determined by the respective type of government and election systems. In Thailand and Indonesia, major electoral reforms contributed to changes in how voters can hold their representatives accountable, whereas in the Philippines, only technical modifications took place. In Thailand, electoral reforms introduced by the 2007 Constitution reduced the accountability of legislators and the government, and thus democratic quality. In Indonesia, the modified rules for the election of the president and the parliament can be interpreted as a power struggle between political parties who want to retain their power as intermediaries between citizens and political institutions. In this case the institutional reforms stabilized democracy.

In terms of vertical accountability, defined as the impact of subnational institutions on the overall quality of democracy, the three countries varied to a great extent. Due to a lack of power, Thai subnational administrative structures are less capable of acting in accountability relations with the national level. This is different in Indonesia and the Philippines. In Indonesia, the far-reaching autonomy and successful transfer of democratic procedures to the local level has brought a new dynamic and generally positive impact on the quality of democracy at the national level. In the Philippines, local authorities enjoy sufficient autonomy and impact national politics to a great extent. However, local democracy is, in most cases, limited by the dominance of wealthy and powerful clans, which translates into the capture of political institutions at the national level. Because of this vertical accountability relations do not support the deepening of democracy in the Philippines.

Reforms on horizontal accountability were manifold in all three countries. Particularly the mushrooming of independent government watchdog organizations was remarkable.