The model of the developmental state, which has
been widely applied to Southeast Asia (Douglass, 1994;
Leftwich, 1995), provides an instructive vantage point
for evaluating state strategies towards the airline industry.
The model emphasizes the singular importance
of economic development as a goal of the developmental
state and the flexibility of the state in pursuing that goal.
The Southeast Asian stateÕs posture towards the airline
industry since the 1970s provides a compelling illustration
of this model in practice as the industry has been
carefully integrated into development policy and has
been subject to a host of state-led eorts to guide its
development. However, the limits on the stateÕs ability
to manipulate the airline industry, especially those
constraints imposed by competing states, point to the
need for an elaboration of the developmental state.