Obstacles to democratization in South East Asia are substantial but vary from state to state because of historical circumstances. In many instances, authoritarian power disenfranchises the majority of people and leads to widespread corruption and repression. At the regional level, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) vision of a democratic community faces serious problems. The inability of ASEAN to confront Myanmar's state of permanent aggression against its people is indicative of ASEAN weakness as a mechanism to advance human rights in Southeast Asia. ASEAN needs to institutionalize a community like the European Union.
Military coups have been the greatest obstacle to Turkey's aspirations for a stronger democracy,
Military coups and anti-democratic initiatives have damaged Turkey's development in the field of politics, society and economy. The greatest obstacle to the development of our democracy is the “military tutelage” over politics. One of the other great obstacles is the Sept. 12 Constitution, which does not embrace the majority of society. Though it has been amended partially since 1987, it still represents an era of censorship. The right of Parliament to monitor and control all administrative and bureaucratic institutions should be reinforced. Turkey should prepare a new constitution with the greatest societal compromise possible, heighten the standards of its democracy and pursue its perspective European Union membership by fulfilling its duties under international treaties. A new law on political parties that strengthens political freedoms in accordance with universal standards should be prepared. Intra-party democracies should be improved. Political party candidates should be named in accordance with the results of a pre-election. The financing of politics should be more transparent and open to controls in terms of the income and expenditures of and procedures followed by political parties. The Venice Criteria should be adopted in the closure of political parties. Political monitoring mechanisms should be activated so as to balance the authority of the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals to file closure cases against parties. Laws should be enforced in a way to comply with international law, fundamental rights and freedoms, democracy and the rule of law. All these issues should be handled in cooperation with all political parties.