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Applying the core assumptions of Liberalism,

For the States mentioned, individuals and their pursuit of independent interest are portrayed through fighting for freedom of speech and enforcement of human rights laws (social media, protests, etc.). However, the State fails in the core assumption of representation as these liberal movements are strictly monitored by the national government, and even lives are jeopardized.

Liberal democracies follow parallel principles but significantly differ in how it is enacted. Like in EIU's document, a functioning government nor high political participation or electoral processes does not necessarily correlate with a State fully exercising Liberalism. Key concepts, such as human rights, are still at stake.

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Amnesty International. (2022). "Malaysia."
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-east-asia-and-the-pacific/malaysia/report-malaysia/

Amnesty International. (2022). "Myanmar."
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-east-asia-and-the-pacific/myanmar/report-myanmar/

Amnesty International. (2022). "Singapore."
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-east-asia-and-the-pacific/singapore/report-singapore/

Curato, N. (2021). "Democratic expressions amidst fragile institutions: Possibilities for reform in Duterte’s Philippines." Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/democratic-expressions-amidst-fragile-institutions-possibilities-for-reform-in-dutertes-philippines/

Economist Intelligence Unit. (2022). "Democracy Index 2022: Frontline democracy and the battle for Ukraine."
https://www.protagon.gr/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Democracy-Index-2022-final.pdf

Global State of Democracy Initiative. (n.d.) "Philippines." https://idea.int/democracytracker/country/philippines

Guterres, J. (2018). "Timor-Leste: The Challenges of Democracy and Development." The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/timor-leste-the-challenges-of-democracy-and-development/

Hassan, T. (2022). "Thailand: Events of 2022." Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/thailand

Hwee, Y. L. (n.d.). "Electoral Politics in Singapore." Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/01361007.pdf

Reporters Without Borders. (2023). "Vietnam." https://rsf.org/en/country/vietnam

Roth, K. (2021). "Singapore: Events of 2021." Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/singapore

Transparency International. (n.d.). "Outwork In: Timor-Leste." https://www.transparency.org/en/countries/timor-leste

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Single-party rule. The Communist Party of Vietnam has ruled the country since 1976. Controlling all branches of government, judicial, executive and legislative.
1. Restrictions on freedom of speech: (social) media is constant being monitored, so are newspapers (RSF, 2023)
2. Persistent human rights violations: arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of political adversaries (RSF, 2023).

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Timor-Leste (Not part of the ASEAN, but part of SEA)

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Timor-Leste (Not part of the ASEAN, but part of SEA)

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Timor-Leste saw its status upgraded from “partly free” in 2017 to “free” in Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2018 index, a rating reflecting political rights and civil liberties
1. Weak economy relying fully on oil, a market that can be volatile (The Diplomat, 2018).
2. High unemployment rates and weak educational system (The Diplomat, 2018).
3. Transparency International has ranked the country relatively low on its Corruption Perceptions Index, indicating that corruption can undermine the integrity of democratic institutions (Transparency International, 2018).

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flawed democracy - In the Democracy Index 2022, Singapore remarkably ranks high for the functioning government, positing concepts of democratic peace and free m

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1. HOWEVER, low electoral processes and political participation, prove that Liberalism is flawed, especially on human rights.
2. Partly,  due to Singapore’s diverse ethnicities and evident parliament monopoly (Hwee, n.d.)
While the State decriminalized consensual same-sex relationships, they do not recognize marriage (Amnesty International, 2022). Moreover, there is little freedom of speech in society and Assembly, wherein restrictive – punitive laws take effect on activists (Roth, 2022).

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1. The Philippines, while being a representative democracy, is seeing a decline when it comes to the prevalence of liberties, as well as the demand for accountability from the government (Global State of Democracy Initiative, n.d.)
2. While there are laws supporting the freedom of the press, attempts to thwart it have been rampant over the past few years (Global State of Democracy Initiative, n.d.), with examples including the shutdown of ABS-CBN in May 2020, and the arrest of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa - all during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2022.
3. Police violence and brutality ran rampant (Global State of Democracy Initiative, n.d.), even during the COVID-19 pandemic (Curato, 2021).

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Authoritarian - Those who oppose the military rule in Myanmar face conviction and unfair trials (Amnesty International, 2022).

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1. Torture remains commonplace as well in treating the detainees.
2. Humanitarian aid has been rejected by military authorities.

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flawed democracy - Malaysia continues to suppress and persecute critics of the government through repressive laws and amendments (Amnesty International, 2022).

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1. Multiple political activists have been jailed by authorities for expressing dissent
2. LGBTQ+ remain to be persecuted and discriminated both in law and practice

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an examination of how governments tackle the issue of human rights within their territory