II Countries and Regions, 24 Constitutional Inertia and Regime Pluralism in Asia

Is this the best of times or the worst of times for constitutional democracy? Judging from recent experience in Asia, the answer might be a bit of both. As the existence of this volume attests, many are concerned that constitutional democracy is increasingly (or inherently) fragile, prone to backsliding, or vulnerable to the rise of illiberal tendencies.1 By one measure, more than half of the world’s countries became less democratic over the last year, with Asia experiencing a larger decline than any other region.2 Others view such concerns as unwarranted or based...