Andreas Ufen

Failed Autocratization: Malaysia Under Najib Razak (2009-2018)

Pacific Affairs | 2022


  • Abstract

    Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s systematic strategy of autocratization
    backfired. This paper is based on a model of three pillars of authoritarian
    regimes. It traces the different strategies and measures employed to weaken
    the opposition and shows that major survival strategies were prone to
    frequent shifts. At the beginning of his tenure, Najib depicted himself as a
    reformer, and refined some forms of repression. The regime scrapped central
    coercive tools such as the Internal Security Act, but later replaced them with
    kindred, yet ineffective measures. Co-optation was more centralized and
    “money politics” expanded. The widespread and unprecedented usage of
    patronage resulted in corruption, which fundamentally destabilized the
    regime. Legitimation was modified since 2013 to a more Malay-centric and
    Islamist discourse. Because of this shift, legitimation eroded among ethnic
    and religious minorities. The prime minister’s legitimacy shrank due to
    corruption scandals. This paper helps gauge the lacking complementarity
    of the pillars and the failures of an authoritarian regime in crisis, which is
    important also with a view to political developments in Malaysia since 2018.

    Journal

    Pacific Affairs

    Volume

    2022

    Number

    3

    Pages

    447-468

    Notification

    Sign up to receive email notifications about GIGA activities

    Social Media

    Follow us