Message from the Director

Welcome to the Center for Asian Democracy!

The future of democracy across Central, East, South, and Southeast Asia remains an urgent global priority. The 2025 Varieties of Democracy (V-DEM) Democracy Report now rates South and Central Asia as the second-most autocratic region in the world, behind only the Middle East/North Africa. Pro-democracy leaders in Hong Kong faced mass trial under Beijing-backed national security legislation. Even South Korea, among the region’s most consolidated democracies, saw President Yoon Suk Yeol issue a shocking martial law declaration.

At the same time, Asia remains home to some of the largest scale, vibrant democratic participation in the world, even in tough times. Sri Lanka’s 2024 election seems to mark a new era in that country’s politics. Bangladesh saw popular protest force the Awami League from power. South Korean institutions ultimately withstood their crisis period, impeaching Yoon and rewarding the opposition in fresh elections. Challenges remain, in these cases and others, but the promise of democracy and human rights clearly holds continuing power.

The mission of the Center for Asian Democracy, established in 2006, is to promote research, student opportunities, and community engagement that advances our understanding of democracy in this diverse region. The 2024-25 academic year saw CAD deepen its extensive activities advancing scholarship, teaching and public engagement.

This year, we were especially excited to welcome Dr. Anirvan Chowdhury to CAD as our Endowed Chair in Asian Demcocracy. Chowdhury’s work is at the cutting edge of the intersection of religion and gender in Indian politics. It is another marker of CAD’s particular research expertise in the role of religion as a source of both democratic backsliding and resilience. We look forward to expanding the center’s international reputation in this area in the coming year.

 We invite you to join us in the work ahead.

David Buckley, PhD
Director, Center for Asian Democracy