Zwischen dem Großen Erwählten und Westminster Überlegungen zum Demokratieverständnis von Aung San Suu Kyi

Abstract

Between the Great Elect and Westminster – Some Reflections on Aung San Suu Ky’s Concept of Democracy. In view of the elections in Myanmar held on November 8, 2015, the article investigates the concept of democracy set forth by the country’s best known politician, Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. She invokes two traditions of “democracy” that contradict each other in terms of the role of the opposition. The Buddhist concept of the Maha-sammata, the Great Select, that the Burmese leader invokes as a Burmese model of democracy is elected unanimously and for life. The relevance of this model for Burma’s and Myanmar’s political culture is substantiated by empirical evidence like the outcome of elections since the beginning of the twentieth century until the recent elections held in 2015. On the other hand, the leader of Myanmar’s most successful party looks at a Westminster style democracy based on the idea that a loyal opposition controls the government as a model for the country’s future political development. Even after the free and fair elections in 2015, it will be one of the most important tasks of Myanmar politics to solve this “opposition dilemma”.