Repression on Civil Society Organizations in Southeast Asia

By: Hugo Tai
Feb 15, 2022


Civil society organizations (CSOs) are often the first to bear the brunt when democracy is in decline. This week’s Graph of the Week demonstrates changes in governments’ repression of CSOs in Southeast Asia from 2010 to 2020. Red dots reveal that governments have increased repression of CSOs in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia.

The plummeting score for the Philippines reflects a worsening situation under the leadership of Duterte, especially after he labelled activists as “terrorists” and signed the anti-terror law for warrantless arrests. In Indonesia, CSOs are under increasing pressure, and the government for example announced several measures to ban political rallies and allow online monitoring. Thailand banned criticism and news that “cause public fear” and has sought to pass a law targeting NGOs. Finally, Cambodia ordered foreign groups to leave and cracked down on the opposition.