Will Southeast Asia Go the Way of Populist Philippines?

President Donald Trump leaves Friday for a nine-day trip to Asia, a continent that has stayed relatively free of the populism that has washed over the United States and Europe. But populist sentiment could catch fire, especially in Southeast Asia, given historic anti-democratic undertones, and trigger regional instability. Regional security threats – first and foremost, terrorism – could add fuel to any populist fire in Southeast Asia.

• Former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence and Cipher Brief expert Carmen Medina defined the term populism as “a movement where the common people, which usually means the non-elite and often means the working class, feel they are being taken advantage of by the elite structure of society, and they begin to become a more effective political and social force around that idea to seek redress…that means populism can be a party of the left or a party of the right.”

Populism is currently strongest in the Philippines, as demonstrated by the election of President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte’s pledge to combat the drug trade and improve the country’s dire economic state struck a chord with the population, sparking his ascension to power.