Hasil untuk "Political institutions and public administration - Asia (Asian studies only)"

Zhanyu Liu, Yang Yu

Causal relationships play a pivotal role in research within the field of public administration. Ensuring reliable causal inference requires validating the predictability of these relationships, which is a crucial precondition. However, prediction has not garnered adequate attention within the realm of quantitative research in public administration and the broader social sciences. The advent of interpretable machine learning presents a significant opportunity to integrate prediction into quantitative research conducted in public administration. This article delves into the fundamental principles of interpretable machine learning while also examining its current applications in social science research. Building upon this foundation, the article further expounds upon the implementation process of interpretable machine learning, encompassing key aspects such as dataset construction, model training, model evaluation, and model interpretation. Lastly, the article explores the disciplinary value of interpretable machine learning within the field of public administration, highlighting its potential to enhance the generalization of inference, facilitate the selection of optimal explanations for phenomena, stimulate the construction of theoretical hypotheses, and provide a platform for the translation of knowledge. As a complement to traditional causal inference methods, interpretable machine learning ushers in a new era of credibility in quantitative research within the realm of public administration.

Elinda Novita Dewi, M. Nurfaizi, Arya Rahardja et al.

This study examines the relationship between social media penetration and voter turnout in Southeast Asia using a multi-country comparative design based on publicly available survey data. Drawing on cross-national evidence, the analysis shows that social media access is associated with higher voter turnout, but only under specific political, institutional, and social conditions. Countries with competitive elections, higher institutional trust, and credible information environments display stronger turnout effects linked to social media use, while contexts characterized by patronage-based mobilization and political uncertainty show weaker or uneven outcomes. The study further demonstrates that campaign strategies on social media shape participation through personalization, network-based diffusion, and emotional framing, often mobilizing particular voter segments rather than the electorate as a whole. Social inequalities in education, income, gender, and civic capacity significantly moderate these effects, limiting the participatory gains of digital expansion for marginalized groups. Overall, the findings suggest that social media acts as a conditional amplifier of electoral participation rather than a universal driver of voter turnout in Southeast Asia.

Baburam Bhul

This study examines the adaptability of ‘Batho Pele’ principles, also called ‘People First,’ of South Africa to the public service delivery in Nepal, which is experiencing a federal transition. As a developing nation, Nepal’s public service delivery is often hindered by inefficiency, a lack of transparency, and low citizen engagement. While the Constitution of Nepal promised inclusive and accountable governance, the public service remains beset by bureaucratic inertia, political instability, and structural exclusion. Drawing on qualitative interpretative literature reviews, the paper examines the Batho Pele principles of consultation, service standards, access, courtesy, information, openness, redress, and value-for-money in a contextual setting to reflect on their suitability to Nepal's federal, culturally diverse governance landscape. According to the analysis, Batho Pele provides not only administrative mechanisms but also a normative framework for citizen-first governance, addressing Nepal’s fragmented reforms as isomorphic mimicry. The study emphasizes the importance of adaptive policy translation over wholesale or ad hoc model adoption, drawing on comparative insights from South African experiences. Finally, this study contributes to the broader discourse on policy transfer and public service innovation, offering practical recommendations for integrating Batho Pele values into Nepal’s evolving federal public administration and inclusive public service delivery framework.

Sovanna Huot

Abstract This current study explores Cambodia’s evolving political development and its efforts toward inclusive governance. It synthesizes recent progress across key sectors, including youth empowerment, gender equity, education reform, cultural revival, economic diversification, and environmental sustainability, while assessing how these transformations reflect broader shifts in governance priorities within a hybrid political system. Following the 2023 generational transition, Cambodia has embarked on a new political trajectory that emphasizes modernization, equity, and diplomatic engagement. The administration’s pentagonal strategy highlights national goals such as human capital development, digital economy growth, climate resilience, and public service reform. This argues that while the structural dominance of the ruling party persists, there are tangible indicators of policy innovations, civic inclusion, and technocratic governance. Through the lens of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s democratic philosophy, anchored in education, dignity, participation, and justice, the review offers normative framework to assess Cambodia’s current political maturity. It explores how Ambedkarite values resonate within Cambodia’s efforts to foster youth political participation, expand gender-sensitive institutions, democratize education, and pursue environmental stewardship rooted in local agency. The study also identifies key challenges to inclusive governance, including youth unemployment, digital rights restrictions. Methodologically, the review draws on policy documents, NGO reports, academic literature, and comparative frameworks to provide a multidisciplinary analysis, including positioning Cambodia as a model of adaptive governance in Southeast Asia, one where developmental political system, elite continuity, and bottom-up social mobilization interact in dynamic and sometimes contradictory ways. This contributes to the broader field of political science by emphasizing the importance of studying emerging democracies through interdisciplinary, postcolonial, and ethically grounded lenses. Cambodia’s experience offers critical lessons for transitional states navigating the tension between centralized power and inclusive political renewal. Keywords: Cambodia, inclusive governance, youth empowerment, Ambedkar, hybrid regime, gender equity, political development

Daniil Igorevich Molokoedov

The article "US Policy in Southeast Asia in the context of the "turn in the Asia-Pacific region"" analyzes Washington's strategic reorientation towards the Asia-Pacific region, aimed at strengthening its position in the face of China's growing influence. Key aspects of American policy are considered, including the military-strategic presence, economic initiatives (the Indo-Pacific Strategy and participation in the CPTPP), as well as diplomatic cooperation with regional partners, including the ASEAN countries. Special attention is paid to the goals of the United States: curbing Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea and supporting multilateral cooperation. The author explores the evolution of approaches of various administrations (from B. Obama to D. Biden), emphasizing the changes in the implementation of the "U-turn". Challenges are highlighted, including balancing between allied commitments, internal political contradictions in the United States, and the ambiguous reaction of Southeast Asian countries to increased competition between the great powers. The study is based on a comparative analysis of the approaches of the three American administrations (Obama, Trump, Biden) to the implementation of the strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as on the basis of official documents (National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy), public statements by the presidents and diplomatic initiatives). Institutional analysis of the role and effectiveness of the multilateral structures and alliances created by the United States as tools for deterring China The scientific novelty of the study lies in a systematic and comparative analysis of the evolution of the "pivot to Asia" strategy over the course of three US administrations, demonstrating not a paradigm shift, but a tactical adaptation of a single strategic goal. Despite tactical and stylistic differences, all three administrations (Obama, Trump, Biden) pursued a common strategic goal – to contain China's growing influence and preserve American leadership in the Asia-Pacific region. Obama relied on multilateral economic (TPP) and diplomatic instruments. Trump moved to open confrontation, protectionism, and an emphasis on bilateral power and trade deals. Biden synthesized approaches, returning to the rhetoric of multilateralism and working with allies, but preserving and strengthening the tough anti-China core of Trump's strategy, as well as institutionalizing the QUAD format. The deepening US-China rivalry poses serious challenges for ASEAN, forcing it to maneuver and threatening its unity and central role in the regional architecture.

Karl Lester R. De Vera

This study explores the populist sentiments that emerged during the administration of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, focusing on how these sentiments were articulated and sustained among the grassroots population. Drawing from qualitative-descriptive methodologies, including semi-structured interviews and participant observation, the research investigates the public’s perception of Duterte’s governance, particularly in the context of service delivery, foreign policy, and political controversies. The paper situates Duterte’s leadership within the broader global trend of right-wing populism, characterized by anti-elitist rhetoric, strongman governance, and a binary narrative of “the people” versus “the elite.” By analyzing interviews with selected supporters and conducting a thematic coding of their responses, the study reveals that Duterte’s popularity was rooted in his performance-oriented governance style, his direct communication with the masses, and his ability to channel public grievances into political support. The findings contribute to the understanding of the populist political style in Southeast Asia and offer insights into the enduring appeal of populist leaders even amid democratic backsliding. The study also raises implications for future electoral behavior and the resilience of democratic institutions in the Philippines.

Bhaso Ndzendze

Abstract South Africa joined BRICS with the aim of benefiting from enhanced trade with the grouping, which encompasses four of the largest economies in the world. This article undertook an empirical review to determine an answer to the following research question (RQ): whether South Africa’s exports to the original four BRIC/BRICs member countries had grown and diversified following its membership over the first fourteen-year timeframe (2010–2024)? Across these, decline was identified in the findings, demonstrating that South Africa’s participation in the group has performed below its potential and stated rationale. The article notes a growing trade deficit and lack of industrialised imports from South Africa, especially when compared with the EU and the US. This is shown to be mainly due to South Africa’s asymmetrical openness towards the BRICs, including having the single-lowest tariff rates towards the other four members at 4.9 to 5.3%, while the next lowest BRICs’ general tariff is at 10.3%. Against these findings, the article makes the case for a BRICS Plus treaty in order to eliminate any tariff and non-tariff barriers, as well as formulate realistic expectations and obligations for internal cohesion and external engagement based on credible commitment.

Ian Olivo Read

This paper explores the intersection of artificial intelligence and higher education administration, focusing on liberal arts colleges (LACs). It examines AI's opportunities and challenges in academic and student affairs, legal compliance, and accreditation processes, while also addressing the ethical considerations of AI deployment in mission-driven institutions. Considering AI's value pluralism and potential allocative or representational harms caused by algorithmic bias, LACs must ensure AI aligns with its mission and principles. The study highlights other strategies for responsible AI integration, balancing innovation with institutional values.

Waseq Billah

Social media broadly refers to digital platforms and applications that simulate social interactions online. This study investigates the impact of social media platforms and their algorithms on political interest among users. As social media usage continues to rise, platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) play increasingly pivotal roles in shaping political discourse. By employing statistical analyses on data collected from over 3,300 participants, this research identifies significant differences in how various social media platforms influence political interest. Findings reveal that moderate Facebook users demonstrate decreased political engagement, whereas even minimal engagement with X significantly boosts political interest. The study further identifies demographic variations, noting that males, older individuals, Black or African American users, those with higher incomes show greater political interest. The demographic analysis highlights that Republicans are particularly active on social media - potentially influencing their social media engagement patterns. However, the study acknowledges a crucial limitation - the lack of direct data regarding the content users are exposed to which is shaping their social media experiences. Future research should explore these influences and consider additional popular platforms to enhance the understanding of social media's political impact. Addressing these gaps can provide deeper insights into digital political mobilization, aiding policymakers, educators, and platform designers in fostering healthier democratic engagement.

Stavros Anagnou, Christoph Salge, Peter R. Lewis

Institutions play a critical role in enabling communities to manage common-pool resources and avert tragedies of the commons. However, a fundamental issue arises: Individuals typically perceive participation as advantageous only after an institution is established, creating a paradox: How can institutions form if no one will join before a critical mass exists? We term this conundrum the institution bootstrapping problem and propose that misperception, specifically, agents' erroneous belief that an institution already exists, could resolve this paradox. By integrating well-documented psychological phenomena, including cognitive biases, probability distortion, and perceptual noise, into a game-theoretic framework, we demonstrate how these factors collectively mitigate the bootstrapping problem. Notably, unbiased perceptual noise (e.g., noise arising from agents' heterogeneous physical or social contexts) drastically reduces the critical mass of cooperators required for institutional emergence. This effect intensifies with greater diversity of perceptions. We explain this counter-intuitive result through asymmetric boundary conditions: proportional underestimation of low-probability sanctions produces distinct outcomes compared to equivalent overestimation. Furthermore, the type of perceptual distortion, proportional versus absolute, yields qualitatively different evolutionary pathways. These findings challenge conventional assumptions about rationality in institutional design, highlighting how "noisy" cognition can paradoxically enhance cooperation. Finally, we contextualize these insights within broader discussions of multi-agent system design and collective action. Our analysis underscores the importance of incorporating human-like cognitive constraints, not just idealized rationality, into models of institutional emergence and resilience.

Margarida Mendonca, Alvaro Figueira

Social media has reshaped political discourse, offering politicians a platform for direct engagement while reinforcing polarization and ideological divides. This study introduces a novel topic evolution framework that integrates BERTopic-based topic modeling with Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) to analyze the longevity and moral dimensions of political topics in Twitter activity during the 117th U.S. Congress. We propose a methodology for tracking dynamic topic shifts over time and measuring their association with moral values and quantifying topic persistence. Our findings reveal that while overarching themes remain stable, granular topics tend to dissolve rapidly, limiting their long-term influence. Moreover, moral foundations play a critical role in topic longevity, with Care and Loyalty dominating durable topics, while partisan differences manifest in distinct moral framing strategies. This work contributes to the field of social network analysis and computational political discourse by offering a scalable, interpretable approach to understanding moral-driven topic evolution on social media.

Anuratha Rajasegaram, S. Kumaran, Paran Gani

Environmental injustice has emerged as a defining yet under-examined dimension of rapid development in Southeast Asia. This study critically analyses how pollution burdens are unevenly distributed across socio-economic groups, with low-income and marginalised communities experiencing disproportionate exposure to hazardous air, water, and land contamination. Drawing on regional evidence and country-level case studies, the analysis situates environmental harm within historical legacies of colonial urban planning, post-colonial industrialisation, and contemporary governance failures. Pollution exposure is shown to be shaped not merely by proximity to industrial or infrastructural sources, but by entrenched inequalities in land tenure, political representation, regulatory enforcement, and access to public services. Low-income communities are systematically positioned within high-risk environments through informal settlement patterns, weak zoning regulations, and uneven state investment, while simultaneously lacking institutional capacity to contest these arrangements. The findings highlight how environmental injustice in Southeast Asia operates through a multi-vector pollution framework in which air, water, and land contamination intersect with labour precarity, inadequate sanitation, and transboundary environmental flows. Health impacts, including respiratory illness, waterborne disease, and toxic exposure, are concentrated among populations already burdened by poverty, social exclusion, and limited healthcare access. The study further demonstrates that existing policy responses often prioritise technological fixes and economic growth over distributive equity, failing to address cumulative exposure and structural vulnerability. By integrating environmental justice theory with regional political-economic analysis, this study argues that addressing pollution in Southeast Asia requires not only environmental regulation but transformative governance reforms, participatory planning, and rights-based approaches that centre affected communities as key agents of change rather than passive victims of development.

Todorova Bogdana Yordanovna

After 1991, all former republics of the USSR built new independent states on a fundamentally different basis – the interaction between government and society. Nowadays, the countries in Central Asia are trying to develop an Islamic public administration as a distinctive social institution. A historical over-view demonstrates how Islamic governance principles and religion influence the administrative system. The interaction between historical traditions and modern administrative requirements have created hy-brid institutional forms. Public administration is defined as a dynamic system capable of adapting the institutions of state power and the executive bodies to the rapidly changing requirements of society in the process of structural reforms. The study presents a systematic comparison of administrative ap-proaches and the influence of Islamic governance across the four selected countries. National democra-cies have Islam as a specific “political code” embedded in their new systems of governance. Recogniz-ing the potential of Islamic approach to address modern challenges, the work contributes to a deeper understanding of Islam and public administration in Central Asia.

N. Nggilu, Mohamad Rivaldi Moha, Chami Yassine et al.

Constitutions, as the highest legal documents, often include Eternity clauses to protect core values that remain unalterable. In Southeast Asia, countries implement these clauses in various ways, reflecting the region’s complex social, political, and historical contexts. This study examines how Southeast Asia countries apply immutability clauses and assesses their impact on legal stability and political reform. Using a multidisciplinary comparative approach, the research focuses on the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar, analyzing the variations in their design and implementation. The study finds that Unamendable clauses help protect fundamental values such as the rule of law, democracy, and territorial integrity. However, these clauses also generate tensions between the need for stability and the demand for legal flexibility. The study’s novelty lies in its multidimensional analysis, which links law, politics, and culture, offering insights into the relevance of unamendable clauses amid modern challenges such as globalization and democratic pressures. By integrating legal, political, and social dimensions, the research shows that legal stability requires not only formal protection through unamendable clauses but also strong institutions and active public participation. These findings provide important insights for policymakers in Southeast Asia countries and contribute to the global literature on constitutional law.

Nadeem Iqbal, Talha Waheed, Muhammad Irfan Yousuf et al.

This study aims to fill a prominent gap in identifying the contributions of South Asian researchers to the field of crime prediction, leveraging advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques. By conducting a bibliometric analysis, this research investigates regional efforts in applying artificial intelligence to analyze and predict crime, addressing the specific roles and impact of South Asian scholars in this global domain. For analysis, the authors used a structured query on the Scopus database. A total of 1,325 documents were retrieved; however, only 628 relevant studies were selected after a rigorous filtering process. The selected documents were analyzed for publication trends, country-specific contributions, notable authors and institutions, citation trajectories and popular publishing venues. This study observed a significant increase in publication output, with an annual growth rate of 15.5%, which underscores the region’s growing interest and recognition of AI’s potential in crime prediction. India leads in this field, contributing 537 documents, while the Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan reported no publications. Moreover, a total of 387 different publication venues were observed, with IEEE Access being the most frequent, by publishing 10 documents. The study relies solely on Scopus-indexed documents, potentially excluding valuable work from non-indexed or local journals. The bibliometric approach emphasizes quantitative trends and does not account for the qualitative depth, societal relevance or implementation outcomes of the research. Language and regional biases may have influenced inclusion, as only English-language publications were considered. Unveiling the bibliometric trends and insights of advanced AI-based techniques for crime prediction and summarizing them in one place can help policymakers, law enforcement agencies and researchers make informed decisions and foster collaborations (Campedelli, 2021). It can help a new researcher in the field to find prominent scientists and institutions to collaborate with. Moreover, by shedding light on the underexplored contributions of South Asian researchers in the field of AI-based crime prediction, this research not only fills a critical knowledge void but also paves the way for more inclusive and representative global discourse in technological advancements. Furthermore, the study provides policymakers and law enforcement agencies with valuable insights into how AI is being leveraged in diverse socio-political contexts, enabling more tailored and effective crime prevention strategies. Ultimately, the bibliometric evidence gathered serves as a strategic resource for shaping future research directions, enhancing regional visibility and guiding investment in AI-driven public safety initiatives. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to offer a detailed bibliometric analysis of AI-driven crime prediction research specific to South Asian authors. By identifying contributions and investigating collaborative and publishing patterns, the research provides a foundation for advancing regional efforts. This study helps to identify the leading institutions and authors in South Asia working in the domain of crime prediction, enabling future academic and interdisciplinary collaborations.

Lavanya Deepika Tigga, P. Topno

Guided by the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), business schools aim to equip future business leaders with skills, attitudes, and beliefs needed to balance economic and sustainability goals. The integration of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into PRME principles is to shape the student’s mindset, skills, and capabilities towards green growth. However, the integration of sustainability themes into Master of Business Administration (MBA) curricula by business schools has often been driven more by political expediency and normative pressures than by genuine institutional commitment. While RME has been extensively studied in western contexts, research in Asian contexts, particularly India, remains limited. Responsibility in the Indian context entails being sensitive and addressing the needs of undermanaged societal sectors. Leading institutions, such as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), were founded with a vision to advance this mission through socially responsible management education. While Indian business schools have begun to adopt and engage with RME, the complexities still remain and visible disparities between the public and private schools exist. Prior research has found that Indian business schools undergo various challenges in incorporating RME into their curriculum. The change in curriculum design with a mandate to adopt the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has further brought the trade-offs between sustainable and quality management education and commodified management education. Moreover, the persistent trade-off between profitability and responsibility continues to influence pedagogical choices and employability outcomes. To address these concerns, this study seeks to identify the practices and initiatives taken regarding Responsible Management Education within business schools to ensure inclusion of sustainability context in the curricula, which creates the next generation of responsible leaders. The study adopted a qualitative approach using the content analysis method to assess the sharing information on progress (SIP) reports published between January 2023 and December 2024. This paper offers an interdisciplinary contribution to the fields of higher education management, responsible leadership, and sustainability, integrating insights across these domains to advance scholarly discourse and practice.

Zhiqiang Sun, Yuan Yi

The dynamics of China‐Japan relations have been a major focus among international relations (IR) scholars of East Asian security studies for a long time, and 2012 was marked as a critical juncture for Japan to decisively transform its policies toward China. Under the administration of Shinzo Abe, Japan has taken a stable, long‐term, and very tough stance toward China, while strengthening its balancing capabilities at the domestic level and even guiding the USA to contain China in the emerging Indo‐Pacific geopolitical space proactively, which can be summarized as “hyper‐balancing.” This article deploys the Neoclassical Realist perspective to explain this policy transformation since 2012. Specifically, it argues that the escalation of China‐US strategic competition on the global stage and the power transition between China and Japan in East Asia provided the opportunity for Japan to transform its China policies. Moreover, the rapidly deteriorating public opinion on China in Japanese society during Abe's second premiership, alongside Shinzo Abe's neoconservative policy preferences on China‐Japan relations and Japan's institutional reforms to enhance its state capacities for implementing foreign and security policies, further facilitated this process. It is contended that the intersection of the systemic pressures and the societal‐political changes at the unit level from 2012 to 2020 significantly reshaped Japan's China policies and laid a new foundation for China‐Japan relations in the long term. As the China‐US strategic competition drags on, there will be very little, if any, space for China and Japan to substantially improve their bilateral relations in the post‐Abe era.

Simona Fioretto, Elio Masciari, Enea Vincenzo Napolitano

Efficient and effective service delivery in Public Administration (PA) relies on the development and utilization of key performance indicators (KPIs) for evaluating and measuring performance. This paper presents an innovative framework for KPI construction within performance evaluation systems, leveraging Random Forest algorithms and variable importance analysis. The proposed approach identifies key variables that significantly influence PA performance, offering valuable insights into the critical factors driving organizational success. By integrating variable importance analysis with expert consultation, relevant KPIs can be systematically developed, ensuring that improvement strategies address performance-critical areas. The framework incorporates continuous monitoring mechanisms and adaptive phases to refine KPIs in response to evolving administrative needs. This study aims to enhance PA performance through the application of machine learning techniques, fostering a more agile and results-driven approach to public administration.

Zeger van der Wal, Assel Mussagulova

The concept of public service motivation (PSM) was introduced more than three decades ago. Although the field continues to be dominated by research from the US and Western Europe, a growing number of studies utilise data from elsewhere, gradually expanding the geography of PSM. With this recent research, the field has started to answer the call of PSM’s founder (Perry, 2014) for more research into what he called “multi-incentive” settings, where the status of PSM is less clear due to historical and cultural factors. In the first systematic review of non-Western PSM scholarship, namely, research published outside the US, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand published in reputable English-language outlets, Van der Wal (2015) appraised the state of the art and proposed a research agenda. This agenda contained three key areas: (1) cultural values and societal disposition, (2) distribution and interplay between different types of motivators, and (3) relations between PSM, public service ethos, and institutions in developing political economies. In a recent follow up review, Mussagulova and Van der Wal (2021) noted a further extension and expansion of PSM scholarship across the globe. In particular, they reported that non-Western PSM scholarship is growing, and increasingly using contextual variables to explain variance in findings in comparison with Western studies. That being said, ample opportunity remains for leveraging contextual and regional particularities to build a more distinct body of scholarship. We acknowledge that the effort to promote regional and global perspectives on PSM is more than the sum of journal submissions. It is about working closely with scholars in non-Western institutions, encouraging research in under-represented contexts, building ongoing conversations among colleagues spanning institutional, geographical, and ideological boundaries. This is especially pertinent in the post-pandemic world that saw the emergence of new work modes, management challenges, budgetary restrictions, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). In the first special issue of Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration on public service motivation, published in September 2022 (V44.2), we featured articles that focused on the global relevance of the concept. This second special issue on public service motivation emphasises regional perspectives, It includes four articles addressing gaps in PSM scholarship drawing on a variety of perspectives, and exploring the empirical nature of PSM situated in China, Pakistan, Turkey, and Vietnam. Each article brings a unique perspective on PSM and goes beyond simply testing it in a different context. We note the emergence of two distinct themes in this special issue: the role of societal and religious values in shaping PSM, and the relationship of PSM with other important variables that yield useful public management lessons. Both themes are important, timely, ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION 2023, VOL. 45, NO. 3, 244–247 https://doi.org/10.1080/23276665.2023.2237619

Santa Bahadur Thapa

This study measures corruption using survey data, newspaper reports, court records, anti-corruption agency records, and other sources. Corruption and problems with the government have been significant problems in South Asia since the early 1980s. The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from Transparency International is recommended because it is a “robust” indicator that looks at many different ways to measure political corruption in each country. The root causes of corruption in South Asian countries, however, are a monopoly of government-controlled institutions, excessive regulations, convoluted tax and licensing systems, numerous government departments with opaque bureaucracies and discretionary powers, and a lack of transparency in laws and procedures. Tax evasion, which helps black money accumulate and lowers public morale, has a substantial negative impact on the economies and politics of South Asian nations. Since the 1980s, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Bangladesh have all been officially charged with corruption. In addition, political rivals and the media frequently accuse the prime ministers of Sri Lanka and Nepal of corruption. In Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other South Asian countries, political bribery is widespread. In 2002, General Pervez Musharraf passed stringent election laws that forbade politicians convicted of a crime from seeking office. The rule’s detractors believe that applying it would prevent the civilian community’s two most influential political figures from challenging the military administration in elections later this year.