Asia goes to the polls

This year, hundreds of millions of voters across Asia will head to the polls in presidential, parliamentary, national, and local elections. These electoral contests have or will take place in vastly different political systems, including Taiwan in January, Indonesia in February, South Korea in April, and India in April and May. The wave of elections in Asia offers an opportunity to assess the strength of democratic institutions in the region, to identify the issues that drive voter mobilization across diverse populations, and to gauge the pull of the establishment versus the penchant for political change in the selection of national leaders. The outcomes of these elections will shape how important regional actors address their internal and external challenges. They will also inform crucial changes and continuations to the United States’ Asia policy ahead of a heated U.S. presidential election.

On March 20, the newly renamed Center for Asia Policy Studies (CAPS) in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings showcased its breadth and depth of expertise by gathering CAPS scholars to analyze the impact of this year’s Asian elections. They explored the nuances of specific contests and their broader implications for regional dynamics and U.S. policy. Forthcoming CAPS programming in the fall will delve further into the impact of the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Asia.

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