COMMENT | Misunderstanding regime change

COMMENT | Regime change means the replacement of one government regime with another. Modern use of this term dates to at least 1925. Change takes place in some or most parts of the government’s critical systems, administrative apparatus or bureaucracy.

It can be the deliberate product of outside forces, as in warfare. Regime change can also occur internally, by revolution, coup d’état or reconstruction following the failure of a state. When we speak of a regime, we are speaking of a perspective of social theory.

From a social theory perspective, defining a regime draws upon philosophy and social science. One framework, the structuralist perspective, explains the fundamental power structure of society. It looks at long term historical developments of society. It means looking at society in a holistic manner.

Do we in Malaysia, do this?

Regime thinking originated from ancient Greece. The Greeks called it politeia. It is the central concept of Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics and features prominently in Thucydides’ historical writings.

For the ancient Greeks, regime was a social, cultural and economic category, just as it was a political category. Looking holistically in this manner allows the members of that society to see a complete picture of their life, their useful role, and solidarity in that society.

So, politeia, according to Aristotle, is an arrangement of society’s parts. The most powerful part differs in different societies. In Malaysia, it is obviously ethnicity and wealth, and all means to project both.

In Malaysia, we have difficulty ...