In early August, against a backdrop of deadly student-led protests, Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned her position, bringing to a close a political dynasty that stretched back to the country’s founding.
This week, students took to the streets on the other side of Asia, to protest against amended election laws that have helped foster the establishment of a new dynasty. In a few weeks Prabowo Subianto will be sworn in as Indonesia’s president – and with him his vice-president, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 36-year-old son of current leader Joko Widodo.
Across the continent, the rise and fall of leaders, soundtracked by the cries of demonstrators, is both a testament to the resilience of Asia’s political dynasties, and a warning to the few influential families which have for decades seen power passed between them.
“Democracy is a virtue, but it doesn’t work properly when you have such huge social and economic inequalities and the opportunities to have an influence are so unequal,” says Prof Vedi Hadiz, director of the Asia Institute at the university of Melbourne.
Political dynasties are far from unique to Asia; November’s US presidential election will be the first since 1976 without a Bush, Clinton or Biden on the ticket. However, in Asia, at least seven countries are run by family members of former rulers.
Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Laos and Brunei are all led by the children of former leaders. In Pakistan the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, is the brother of former leader Nawaz Sharif, who is in a coalition with a party led by the son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, while Indonesia’s president-elect, Prabowo Subianto is the ex-son-in-law of former dictator Suharto.
Weak political parties, the cost of campaigning and closed political networks all help to explain the longevity of Asia’s political families, says Dr Ken Setiawan, senior lecturer in Indonesian studies at the University of Melbourne.
In the Philippines 2022 presidential election, local media reported that eventual winner Ferdinand Marcos Jr – himself the son of a former president – spent more than $11m on his campaign, the majority of which came from contributions.
“It’s very easy to promote or nominate family members,” says Setiawan. “Which makes it really difficult for people to come through the grassroots.”
Pancakes and allegations of nepotism
In 2014, Indonesia broke free of years of dynastic politics, when it elected Joko Widodo, or “Jokowi”, the first president not to have come from Indonesia’s military or political elite.
Jokowi rose from humble beginnings in his grandfather’s furniture factory, through positions in local politics and on to the governorship of Jakarta. His status as a political outsider saw him garner widespread support.
Ten years on Jokowi’s image has been transported from the cover of Time Magazine to the hands of protesters, who accuse him of nepotism and destroying democracy.
Last week, thousands of Indonesians took to the streets to protest planned changes to electoral laws which would have paved the way for Jokowi’s youngest son to run in elections in this November by tweaking rules on age requirements.
“There is a lot of anger,” says Setiawan. “This is someone [Jokowi] who 10 years ago was labelled a hope for democracy.”
A similar scandal played out in November when an Indonesian court overturned a rule stating only candidates over 40 could seek the presidency, allowing Jokowi’s eldest son to run for vice-president.
Jokowi has been trying to secure his political influence beyond the two terms of his presidency, says Setiawan.
“That has a lot to do with his own political priorities and his big infrastructure drive. A lot of those projects that have been started, but haven’t finished yet,” she says.
Along with allegations of nepotism, questions over the capabilities and experience of Jokowi’s son have been rife. Gibran ran a chain selling pancakes before he was elected mayor of Solo in 2020.
Prior to the presidential election, he rebuffed accusations that he had received poor grades at univeristy, with some even questioning the authenticity of his degree. Gibran eventually produced his diploma from the UK’s University of Bradford, inadvertently opening up new attack lines from those opposed to his candidacy.
Political dynasties help to perpetuate high levels of inequality in Asia, says Hadiz, with educational opportunities often afforded to only a minority of powerful families
“That equips you further to consolidate your position within society,” he says.
It’s an accusation evidenced in the CVs of a generation of political scions.
Like Gibran, Thailand’s new leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra – the fourth member of the Shinawatra family to become prime minister – studied in the UK, graduating with a degree in hotel management from Surrey University.
In 2023, Cambodia’s longtime leader Hun Sen handed power to his son, Hun Manet, who studied at the University of Bristol. The Philippines president Marcos attended Worth School in West Sussex and Oxford University, though he did not complete his degree.
‘A leadership vacuum’
Despite anger from voters in some countries, any real political opposition to dynastic politics remains fragmented and disorganised, says Hadiz.
The congress in the Philippines – which has elected four presidents who were descendants of political families since 2001 – has recently blocked a bill to define and ban family dynasties from politics. A 2022 study found that almost 80% of the country’s congress are from political families.
“You could have an eruption of protests like you did in Indonesia a couple of days ago,” says Hadiz, “but once the controversy has passed the groups will disband.”
When Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh, the student movement that helped to oust her celebrated the end of one of the world’s most enduring political dynasties, that began when her father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, led his country to independence in 1971.
As the country welcomes a new interim leader, Hasina’s son, who acts as an adviser to his mother, called the students “very ungrateful”. Sajeeb Wazed Joy said his mother would be retiring to spend time with her grandchildren.
Days later, in an interview with Indian media, Joy said that although he had never had “any political ambition”, the country was facing a “leadership vacuum”.
Stating that he would do anything to save his mother’s political party, the grandson of Bangladesh’s founder said that he was ready to enter politics.
