Will Malaysia Follow the Path of Taiwan and Mexico?
This essay focuses on the subset of semiauthoritarian systems that Beatriz Magaloni calls hegemonic-party autocracies. In such autocracies, a single party or coalition holds power without interruption for several decades under semiauthoritarian conditions while conducting regular multiparty elections. Within this category, the experiences of Mexico and the Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan) from the l980s to 2000 are particularly helpful in illuminating the current political dynamics in Malaysia and its prospects (or lack thereof) for democratization.
Going to the ground (or AstroTurf): a grassroots view of regime resilience
ABSTRACT While disproportional resources and curbs on civil and political rights clearly matter to electoral authoritarian persistence, long-term acculturation to political norms and modes of governance on the ground in such regimes – of which Singapore and Malaysia are the most durable examples – complicate transformation. A combination of what amounts to classic machine politics with the structural “assist” of sub-par elections renders electoral authoritarianism extraordinarily increasingly resilient over time, not just because it is hard or unlikely for voters to vote in new leaders, but also because the aspiring or elected opposition may end up reproducing rather than subverting key attributes of that regime. Clientelist political praxis may be highly responsive, offer direct accountability, and align with voters’ rational self-interest, at least in the short term. However, its persistence impedes pursuit of new ideological or programmatic objectives, perpetuates piecemeal and inefficient allocation of resources, assumes that most voters should expect little from state policies, and discourages attention to proactive legislation, in favour of a more localized, reactive politics. A machine-oriented political regime, then, is not only exceptionally hard to shake, but suboptimal in the long term.
Semiautomated quantification of the fibrous tissue response to complex three-dimensional filamentous scaffolds using digital image analysis.
Fibrosis represents a relevant response to the implantation of biomaterials, which occurs not only at the tissue-material interface (fibrotic encapsulation) but also within the void fraction of complex three-dimensional (3D) biomaterial constructions (fibrotic ingrowth). Usual evaluation of the biocompatibility mostly depicts fibrosis at the interface of the biomaterial using semiquantitative scores. Here, the relations between encapsulation and infiltrating fibrotic growth are poorly represented. Virtual pathology and digital image analysis provide new strategies to assess fibrosis in a more differentiated way. In this study, we adopted a method previously used to quantify fibrosis in visceral organs to the quantification of fibrosis to 3D biomaterials. In a proof-of-concept study, we transferred the "Collagen Proportionate Area" (CPA) analysis from hepatology to the field of biomaterials. As one task of an experimental animal study, we used CPA analysis to quantify the fibrotic ingrowth into a filamentous scaffold after subcutaneous implantation. We were able to demonstrate that the application of the CPA analysis is well suited as an additional fibrosis evaluation strategy for new biomaterial constructions. The CPA method can contribute to a better understanding of the fibrotic interactions between 3D scaffolds and the host tissue responses.