This essay examines the political situation in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, set against the worst economic slump since the mid-1980s. It argues that the crisis will increase the pressure on governments to address social problems that were already emerging as a byproduct of rapid growth. Governments in the region are ill-equipped to deal with these problems, given the poorly developed state of democracy and institutions of civil society. The question is whether the economic slowdown will stimulate or further obstruct the process of political change