Party Competition and Ethnic Outbidding in Malaysia, 2015-2024

초록

This study examines how shifts in Malay-party competition sustained racial and religious political conflict in Malaysia from 2015 to 2024. Using comparative historical analysis and process tracing, it compares electoral authoritarian rule, the Pakatan Harapan government, and the post-Sheraton era. The study argues that democratic opening reconfigured, rather than eliminated, ethnic outbidding among UMNO, PAS, and PPBM. As the number, strength, and coalition positions of credible Malay-Muslim claimants changed, parties used institutional authority, opposition mobilization, religious appeals, and communal delegitimation to assert superior authenticity. The findings show that democratic progress does not necessarily produce communal moderation automatically in plural societies.

키워드