"With the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and Cory Aquino?s earlier people?s power revolution, it indeed seemed that the world, and Southeast Asia too, would be shaped by economic and political freedom, i.e., by the free market economy and "middle class" democracy. The 1988 uprising in Burma which toppled Ne Win?s one-man rule seemed part of a global democratization process. Quite unexpectedly, however, outside actors -- Singapore, China, and the Thai military -- stepped in to shore up the new military junta..."