The origins and (failed) adaptation of a dominant party: The UMNO in Malaysia

Abstract

Why do some ruling parties attain dominance and remain in power? Focusing on a key case of a dominant party, the UMNO in Malaysia, this article explores its origins and an adaptation strategy under declining dominance. Regarding the origins, the article argues that a leader’s credible commitment to providing electoral security for local elites enables collective action to develop resource and spatial advantages. Specifically, the first section revisits the historical process and explains how an initial electoral setback provided leaders with an opportunity to launch administrative reforms, which enabled them to overcome local reluctance and promote the party as a centrist patron. The second section explores why the UMNO declined since 2008 and how it tried to survive. Based on a survey data analysis, it argues that the UMNO found room to play a spatial strategy of “Rikerian Offence” to reinforce its role as a chauvinistic patron, even at the cost of abandoning the center.