Brunei Darussalam

Brunei Darussalam's name — the Abode of Peace — is an apt one, for compared to some other Southeast Asian countries, it represents a model of stability.

The monarchical system is well entrenched, and will continue for the foreseeable future. Neither the current ruler, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan in the lineage, nor the Crown Prince and Deputy Sultan, Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, is in any hurry to change the national political order. The 62-year-old Sultan is relatively young in comparison with other monarchs around the world, and will likely to continue in his position; this is also the desire of his subjects who consider him the peoples' monarch. The father-son team will continue as Prime Minister and Senior Minister, and another member of the royal family, Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, is also likely to continue as Foreign Minister.

That there will be some generational change in the political system sometime in the next decade is evinced by the fact that the Crown Prince has assumed a more active and prominent role. For instance, Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah addressed the new session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2008, a task usually undertaken by the Sultan himself or the Foreign Minister. The visit also exposed him to other high-level diplomatic activity including the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, the special Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and dinners hosted by President George W. Bush and the Speaker of the UNGA. Those occasions did not fail to impress television viewers back home, who could see their young prince taking on important tasks of statecraft to equip himself for weighty responsibilities in the future.