1993年聯合國世界人權會議所通過的〈維也納宣言和行動綱領〉 (Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action)指出’民主、發展、以及尊重人權和基本自由之間有著相互依賴的彼此強化的關係。然 而，這樣的主張究竟是有其實存的基礎支持？抑或僅爲規範性理想的 陳述？本文主要的目的，在於從實證的視角檢視東南亞地區自1980 年代以來的人權政治實踐，分析影響東南亞地區人身自由權保障的內 外因素。研究發現，國內因素較國際因素更能夠解釋東南亞地區人權 保障的行爲模式。常見的「民主-人權」命題並非單一絕對，對於不 同類型的人身自由權，民主的抑制效果並不盡相同。甚至在劇烈的政 治變遷過程中，酷刑虐待出現的機率反而上升，這意味著在面臨國際 人權的理念壓力時，不同的壓制策略之間可能出現彼此替代的效果。

The 1990s witnessed the rise of the Asian values debate as governments in Southeast Asia rejected the idea of universal human rights. Nevertheless, critical developments in human rights promotion and protection have occurred in the last decade across countries in the region. This article offers an empirical analysis of human rights politics in Southeast Asia from 1981 to 2008. With a focus on personal integrity rights, it is found that domestic-level factors are more critical than external forces in understanding the actual level of rights protection in Southeast Asian countries. Human rights treaty ratification and foreign aid fail to facilitate rights protection. Additionally, the constraining effect of democracy on human rights violation is not uniform. The results suggest that the relationship between democracy and human rights varies from one type of personal integrity rights to another, and implies the substitutability of repressive strategies employed by state authority toward its people.