Bangladesh, Aug. 28 -- ixty years ago, harsh autocratic rule dominated a region at the eastern edge of a continent. Quixotic quests for political change seemed to have little chance of succeeding-until they did. By the end of the 20th century, competitive elections had become the norm, and former political prisoners were leading governments. Despite recent setbacks, voters in one of these countries just reversed years of authoritarian drift, joining forces to oust a would-be dictator.

I could be describing Central and Eastern Europe's trajectory from the Cold War to the recent election defeat of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. But my description applies just as well to East and Southeast Asia.

In 1966, autocratic rule pre...