Democracy is a difficult subject for Asia. Leaders may no longer advocate ''Asian values'', but they still tend to shy away from discussing the internal politics of their neighbour. And when they do, they almost never talk about it in terms of democracy.
This may be about to change. The Bali Democracy Forum, an Indonesian initiative co-chaired by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, began yesterday.
A gathering of all East Asian nations, including China and other assuredly non-democratic states, it represents an attempt to place democracy squarely on Asia's regional agenda.
This will not be easy. But it is well past due. All other major world regions now include an explicit commitment to democracy as part of their regional membership requirements.
The European Union is the standout example, requiring all countries to meet stringent conditions of political openness, human rights and a free press before they can be considered for membership. This has done more than anything since the fall of communism to encourage freedom in Eastern Europe.
Similarly, the club rules of the African Union and Latin America's Mercosur grouping now include specific commitments to democratic rule. Countries which fail to meet this criteria are suspended from the club until they return to democratic rule.
No such commitments exist in Asia. Democracy is not mentioned in the founding statutes of any of Asia's key regional bodies such as the Association of South-East Asian Nations ASEAN or ASEAN + 3 (which adds China, Japan and Korea).
If it was, most member countries would be ineligible. Only Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and (perhaps) the Philippines would currently pass the mark.
The Bali Democracy Forum is thus a historic attempt to put the issue of democracy squarely on Asia's regional agenda. While it is unlikely to produce any major breakthroughs, the mere fact that the gathering is taking place is significant in several respects.
First, it represents a coming-out party for Indonesian democracy itself. The political progress made in that country over the past decade is little short of remarkable. Ten years ago Indonesia was one of Asia's most enduring autocracies, beginning its third decade of rule under Suharto.
Now it is easily South-East Asia's most democratic country, and one the world's very few successful examples of democracy in a Muslim country. Its success gives the lie to oft-heard claims about the incompatibility of Islam and democracy.
The invitation list for the Bali Democracy Forum also deserves attention. It defines Asia broadly along geographic rather than cultural lines. In so doing, it includes participation not just of ASEAN but also the core Asian civilisations of China, Japan, and India, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
This essentially mirrors the composition of the nascent East Asia Forum, begun three years ago, which bridges civilisational schisms as potential building blocks for future Asian regionalism. It marks an increasingly influential vision of the region as a geographic rather than a cultural entity.
This broadness is also a weakness, however.
In the name of inclusiveness, the forum includes some of Asia's most repressive regimes, including Burma, China and Vietnam. At the same time, it excludes the United States, which has been sponsoring its own alternative grouping, the Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership, which is restricted to genuine democracies.
Naturally enough, the Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership includes the US and excludes non-democracies such as China. But the limited enthusiasm shown in the region for this idea suggests it is unlikely to survive the end of the Bush Administration.
The Bali forum, by contrast, has the potential to be an important step not just for democracy in Indonesia, but also for Asia more broadly.
And it underlines the fact that, contrary to proponents of ''Asian values'', Asia's past record of authoritarianism is unlikely to guide its future.
Benjamin Reilly is a political science professor and director of the Centre for Democratic Institutions at the Australian National University.