The chapter examines how civil society leadership has been addressed in key debates on civil society in Southeast Asia, and provides suggestions for how these debates can benefit from advancing the research agenda on civil society elites. It appears in the Routledge Handbook of Civil and Uncivil Society in Southeast Asia, edited by Eva Hansson and Meredith L. Weiss, which explores the nature and implications of civil society across the region. The Handbook is available here as open access.