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This book, a project of the ISEAS Malaysia Study Programme, documents the series of important events that have contributed to the warmer relations presently enjoyed by Singapore and Malaysia under Abdullah Badawi. The eight chapters cover background, solving bilateral ties, intensifying official visits, developing people-to-people contacts, deepening public sector economic ties, expanding private sector economic ties, renewing educational and sporting events, and uplifting future relations. Four useful appendices have also been included to provide the opinions of eminent persons on the current state of bilateral relations between the two close neighbours. In an era of rapid globalization and inter-dependence, the two countries have much to gain by maintaining harmonious relations and by strengthening economic cooperation to bring peace and prosperity to their people. The book provides readers, whether businessmen, analysts, politicians, students or policy-makers, with a greater appreciation of recent developments in the bilateral relationship that will have a profound impact on the future direction of the two countries.
What did the 2006 military coup show us? It demonstrated that the crux of the Thai crisis is far more serious and much wider in scope than had previously been thought. The monarchy is surely not a victim in the protracted conflict, but the root cause and continuing factor that has eroded Thai politics. The coup set in motion more prejudicial uses of the lèse-majesté law, and in the process, has led to more political prisoners. It has also shredded the military into several segments, turning generals into desperate royalists who continue to live off the monarchy in order to survive. Issues of violence in the Thai south and the Thai-Cambodian dispute became greatly intensified in the age of militarized politics. The coup also produced unique colour-coded politics and created crises of legitimacy. This book is a collection of essays that reflect developments in Thai politics in the post-coup period.
The book looks at how religion in Singapore is being subjected to the processes of modernisation and change. The Singapore State has consciously brought religion under its guidance. It has exercised strong bureaucratic and legal control over the functioning of all religions in Singapore. The Chinese community and the Buddhist Sangha have responded to this by restructuring their temple institutions into large multi-functional temple complexes. There has been quite a few books written on the role of the Singapore State but, so far, none has been written on the topic - the relationship between state, society and religion. It will help to fill the missing gap in the scholarly literature on this area. This is also a topic of great significance in many Asian, particularly Southeast Asian, countries and it will serve as an important book for future reference in this area of research and comparative studies.
After the fall of President Soeharto, there have been heightened attempts by certain groups of Muslims to have shari'a (Islamic law) implemented by the state. Even though this burning issue is not new, it has further divided Indonesian Muslims. The introduction of Islamic law would also affect the future of multi-cultural and multi-religious Indonesia. So far, however, the introduction of shari'a nationwide has been opposed by the majority of Indonesian Muslims. This book gives an overview of shari'a from post-Independence in 1945 to the most recent developments in Indonesia at the start of the new millennium.
This volume focuses on the theme of Human Security - a phenomenon increasingly in the news in Asia. The issues revolve around the security of the individual as opposed to the security of the state. They encompass some of the latest developments affecting or having implications for the well-being of the Asian individual since January 2010. Among them are Japan's triple calamity; Wikileaks; the Arab uprisings; and the death of Osama bin Laden. Issues discussed range from climate change and natural disasters; energy security; health, food, and water security to issues of internal challenges such as governance, politics and identity. The role of diplomacy in non-traditional security, as the larger conceptual framework within which human security resides, is also covered. This is the third volume of Strategic Currents, which publishes essays and commentaries first written for RSIS Commentaries by scholars, academics and associates of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.
This book provides valuable insight on the history of India from ancient times to 1600 CE for Indians and non-Indians, and for the Indian Diaspora, which is estimated to be over 25 million, spreading across no less than 110 countries.The chapters cover many important aspects of history, from the ancient urban culture of the Indus Valley Civilization; Vedic Age's lasting legacy, Hinduism associated with the two great epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata; and the founding of Buddhism and Jainism; to the Muslim conquests and the resultant Indo-Islamic and Mughal heritage.Indian influence travelled beyond its shores to Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan. The Angkor Wat, Borobudur and Prambanan temples reflect the cultural impact of the early Indian Diaspora. The famous Chinese monk Xuanzang who journeyed to Nalanda to study at that great University wrote extensively about India.This book will kindle interest in research on tracing the origins of the Indian Diaspora and the ancient ties that linked India to the rest of the world.
There are reasons for thinking that this is at last Indonesia's moment on the world stage. Having successfully negotiated its difficult transition to democracy after 1998, Indonesia has held three popular elections with a low level of violence by the standards of southern Asia. Recently its economic growth rate has been high (above 6 per cent a year) and rising, where China's has been dropping and the developed world has been in crisis. Indonesia's admission in 2009 to the G20 club of the world's most influential states seemed to confirm a status implied by its size, as the world's fourth-largest country by population, and the largest with a Muslim majority. Some international pundits have been declaring that Indonesia is the new star to watch, and that its long-awaited moment in the sun may at last have arrived.Those who know Indonesia well, like the experts writing in this book, are less easy to convince. In this volume they weigh the economic evidence (Ross Garnaut and M. Chatib Basri); the political equation between democracy and the massive obstacles to progress in corruption, inefficiency and legal inadequacies (Rizal Sukma and Donald K. Emmerson); and Indonesia's unrealized potential as a leader in matters environmental (Frank Jotzo) and Islamic (Martin van Bruinessen). The volume is rounded out by Scott Guggenheim's analysis of the potential for better performance in education, and by the longer-term considerations of Anthony Reid and R.E. Elson. Overall, the conclusion is one of cautious optimism, well aware of past disappointments."Perhaps, as the contributors to this eminently readable and thought-provoking volume suggest, Indonesia is finally emerging as the globally significant nation-state that it surely is. A timely and important publication that deserves to be widely read."–Hal Hill, H.W. Arndt Professor of Southeast Asian Economies, The Australian National University
Not just another book on ASEAN, this volume reappraises the organization from the inside, through controversial or perplexing issues such as the "ASEAN Way", the accession of the new members, including Myanmar, the principle of "non-interference", regional security, regional economic integration, the haze and SARS, and ASEAN's future.Written by a key player, the former ASEAN Secretary-General, this book will illuminate the inner workings of the key Southeast Asian regional institution. It is a must-read for journalists, policy-makers, political scientists and others who need an insiders' view on how ASEAN has evolved, how it operates and whether it will remain relevant in the evolving Asia Pacific and global order.
The vibrance and optimism in Southeast Asia during 1993 was palpable. In the wake of the end of the Cold War, the region built upon the development that was already on track. Even so, the pace has been surprising. Not only did the ASEAN economies perform well generally, Vietnam surged ahead in economic development, and Myanmar registered strong sings of economic growth. Politically, the region enjoys dynamic stability even though the South China Sea continues to pose a potential conflict area area, and a North Korean nuclear capability will be destabilizing. The political tranistion in Cambodia proved to be a greater success than anticipated. The major concern remains the question of an emerging power balance in the larger Asia-Pacific region, especially with the new economic weight of China. What will the next year look like? Follow and understand the fast-changing regional scene in Regional Outlook 1994-95.
This volume makes an important and unique contribution to scholarly understandings of migration and diversity through its focus on Asian contexts. Current scholarship and literature on processes of migration and the consequences of diversity is heavily concentrated on Western contexts and their concerns with "multiculturalism", "integration", "rights and responsibilities", "social cohesion", "social inclusion", and "cosmopolitanism". In contrast, there has been relatively little attention given to migration and growing diversity in Asian contexts which are constituted by highly distinct and varied histories, cultures, geographies, and political economies.This book fills this significant gap in the literature on migration studies with a concentrated focus on communities, cities and countries in the Asian region that are experiencing increased levels of population mobility and subsequent diversity. Not only does it offer analyses of the policies and processes of migration, it also addresses the outcomes and implications of migration and diversity – these include a focus on multiculturalism and citizenship in the Asian region, the emerging complex forms of governance in response to increased diversity, discussions of different settlement experiences, and the practices of everyday life and encounters in increasingly diverse locales.
Ethnic/racial relations have been a perennial theme in Southeast Asian studies. Current events have highlighted the tensions among ethnic groups and the need to maintain ethnic/racial harmony for national unity. This book analyses ethnic/race relations in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, with special reference to the roles of ethnic Chinese in nation-building. It brings together a group of established Southeast Asian scholars to critically examine some of the important issues such as ethnic politics, nation-building, state policies, and conflict resolution. These scholars of different ethnic origins present their own ethnic perspectives and hence make the book unique. This is the most up-to-date book on ethnic/racial relations with special reference to the ethnic Chinese in three Southeast Asian countries.
Stable monetary systems form one of the pillars on which rapid economics development in Southeast Asia in recent decades has been based. The same was true in the past. Monetary stabilization became as important issue after 1870, when silver depreciated rapidly against gold and Western countries switched to the gold standard. Colonial Indonesia followed the Netherlands in this respect. On the ardent advice of N.P van den Berg, then president of the central bank, the Java Bank, it was the first Asian country to stabilize its currency against gold, in this case against the gold-based Dutch guilder. Van den Berg was a prominent proponent of monetary stabilization and was well known for his contributions to he dicussion about currency systems and monetary policy in the government of British India, which was at the time exploring ways to achieve stabilization of the rupee. Both the arguments and the wealth of data in the reprint of this very rare book will be of interest to historians of Southeast Asia.
The "Asian migration" controversy of the 1980s in Australia was reminiscent of that a century earlier. However, as this first major study of the "new" Asian migration of the 1980s illustrates, the circumstances and characteristics have been vastly different. The study places Asian immigration in a broader international context in which the emigration to Australia is part of a wider pattern of population movements with diplomatic ramifications and economic implications for both Australia and the emigrants' homeland. This study provides key Australian comparative data to set against the extensive Asian emigration in the 1980s to USA, Canada and New Zealand
Competitiveness of a country requires continuous upgrading and, sometimes, major transformation. Thailand is at the crossroad. It can no longer pursue a strategy based on low-cost advantages, but its capability achievements are still too low to become an advanced economy. This book points out weaknesses of Thailand's national innovation system or education and suggests how the country should develop new capabilities to survive and prosper in the globalized and fiercely competitive world. It will be useful to researchers and students who want to learn more about Thailand and emerging countries, and also to policy-makers and executives involved in economic and industrial development.
Based on a decade of research in Indonesia, this book provides an in-depth account of the military's struggle to adapt to the new democratic system after the downfall of Suharto's authoritarian regime in 1998. Unlike other studies of the Indonesian armed forces, which focus exclusively on internal military developments, Mietzner's study emphasizes the importance of conflicts among civilians in determining the extent of military involvement in political affairs. Analysing disputes between Indonesia's main Muslim groups, Mietzner argues that their intense rivalry between 1998 and 2004 allowed the military to extend its engagement in politics and protect its institutional interests. The stabilization of the civilian polity after 2004, in contrast, has led to an increasing marginalization of the armed forces from the power centre. Drawing broader conclusions from these events for Indonesia's ongoing process of democratic consolidation, the book shows that the future role of the armed forces in politics will largely depend on the ability of civilian leaders to maintain functioning democratic institutions and procedures.
A burgeoning Japanese role in the Asia-Pacific region has been one of the most contentious issues to the Southeast Asian countries in recent years with its positive and negative implications. It is thus timely and significant to come to terms with Japan's "design" in the region from a historical perspective. Attributing Japan's active involvement in Southeast Asian affairs to the proclamation of the so-called Fukuda Doctrine of August 1977, this study traces the origins of Japan's political role in the region and analyses the development and effects of the very first Japanese foreign policy doctrine. As perhaps the most exclusive scrutiny on the Fukuda Doctrine as well as on Japan-ASEAN relations, this study renders a comprehensive history of Japan-Southeast Asia relations in the post-war period.
The rapid pace of economic development in Southeast Asia has involved a changing and often volatile relationship between traditional structures and values, and new structures associated with state and administrative power. In this volume, a variety of original perspectives is offered on crucial subjects, including region, the bureaucracy, the state and non-governmental organizations.
When Megawati Soekarnoputri became the President of Indonesia in July 2001, there were strong expectations. But so far, fundamental economic and political reforms have yet to be undertaken. The deadly Bali bombings on 12 October 2002 presented a wake-up call for the Megawati government. Terrorism on an international scale had now hit home. Now, more than ever, there is greater urgency on the part of the Megawati government to tackle the myriad of political and economic problems plaguing the country. This volume features some of the major issues that faced the Megawati government even before the devastating Bali attacks. The contributors include academics, practitioners and activists, offering a diversity of views.
Indonesia is experiencing an historic and dramatic shift in political and economic power from the centre to the local level. The collapse of the highly centralised Soeharto regime allowed long-repressed local aspirations to come to the fore. The new Indonesian Government then began one of the world's most radical decentralisation programmes, under which extensive powers are being devolved to the district level. In every region and province, diverse popular movements and local claimants to state power are challenging the central authorities. This book is the first comprehensive coverage on decentralisation in Indonesia. It contains contributions from leading academics and policy-makers on a wide range of topics relating to democratisation, devolution and the blossoming of local-level politics.
Like his great contemporaries Sun Yat-sen and Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Philippine patriot and polymath JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896) helped write the history of freedom in Asia. His two subversive novels and an immortal last poem helped inspire the first nationalist revolution on the continent and led to the founding of the first Asian republic. But what was Rizal's impact on the nationalist awakening in Southeast Asia? REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT argues that by infusing a revolutionary spirit into the struggle to create a Philippine nation in the late 19th century, Rizal ended up invigorating Indonesian nationalism and Malaysian scholarship, regional political discourse and world literature, in the 20thC and remains must reading in the 21st.