We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
To save content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about saving content to .
To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge-org.demo.remotlog.com
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
This book explores the interconnection between geopolitical context and the ways this context frames our knowledge about Asia, highlighting previously neglected cause–effect relations. It also examines how various knowledge institutions promote and shape Asian Studies. The authors seek to explain why Asian Studies and its subfields developed in the way they did, and what the implications of these transformations might be on intellectual and political understandings of Asia. The book not only builds on the current debates on the decolonization and de-imperialization of knowledge about Asia; it also proposes a more multifaceted view rather than just examining the impact of the West on the framing of Asian Studies.
Prior to the era of globalization, education in Southeast Asia was viewed in the context of the national state and it was deployed in the service of state and nation-building and national economic development. States monopolized education, and public-funded centralized education systems were established to teach literacy, transmit national cultures and promote social cohesion, and to produce literate workers. Globalization forces, however, dramatically impacted in varying ways and degrees the national education systems across the region. As states begun to see their citizens as resources to enhance the countries' competitiveness in the global market, it, among other things, led to the increasing demand for highly skilled and qualified human capital. The accompanying neoliberal ideology led to varying degrees of decentralization, privatization and internationalization of education, especially of higher education, in Southeast Asia. The chapters in this volume focus on a number of issues and challenges confronting the education sector in Southeast Asia, including: (i) the contrasting language in education policy in Singapore and Malaysia; (ii) the introduction of an English-medium private education sector in Malaysia; (iii) the internationalization of Thai higher education; (iv) access and quality issues in the massification of Malaysian higher education; (v) secondary school quality and higher education participation in Indonesia;(vi) equity, access and retention in primary school education in Malaysia; and(vii) reforms in the primary and secondary education in Myanmar.
This volume is based on papers from the second in a series of three conferences that deal with the multi-scalar processes of heritage-making, ranging from the local to the national and international levels, involving different players with different degrees of agency and interests. These players include citizens and civil society, the state, and international organizations and actors. The current volume focuses on the role of citizens and civil society in the politics of heritage-making, looking at how these players at the grass-roots level make sense of the past in the present. Who are these local players that seek to define the meaning of heritage in their everyday lives? How do they negotiate with the state, or contest the influence of the state, in determining what their heritage is? These and other questions will be taken up in various Asian contexts in this volume to foreground the local dynamics of heritage politics.
The past decade has witnessed rapid development in ASEAN-China relations. Both sides now have more in common than before, though differences still exist. ASEAN and China have established a promising strategic partnership ensuring peace, stability, co-operation as well as prosperity for the region.New challenges will, however, continue to emerge to test the resolve of the partnership. This book examines some of the areas of convergence and divergence and the possible trajectories of the development of ASEAN-China relations.
How can public enterprises be made more efficient? Where should the line between public and private production be drawn? What can countries do to minimize the losses sustained by public enterprises? What is the current perception of the role of the state in production in Southeast Asia, and particularly in ASEAN? What are the political, legal and administrative constraints pertaining to the divestment and/or marketization of public enterprises? Is the situation in Southeast Asia different from that in Europe? These are some of the questions this volume tackles.
This work is the result of collaborative research between ASEAN and Japanese scholars. It consists of two parts. The first focuses on the experiences and technology development efforts in ASEAN by ASEAN researchers. The second focuses on Japanese researchers' perceptions on ASEAN needs and performances in technology development; and Japan's historical experience as a recipient of international technology transfer.
The Malay World (Alam Melayu), spanning the Malay Peninsula, much of Sumatra, and parts of Borneo, has long contained within it a variety of populations. Most of the Malays have been organized into the different kingdoms (kerajaan Melayu) from which they have derived their identity. But the territories of those kingdoms have also included tribal peoples – both Malay and non-Malay – who have held themselves apart from those kingdoms in varying degrees. In the last three decades, research on these tribal societies has aroused increasing interest.This book explores the ways in which the character of these societies relates to the Malay kingdoms that have held power in the region for many centuries past, as well as to the modern nation-states of the region. It brings together researchers committed to comparative analysis of the tribal groups living on either side of the Malacca Straits – in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore. New theoretical and descriptive approaches are presented for the study of the social and cultural continuities and discontinuities manifested by tribal life in the region.
With the rise of India and China, the rest of Asia is feeling the great impact of socio-economic changes and challenges created by these twin engines of progress and cooperation. The question on the minds of regional analysts is: Where is Russia in the midst of these vast changes? What is its role? How and why is a great power like Russia adopting such a low profile in the region? In what ways can ASEAN engage Russia?Currently, Russia's interaction with ASEAN is limited to dialogue between both parties; trade between both sides is categorized by Russian arms sales and ASEAN raw materials. This book sets out to help explain these anomalies and puzzles, by examining the state of relations between Russia and selected individual ASEAN countries. Several interesting ideas are offered, such as a proposal for a Russia-ASEAN FTA; building tourism/business bridges through budget airlines; and proposals to strengthen and energize the ASEAN-Russia dialogue.
European economic integration has gathered new momentum since Member States of the European Community (EC) signed the Single European Act in February 1986 aimed at creating a region with no internal frontiers and with free movement of goods and services, capital, labour and the professions by the end of the year 1992. Since then, numerous decisions have been made by EC heads of governments , the EC Council of Members, the EC Commission, the European Parliament and the twelve national parliaments in order to achieve this ambitious goal. As third world countries are increasingly becoming more aware of the emerging internal EC market, they are increasingly concerned about the implications and repercussions of this single European market on their future economic relations with the EC and the impact on their national economies.
This study is a collaborative effort between officials and researchers from the transitional economy of Vietnam and researchers from the market economies of Japan and ASEAN. The first section covers aspects of the reform process undertaken in Vietnam as perceived by Vietnamese officials and scholars, and includes rare data and statistics. Section two deals with relevant aspects of the process of deregulation, liberalization and privatization experienced in Japan and the ASEAN countries. The final section provides recommendations for consideration by Vietnam's economic reform planners. Vietnam became a member of ASEAN on 1 July 1995. This study can possibly contribute to Vietnam's integration into the ASEAN economies.Contributors includePhan Van Tiem Nguyen Van Thanh Nguyen Ngoc Tuan Ngo Tri Long Ho Phuong Nguyen Van Huy Tran Van Nghia Le Dang Doanh Kiyoshi Nakamura Faisal R. Harahap Mukul G. Asher Ian Thynne
This volume consists of six substantive contributions covering a range of economic and political/security concerns including AFTA and intra-regional trade liberalization; foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia; EU-ASEAN relationships, ASEAN and the security of Southeast Asia, and ASEAN in the 21st century.
Excerpt: "We at the end of the Cold war can also draw some lessons from that experience. We can take encouragement from the Un Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali's blueprint to make the UN a more effective global security instrument. But the UN cannot do it all. There are vital supporting roles to be played by regional and sub-regional organizations in building a viable world order within the current UN framework. I must emphasize the contribution which these organizations can make to security not only in their own neighbourhoods but also globally though putting forward their own ideas on this subject in the international debate. ASEAN should do this with confidence, bearing in mind its successful record of solving the non-Cold War problems of state development of the post-1945 period.
This book, a project of the ASEAN-China Study Programme of ISEAS, is designed to promote a better understanding between the people of the two regions as China continues to exert a dominant political and economic presence in Southeast Asia. Needless to say, scholars and academics from both sides have a significant role to play in terms of creating greater awareness of each other through research, workshops, and conferences. Whilst many universities and research institutes in the ASEAN region are conducting studies on various aspects of China, it is equally important for the Chinese counterparts to be fully engaged in Southeast Asian Studies in order to deepen their knowledge of the region for mutual benefit. The book traces the development of Southeast Asian Studies in China, discusses the current status of these studies, examines the problems encountered in the pursuit of these studies, and attempts to evaluate their prospects in the years ahead.
ASEAN has produced a plan of action on ASEAN Economic Integration, which is annexed to the Bali Concord II. To kick-start the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the plan of action provides numerous policy recommendations to be implemented over the next 1 to 2 years. At the track-two level, research institutes/think-tanks such as ASEAN-ISIS, ISEAS and CSIS (Jakarta) have contributed concept papers on the AEC and the ASEAN Security Community (ASC).Against this backdrop, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) organized the ASEAN Community Roundtable in Singapore from 4 to 5 June 2004. The main theme of the Roundtable was entitled "Towards Realizing an ASEAN Community".This Roundtable provided the opportunity for scholars and experts on ASEAN to "brain-storm" in a more comprehensive and integrated manner, the different ideas and proposals underpinning the process of community building that ASEAN is embarking upon. This report reflects the conclusions that emerged from the ASEAN Community Roundtable.
The expansion of the Cholas from their base in the Kaveri Delta saw this growing power subdue the kingdoms of southern India, as well as occupy Sri Lanka and the Maldives, by the early eleventh century. It was also during this period that the Cholas initiated links with Song China.Concurrently, the Southeast Asian polity of Sriwijaya had, through its Sumatran and Malayan ports, come to occupy a key position in East-West maritime trade, requiring engagement with both Song China to the north and the Chola kingdom to its west. The apparently friendly relations pursued were, however, to be disrupted in 1025 by Chola naval expeditions against fourteen key port cities in Southeast Asia. This volume examines the background, course and effects of these expeditions, as well as the regional context of the events. It brings to light many aspects of this key period in Asian history.Unprecedented in the degree of detail assigned to the story of the Chola expeditions, this volume is also unique in that it includes translations of the contemporary Tamil and Sanskrit inscriptions relating to Southeast Asia and of the Song dynasty Chinese texts relating to the Chola Kingdom.
This book looks at Islam and its strategic implications for Southeast Asia. Part I outlines Islamic doctrine and traces the history and growth of Islamic economic institutions in the region. In Part II, politics, governance, civil society and gender issues are examined in the context of Southeast Asian Islam. Part III devotes itself to the impact of modernization and globalization on Muslim society. Part IV examines and evaluates the impact of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the icons of the American superpower. The Conclusion offers some perspectives on the challenges and prospects for Islamic doctrine and practice in the context of Southeast Asia.
As the regional financial and economic crisis has bottomed out and the ASEAN countries are on the recovery path, this volume seeks to carry out a post-mortem on the crisis to evaluate the sustainability of the recovery and the long-term direction of the ASEAN economies. It also examines the challenges and competitiveness of these economies which have become significant issues in the post-recovery process. Since it is not sufficient to address the economic and financial aspects, the volume also looks at the human and social dimensions, such as food security, poverty, and cross-border pollution. Furthermore, in the wake of the regional crisis, ASEAN has been criticized as being ineffective. This has prompted a re-examination of the relevance of the regional grouping in its present form, evaluating ASEAN's performance, challenges and opportunities and assessing whether there is a need for change.
This book examines how media have brought about or paced dramatic political events in Southeast Asia over the last two decades. It highlights a situation where media dynamics are no longer a simple formula of state control versus media resistance. The state can propel its own media-liberalizing programme; civil society can be an enemy of press freedom; market forces and cultural mindsets are sometimes more potent agents of change than state-appointed media custodians. Practitioners, scholars and activists have come together in this volume to provide a diversity of narratives on subjects as varied as powerful politicians and marginalized transsexuals.
What is the relevance of civil society to people empowerment, effective governance, and deepening democracy? This book addresses this question by examining the activities and public participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the areas of religion, ethnicity, gender and the environment. Examples are taken from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. State regimes' attempts to co-opt the concept or reject it as alien to "Asian values" have apparently not turned out as expected. This is evident from the fact that many Southeast Asian citizens are inspired by the civil society concept and now engage in public discourse and participation. The experience of civil society in Southeast Asia shows that its impact -- or lack of impact -- on democratization and democracy depends on a variety of factors not only within civil society itself, but also within the state.