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Series:   Elements in Politics and Society in Southeast Asia

State and Sub-State Nationalism in Southeast Asia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 December 2024

Jacques Bertrand
Jacques Bertrand
Affiliation:
University of Toronto

Summary

Nationalism is a political phenomenon with deep roots in Southeast Asia. Yet, state attempts to create homogenous nations met with resistance. This Element focuses on understanding the rise and subsequent ebbing of sub-state nationalist mobilization in response to state nationalism. Two factors allowed sub-state nationalist movements to be formed and persist: first, state nationalisms that were insufficiently inclusive; second, the state's use of authoritarian tools to implement its nationalist agenda. But Southeast Asian states were able to reduce sub-state nationalist mobilization when they changed their policies to meet two conditions: i) some degree of explicit recognition of the distinctiveness of groups; ii) institutional flexibility toward regional/local territorial units to accommodate a high degree of group self-governance. The Element focuses on four states in the region – namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Myanmar.
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Keywords

East Asian politics and societyAsian studiesinternational relationspolitical economycomparative politics
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in Politics and Society in Southeast Asia
Online ISBN: 9781009583046
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 09 January 2025

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