the phenomenon of low population growth in pre-colonial southeast asia is often interpreted in terms of epidemic disease, internecine warfare or cultural idiosyncracies affecting the birth rate. the modern population boom, in these analyses, results from medical and public health improvements, military pacification or foreign cultural influences. this article, by contrast, argues that in indonesia and the philippines population growth has typically been a result of economic growth, and that the general sparsity of the population in early historical times reflected the low ‘carrying capacity’ of the environments in question under the prevailing economic conditions.

this article analyses the socioeconomic relations of manila cigar-makers, who had strong bargaining power vis-à-vis management during the american colonial period. focusing on a structural economic depression which took place in the mid-1920s, the study considers the evolution of these workers' lives in terms of skills, autonomy, stratification and cohesiveness at their work sites.

britain and indonesia approached the brink of war at the height of the sunda straits crisis in september 1964. using newly released declassified archival records, this study reviews the supposed british deterrence success. the factors behind successful indonesian deterrence during the crisis contradict the prevalent view that statesmen should refrain from brinkmanship since they are unlikely to achieve their political goals at minimum costs to themselves.

this article examines the recent debate on the position of syari'ah in indonesian constitutional amendments (1999–2002). the article operates at two levels: a historical review of the debate on islam and state in indonesia and a theoretical effort to situate the indonesian debate in the broader context of debates over islam and constitutions. it argues that the rejection of the proposed amendment to article 29, dealing with islam, has shown that indonesian islam follows the substantive approach of syari'ah, not the formal one.

this article explores changing attitudes towards courtship and marriage among educated muslim javanese youth, as seen against the backdrop of islamic resurgence, growing educational achievement and socioeconomic change. through a comparison of earlier forms of courtship and marriage with emerging trends, it sheds light on some of the tensions and ambivalences surrounding the new social freedoms and autonomy modern javanese women have come to enjoy.

this article challenges the dominant paradigm of ‘inclusive syncretism’ in the study of thai religion. by taking the worship of multi-original deities in the popular spirit-medium cults in contemporary thailand as a case study, it argues that practitioners and specialists working on thai religious studies need to refresh and update their analytical paradigm to incorporate the concept of ‘hybridization’.