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Political accountability is a crucial element of any democracy since it is a safeguard against power abuse and corruption, both urgent problems of many political systems in Southeast Asia. Based on social science theories, the author analyses from a comparative perspective the ways institutional engineering concerning different dimensions of political accountability influenced the quality of democracy in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. By highlighting the successes and shortcomings, this book evaluates the degree these institutional reforms resulted in the deepening, stagnation, or regression of the respective democratization processes in these three Southeast Asian countries.
This edited volume examines the concept of overhangs or legacies or negative stereotypical images in international relations and their impact on bilateral relations between geographically proximate states in East Asia. The case studies chosen – Japan-Korea, Japan-China, Vietnam-China, Thailand-Myanmar and Thailand-Cambodia – demonstrate conclusively that bilateral overhangs or legacies have a significant impact on contemporary international relations. Such images are regularly replicated and stoked by a variety of constituencies including state agencies for their own selfish interests. The evidence also points to the fact that such bilateral relationships are relatively self-contained and often operate with their own dynamics. Powerful condensation symbols are appropriated to weave a story of the virtuous self and the stereotypical other. This negative image and its replication is important to an understanding of turbulent bilateral relations in East Asia and also helps to inform how such relations can be brought to an even keel.
The second edition of Population Policies and Programmes in Singapore presents an up-to-date and comprehensive account of the government's initiatives to influence the course of fertility, and hence the rate of population growth in the island-state of Singapore since the 1960s. The varied population issues and consequences associated with the prolonged below-replacement fertility are discussed in detail. The strength of the book lies in the author's intimate familiarity with the subject acquired through some personal involvement in the formulation of population policies for the country.
Singapore's Malay (Muslim) community, constituting about 15 per cent of the total population and constitutionally enshrined as the indigenous people of Singapore, have had its fair share of progress and problems in the history of this country. While different aspects of the vicissitudes of life of the community have been written over the years, there has not been a singularly substantive published compendium specifically about the community - in the form of a Bibliography - available. This academic initiative fills this obvious literature gap. The scope and coverage of this Bibliography is manifestly comprehensive, encompassing the different sources of information (print or non-print) about the many facets of life of the Republic 's Malays/Muslims - such as education, economy, politics, culture, history, health, language, religion, arts, and more. The result is a Bibliography that is arguably the most expansive, if not exhaustive treasury collection about the community, ever available anywhere. Scholars and researchers in particular and the public in general should find this Bibliography a highly valuable, indispensable source of information about the rich and varied life of Singapore's Malay/Muslim community, stretching a period of two centuries - from the time of Stamford Raffles in 1819 until today.
The year 2015 has special significance for regional economic integration. The ASEAN Community, integrating the political, economic and social aspects of regional cooperation, will complete its first milestone by December 2015. Expectations of tangible benefits under an ASEAN Economic Community have attracted much attention though many of the initiatives will be realized post-2015.
Following the policy of open regionalism, ASEAN has also signed free trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Japan and South Korea. It has launched negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement in 2013, with expected breakthrough by end-2015.
The Southeast Asian economies are also involved in two other regional initiatives. First is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), initiated by the United States. As part of the U.S. 'pivot to Asia', the TPP is envisioned as a 'comprehensive and high-quality' agreement and has concluded its negotiation in October 2015. Second, the discussions on regional connectivity have broadened; China has emerged as a recent lead proponent with its proposals for 'One Belt, One Road' and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
All these together have implications not only for individual Southeast Asian countries but also for regional trading architecture. To aid in understanding the beginnings, development, and potential of these grand plans, this collection of 22 essays offers a rich analysis of ASEAN's own economic integration and other related initiatives proliferating in the broader Asia-Pacific region.
Malaysia is among the most ethnically diverse and culturally rich nations on earth. Yet much of its cultural wealth lies buried beneath the rubric of its main Malay, Chinese and Indian 'race' categories; the dazzling diversity within and outside these groups remains largely unexplored. This book uncovers some of this fascinating diversity through the stories of five little-known acculturated ethnic groups in Peninsula Malaysia. The author, a Malaysian sociologist, delivers an insightful and lucid study of these groups, with some surprising findings. These communities illustrate how much more cross-cultural mingling, sharing and co-dependence there is within Malaysian society than we care to recognize, admit or celebrate. This raises various questions: Is a similar process of spontaneous inter-ethnic interaction possible between larger ethnic groups today? How can we foster such acculturation, and can it by itself contribute to ethnic harmony? The author also discovers that despite their long settlement and deep acculturation, segments of these groups are anxious about their future, and pine for an indigenous identity. What are the implications of this trend for ethnic relations, and how can it be resolved?
This book traces the acculturation journey of these communities and draws lessons for ethnic relations in one of the most complex multi-ethnic nations in the world. It will appeal to scholars, students, laymen and visitors interested in migration, history, culture, ethnicity and heritage in Malaysia and the region.
Revisionist' or 'alternative' historians have increasingly questioned elements of the Singapore Story – the master narrative of the nation's political and socioeconomic development since its founding by the British in 1819. Much criticism focuses especially on one defining episode of the Story: the internal security dragnet mounted on 2 February 1963 against Communist United Front elements on the island, known to posterity as Operation Coldstore. The revisionists claim that Coldstore was mounted for political rather than security reasons and actually destroyed a legitimate Progressive Left opposition personalized by the charismatic figure of Lim Chin Siong – rather than a dangerous Communist network as the conventional wisdom holds. Relying on both declassified and some previously unseen classified sources, this book challenges revisionist claims, reiterating the historic importance of Coldstore in helping pave the way for Singapore's remarkable journey from Third World status to First in a single generation.
This book examines the energy resource relations between China and ASEAN countries. It addresses the following issues: as the world energy demand shifts East because of the rise of China, ASEAN community and other emerging Asian economies, and as the Greater Indian Ocean and the South China Sea become the world's energy interstates, will geopolitical tensions over energy resources spark conflicts in the region, especially in the South China Sea? Against the background of China's rise and its growing influence in Southeast Asia, will China's quest for energy resource cooperation be viewed as a threat or opportunity by its neighbouring countries? Since the United States, Japan and India are important players in Southeast Asia, does the shifting geopolitics of energy give these big powers a new strategic tool in an intensifying rivalry with China? Or does the changing geopolitics of energy resources create more areas of shared interests and opportunities for cooperation between these big powers to balance, rather than increase, tensions in Southeast Asia?
This book will be of interest to anyone who is keen to learn how the world, especially the United States, can accommodate and adapt to the new global energy dynamics and how China and ASEAN operate as new players in global and regional energy markets.
Dr Comber's account of General Templer's administration in Malaya as High Commissioner and Director of Operations (1952–54) during the Malayan Emergency departs from the usually accepted orthodox assessment of his time in Malaya by focusing on the political and socioeconomic aspects of his governance rather than the military. In doing so, Dr Comber has relied mainly on primary and other first-hand sources, including the confidential reports sent from Malaya by the Australian Commission to the Australian government in Canberra, and the private papers of some of the leading Malayan politicians of the time with whom Templer had dealings which have been deposited in the ISEAS Library, Singapore, many of which have not been used before. The evidence and facts that Dr Comber marshals in this study reflect well the reservations that were often felt about General Templer's authoritarian form of government. While he was a good general and had an impressive military record, his administration in Malaya was marred by a lack of understanding of the background to Malaya's history and the subtleties that are inherent in its culture and way of life which would have enabled him to come to terms more easily with the aspirations of the Malayan people for self-government and independence.
Troubled Transit considers the situation of asylum seekers stuck in limbo in Indonesia from a number of perspectives. It presents not only the narratives of many transit migrants but also the perceptions of Indonesian authorities and of representatives of international and non-government organizations responsible for the care of transiting asylum seekers. Fascinated by the extraordinary and seemingly limitless resilience shown by asylum seekers during their often lengthy and dangerous journeys, the author highlights one particular fragment of their time in Indonesia, which many expect to be the last stepping stone to a new life. While they long for their new life to unfold, most asylum seekers become embroiled in the complexities of living in transit. Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is more than a location where people spend time waiting; it is a nation state that interacts with transiting asylum seekers and formulates policies that have a profound impact on their experience in transit there. Troubled Transit tries to explain the complexities faced by the transiting migrants within the context of the Indonesian government and its political challenges, including its relationship with Australia. The Australia-centric view of recent asylum seeker issues has tended to ignore the larger socio-political context of the migratory routes and the perspectives of transit states towards asylum seekers stuck in transit. This book hopes to direct the Australia-centric gaze northwards to take Indonesian policies and policymaking into account, thereby giving Indonesia more relevance as a transit country and as an important partner in regional protection schemes and migration management. Even though some Indonesian policies and practices are less than favourable for asylum seekers, and even reprehensible from a human rights perspective, more attention must be paid to ongoing developments that impact on transiting asylum seekers in Indonesia if any of the hardships they suffer there are to be alleviated.
The second edition of this book presents a most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the multiracial population of Malaysia, with painstaking effort and skill of the author in interpreting the vast array of materials and statistics at his disposal. The strength of the book lies in the author's deep familiarity with the country where he was educated up to secondary level, taught for some time in the University of Malaya, and was even involved in the planning of population censuses. The book is indispensable to policymakers and social scientists who wish to seek a greater understanding of the demographic issues facing the country.
Discontent and frustrations around the world fuel commotion and rebellion against the global model. How did we get into this mess? How do we get out of it? Why doesn't globalization work? The author puts forward solutions to the most challenging transition civilization has ever faced: from individual Societies to full Humanity. M¿ller shows how the understanding of groups and values is the key to making our economics and politics work again.
This collection of essays on the Singaporean writer and artist Arthur Yap is dedicated to his multifaceted creative work and makes it accessible to both general and academic readers. It features new and innovative essays on Yap's prose, poetry and paintings by an international group of scholars and critics. The essays approach Yap's work through literary and analytical methods drawn from postcolonial criticism, ecocriticism, studies of urban spaces, visual art and sexuality, with particular consideration for how his work contributes to a specifically Singaporean form of postcolonial critique.
With the rise of China and massive new migrations, China has adjusted its policy towards the Chinese overseas in Southeast Asia and beyond. This book deals with Beijing's policy which has been a response to the external events involving the Chinese overseas as well as the internal needs of China. It appears that a rising China considers the Chinese overseas as a source of socio-political and economic capital and would extend its protection to them whenever this is not in conflict with its core national interest. The impacts on and the responses of the relevant countries, especially those in Southeast Asia, are also examined.
"This book marks a major contribution since the work of Tan Liok Eee (1997) on the Dongjiaozong movement in Malaysia. The author's familiarity with both popular and academic writings in Mandarin has yielded rare, first-hand, and often bottom-up views on the Dongjiaozong movement from actors directly involved in the movement. As a result, readers get a better understanding of the personalities, leadership dynamics, creative strategies of control and resistance within this social movement as well as its ability to exploit political vulnerabilities and interpersonal relationships to cajole, negotiate and arm-twist the state in its bid to defend Chinese education in Malaysia. This book will be of interest to practitioners in the fields of political science and Malaysian studies, in general, and the study of state-society relations and social movements in non-liberal democratic contexts, in particular." - Associate Professor Goh Beng Lan, Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore
The unprecedented results of the 2008 national elections took many Malaysians by surprise. The component parties of the ruling coalition suffered huge losses, while the opposition was victorious in several states. Many media scholars and political pundits, including politicians, pointed to the online platform as a democratic tool that had increased support for the opposition. In the 2013 election the ruling party turned its spotlight on new media to try to regain voter support. In order to obtain a better understanding of the much-touted democratizing effects of the online media, this book employs an alternative lens to examine the use of new media at the intersection of social and political realities. It explores the ways individual political bloggers, Facebookers and Twitterers used cyberspace to battle for voter support in the 2008 and 2013 national elections. It examines the cultural practices and the social and political affiliation and aims of individual actors, as well as the social ties that subsequently emerged from the use of the online media. This research employs a political economy approach to the media, Habermasi's notion of the public sphere, and the social determinism perspective in order to understand the extent to which online media can enrich political life and bring about new ways of campaigning.
India's emergence of a great power has sensitized its regional neighbours to its growing role as a key security actor in an increasingly interdependent world. Both Australia and ASEAN now view India as a major player in the formulation and application of their own broad security agendas. This emerging trilateral compendium is particularly evident in such policy areas as maritime security, climate change, energy security, law enforcement, "good governance" and the politics of security institutions or "architectures". This book represents one of the first systematic efforts to consolidate these diverse but important concerns into an overarching framework for ascertaining and cross-comparing how these three entities are approaching these policy challenges, individually and collectively. It argues that the dynamics underlying their intensifying security relations are sufficiently important to conceptualize them as a distinct analytical framework that needs to be understood in the larger context of Asia-Pacific security politics.
Information and communication technologies have long promised to provide quality education, improve healthcare, allow open government, and solve environmental issues. To realize this potential and influence policy-making and programme design, the Singapore Internet Research Centre, supported by the IDRC, created an innovative research capacity-building programme, SIRCA. The programme supports interdisciplinary ICTD research through the nurturing of research relationships. By bringing together experienced mentors with deserving early-career Asian researchers in an intellectually stimulating environment, SIRCA has fostered a cohort of talent capable of generating the rigorous scientific evidence needed. Their stories, and reflections upon the programme, are told here. If ever it needed demonstrating that ICTs are an indispensable tool for developing an information society rather than a reward for achieving it, then the SIRCA programme has achieved that.
Indonesia now has its first woman President -- Megawati Sukarnoputri. The debates surrounding her elevation to the presidency brought issues of gender and politics to the forefront of the public agenda, raising crucial questions about the role that women are to play in public life in post-Soeharo Indonesia. The struggle to achieve a democratic transition following the fall of Soeharto's New Order in 1998 has also focused attention on issues of equity and gender justice. This book explores gender relations in Indonesia and presents an overview of the political, social, cultural and economic situation of women. The volume is Indonesia Assessment 2001, a result of the annual Indonesia Update conference organized by the Indoneisa Project and the Department of Political and Social Change at the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, ANU.
Geography has moulded Singapore's self-definition, much as it has shaped the contours of the rest of Southeast Asia, a region that lies south of China and east of India. Placed within overlapping Sinic and Indic zones, Singapore's entrepôt role has served both. Today, as China and India emerge simultaneously as rising powers, a port city is going beyond its trading role to engage them in political and security terms. This book combines diplomatic history and international relations theory to show how Singapore is facilitating China's and India's engagement of Southeast Asia.