The demise of America's Cold War-era foreign policy, has transformed Southeast Asia's relationship with the United States. No longer seen in the political context of communist containment, the countries of Southeast Asia - Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam - are becoming increasingly powerful players in the world economy. Their unparalleled economic growth will dramatically affect the U.S. economy and its relations to other regional powers such as Japan and China. How well the United States responds to this challenge and to the opportunity to forge new relationships in the region will significantly shape the success or failure of our performance as a global superpower. In From Dominoes to Dynamos, John Bresnan, an expert on U.S.-Asian relations, details the steps the United States should take to define a new role in the area. He examines shifting American interests - from strategic to economic - in the region, and surveys the history of an area that includes both historic allies, such as the Philippines, and adversaries, including Vietnam. The book includes a detailed analysis of current economic trends, as well as recommendations for coping with Japan's growing influence in the Southeast Asian economy and a clear analysis of the direction U.S. foreign policy must take to maintain its position as a leading player in the region.
Providing the basis for a reconceptualization of key features in Southeast Asia's history, this book examines evolutionary patterns of Europe's and Japan's Southeast Asian empires from the late 19th century through to the 1960s.
The essays in this volume explore three aspects of social transformation of Southeast Asian Societies namely, social change and develoment, the role of intellectuals, religious and cultural values. They are a tribute to the seminal contributions of the distiguished Malaysian sociologist Syed Hussein Alatas.
This book analyses the growth, development and crisis experiences of the Southeast Asian economies, in particular, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- also known as ASEAN-5. The proposition is developed that the robust economic performance of the Southeast Asian economies during the past four decades has been attributed to the various factors, developments and independent national policies which have been pursued by the individual member countries rather than to any regional economic framework. The book covers eleven topics which is suitable for a one-semester course on the economics of Southeast Asia. Also, it has a narrower area coverage as it focuses only on the five economies, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The sectoral treatment of the crisis impact and the analytical treatment of policy responses to the crisis differentiate this book from other publications on the same topic. Finally, the book provides an analysis of national developments, policies and factors which have contributed to the economic transformation of the respective Southeast Asian economies.
This study revisits one of the most extensive examples of the spread of ideas in the history of civilization: the diffusion of Indian religious and political ideas to Southeast Asia before the advent of Islam and European colonialism. Hindu and Buddhist concepts and symbols of kingship and statecraft helped to legitimize Southeast Asian rulers, and transform the political institutions and authority of Southeast Asia. But the process of this diffusion was not accompanied by imperialism, political hegemony, or "colonization" as conventionally understood. This book investigates different explanations of the spread of Indian ideas offered by scholars, including why and how it occurred and what were its key political and institutional outcomes. It challenges the view that strategic competition is a recurring phenomenon when civilizations encounter each other.
Providing the basis for a reconceptualization of key features in Southeast Asia's history, this book examines evolutionary patterns of Europe's and Japan's Southeast Asian empires from the late 19th century through to the 1960s.
Created from an extensive range of locally produced and imported raw materials, and designed using an astonishing number of techniques--including different types of appliqué, decorative weaving, tie-dying, batik, and embroidery--Southeast Asian textiles are used to fashion an extraordinary variety of objects, ranging from everyday clothing to sacred and ceremonial costumes. This authoritative study focuses on the interplay between indigenous Southeast Asian traditions and the external cultural forces that have been a crucial part of the historical development and changing nature of the region's textile traditions. Maxwell considers the various ways Southeast Asian textile artisans reacted to the new ideas and raw materials from outside regions. The social, cultural, and religious dimensions of this art, the factors that condition how people create textiles, the way these are used, and the meaning of motifs and symbol are explored in detail. Including examples of textiles--some in categories that have never before been published--this reference work is a valuable contribution to the field of ethnographic textiles.
English in Southeast Asia and ASEAN embeds English in its various regional Southeast Asian and political ASEAN language habitats. Addressing the history, developmental stages and contacts with other languages, it provides in-depth information on the region and its political organization. In doing so, it analyzes the geo-political division of the region between former Anglophone and non-Anglophone colonies and shows that this distinction has led to considerable differences in the status and texture of English. This analysis includes the role and impact of American English in mainland and maritime Southeast Asia to highlight the linguistic properties of English and its linguistic and sociopolitical development, English used in specific domains, language policies and concludes with the future of English and future challenges. This book therefore provides an integrative survey of the various roles of English in ASEAN member states and studies the transformation of entire language habitats, including the major national and regional languages that participate in this process. It also explains how new societies emerge with their conflicting identities and their aspirations to act regionally or even globally and is a valuable resource for scholars and students in the fields of World Englishes, Asian Studies and those interested in language contact, policy and planning.
'The different parts of the Southeast Asian puzzle fit better together as a consequence of reading this valuable book, which brings history back in to show how regions learn from each other and establish an identity.' - Alice Amsden, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US
Using examples from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, the book considers what scholarship has defined as a village within the rapid changes taking place in rural Southeast Asia.
