2 - State-society Relations in Southeast Asia

Summary

The literature on state-society relations, despite maintaining a measure of thematic unity, has undergone some major transformations in recent times. Of these changes, the most significant in terms of influence has been the attempt to correlate the state with society rather than treat the two as separate entities. In other words, rather than treat the two units as separate but interactive, recent writings have tended to view the state as a microcosm of society or the state as embedded within society. Such a conception of the state naturally has serious implications. These include the treatment of society as an organic and holistic concept as well as the state as a part of society. Hence, whereas the 1980s was concerned with bringing the state back in and treating it as a separate entity though interactive with society, the 1990s witnessed a major change in how the two units were conceived. The literature of the 1980s can be characterized as state centric owing to its starting point, and attempting to resurrect the traditional way of envisioning and conceptualizing state-society relations. Subsequently, the literature in comparative politics, perhaps in response to the hegemony of the state, tended towards being society centric. Consequently, the state-in-society approach presented a more balanced and holistic approach. It would be fair to note that this state-in-society approach continues to hold sway in the social sciences.

There has also been renewed interest in political and regime transitions, although it might be added that this thrust is not entirely new and is in effect a continuation of the study of regime transitions and the factors contributing to them in the 1980s in Latin America. Equally important in the literature has been the attempt to examine changes initiated from the bottom up. This bottom up approach has been dominated by the literature on social movements and associational life. Within this approach, one of the most influential strands of thought has been Robert Putnam's conception of social capital — norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness in society.