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Singapore is America's closest security partner in Southeast Asia. The United States has decided to help India become a major world power in the twenty-first century, an objective that is furthered by the nuclear agreement between them. Singapore's relationship with India is an increasingly pertinent feature of Southeast Asia's political and strategic landscape. Whether these three realities, taken together, lay the basis of a triangular relationship among Singapore, America, and India is the question that this book seeks to answer. The book begins with a review of the notion of Pax Americana and goes on to describe the state of bilateral relations among the three countries as they have evolved since the end of the Cold War. Subsequently, it analyses three core issues – the Global War on Terror, the rise of China, and the agency of democracy in international relations – that play a defining role in relations among Singapore, the United States, and India. The book concludes by suggesting some directions in which these relations might move.
This book focuses on the defence policy of the Nakasone administration and attempts to provide an explanation for the policy measures which its administration implemented or initiated. It suggests that the widening disparity between economic interests and political power forced Japan to review the traditional bases for defence policy making and prompted the search for a balance that would allow the country a more active role in the international sphere. The book is organized around the central theme that Nakasone's defence policy can be understood as an attempt to rehabilitate Japan as a 'normal' state and end the state of affairs that had relegated it to a unique, and low, position.
"Once celebrated in the Western media as a shining example of a 'liberal' and 'tolerant' Islam, Indonesia since the end of the Soeharto regime (May 1998) has witnessed a variety of developments that bespeak a conservative turn in the country’s Muslim politics. In this timely collection of original essays, Martin van Bruinessen, our most distinguished senior Western scholar of Indonesian Islam, and four leading Indonesian Muslim scholars explore and explain these developments. Each chapter examines recent trends from a strategic institutional perch: the Council of Indonesian Muslim scholars, the reformist Muhammadiyah, South Sulawesi's Committee for the Implementation of Islamic Shari'a, and radical Islamism in Solo. With van Bruinessen's brilliantly synthetic introduction and conclusion, these essays shed a bright light on what Indonesian Muslim politics was and where it seems to be going. The analysis is complex and by no means uniformly dire. For readers interested in Indonesian Muslim politics, and for analysts interested in the dialectical interplay of progressive and conservative Islam, this book is fascinating and essential reading."—Robert Hefner, Director, Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs, Boston University"Indonesian Islam has been (and still is) largely known as Islam with 'smiling faces'. But in the last decade at least, drawing benefit from the democratic opening up, some figures and groups introduced radical Islamic ideas and praxis that have transnational origins that in turn could affect the future of Indonesian Islam. This book is an excellent anthology of this disturbing development brought about by the so-called 'conservative turn' within certain elements of moderate Islam in the largest Muslim country in the world. There is no doubt that this book contributes a great deal to a better grasp of some recent development to watch in Indonesian Islam."—Azyumardi Azra, Professor of History, Director of Graduate School, State Islamic University, Jakarta, Indonesia"Over the course of the past decade, journalists and other observers have noted a 'conservative turn' in Indonesian Islam, but without seriously investigating or explaining the nature and extent of the transformation(s) under way. With the publication of this excellent new volume, Martin van Bruinessen and his collaborators have now provided a fine-grained account of the complex and diverse manifestations of this 'conservative turn', with in-depth treatments of developments and trends across a range of different arenas and institutions - and regions - of Indonesian Islam. Van Bruinessen has always been a pioneering figure in the study of Islam in Indonesia, and with this volume he once again brings unparalleled insight and illumination to our understanding of Islamic life in the archipelago. This is a must-read book for anyone interested in Indonesian politics and society today."—John Sidel, Professor of International and Comparative Politics, London School of Economics and Political Science
This volume seeks to introduce and deepen the understanding of Islam and its role in politics as encountered in different national and transnational contexts in Southeast Asia, eschewing the neo-orientalist approach that has informed public discourse in recent years. In Encountering Islam, the book lingers beyond the summary moment and reflects on the multiple impressions, suppressions and repressions, whether coherent or incoherent, associated with Islam as a socio-political force in public life. To this end, it is not adequate simply to represent the divergent identities associated with Islam in Southeast Asia, whether embedded in state-endorsed orthodoxy or Islamic movements that contest such orthodoxy. It is also important to examine religious minorities in political contexts where Islam is dominant and Muslim communities in national contexts where they are minorities. By situating these religious identities within their larger socio-political contexts, this volume seeks to provide a more holistic understanding of what is encountered as Islam in Southeast Asia.
This book takes a multi-disciplinary approach to the great financial crisis of 2007-09. It combines the disciplines of economics, finance, sociology and politics to analyse the causes, consequences and challenges of the crisis. The authors propose that the causes of the crisis should be understood at three inter-related levels - the level of theory and ideology; the level of financial industry practices and malpractices; and finally the level of structural imbalances in the international economy. Above all, the book is historical and holistic in perspective. This book is an excellent read for the critical layman interested in understanding the causes that underlie the global financial crisis. The authors combine the inquisitive and critical mind of a scholar and the lucid writing style of a journalist. The book provides a perspective on the crisis that is both practical and down to earth and at the same time, rigorous and holistic. Khor Hoe Ee, Chief Economist, Abu Dhabi Council for Economic Development, and former Assistant Managing Director, Economics, Monetary Authority of Singapore The authors trace the rise of finance and its domination over the real economy, the consequences of financial innovation and deregulation for systemic fragility, and the failure of conventional economic and financial theory to analyse and anticipate the consequent dangers. Their main original contribution is to relate these Western market developments to recent trends in the East Asian region and to call for appropriate systemic reforms, not only to avoid similar future crises, but also to address other underlying development and analytical problems. K.S. Jomo, Assistant Secretary General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations In linking wealth and income distribution to financial instability, this book makes an important point that is often missed in the debate on the crisis. Central Banks have become strongly opposed to the idea of accommodating wage demands with the help of monetary easing, but they have been increasingly tolerant, or even supportive, of debt-financed consumption and asset inflation. Indeed, by serving to concentrate wealth further in the hands of a small rentier class, while protecting that class from the risks of debt defaults, they are only adding to systemic pressures that give rise to serious financial crises.Yilmaz Akyuz, Special Economic Advisor, South Centre, and former Chief Economist at United Nations Conference for Trade and Development
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the constraints facing the development of rural non-farm enterprises in Indonesia. Recent years have seen a substantial effort by the Indonesian government to improve the investment climate. To date, much of this effort has focused on the constraints faced by businesses at the national level. However, if Indonesia is to be successful in creating jobs and reducing poverty across the archipelago, this will require improving the investment climate for the 15.7 million micro and small enterprises that employ more than half of all the non-farm workers in the country. This book brings together leading Indonesian and international academics to consider seven key constraints that RNFEs face: labour regulations and practices; infrastructure; competition and marketing; knowledge transfer and technology; access to credit and financial services; local taxation and user charges; and insecurity. In each case the authors draw on the Indonesian Rural Investment Climate Survey, a unique dataset of more than 2,500 RNFEs, to identify the size and nature of the constraints, the way in which they impact upon enterprise growth and the implications for policy. In addition, a key chapter estimates the strength of the linkage between agriculture and non-agricultural activities in rural areas, showing that agricultural revitalization is an essential complement to the development of the non-farm economy. "Understanding the rural investment climate in both slow- and fast-growing economies has taken on new urgency in the wake of the world food crisis. The rural non-farm economy often provides half or more of the income of farm families and is especially important for food-deficit rural households hard-hit by rising food prices. The Indonesian Rural Investment Climate Assessment is the "gold standard" for how to achieve this understanding. It is a delight to see it published and available to a wide audience." - C. Peter Timmer, Visiting Professor, Program on Food Security and Environment, Stanford University; Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Global Development
This book provides complete, yet non-technical, analyses of production fragmentation effects and thus targets a wide range of readers - including academics, researchers, policymakers, students, entrepreneurs, and anyone who is interested in this subject. It investigates the economic impacts of production fragmentation in Southeast Asia with a focus on Thailand's experience as an emerging global hub of fragmentation and outsourcing. This elucidates new evidence in connection with production, industrial organizations and labour economics theories, providing interesting insights for formulating industrialization and labour development policies.
This book provides a detailed understanding of the energy situation in ASEAN and analyses the key aspects of the energy strategies and policies of the member countries in broader regional and international perspectives. It presents a regional comparative analysis of the energy demand pattern, the prospects for regional oil and gas production, the future of the regional refining sector, and various policies adopted to overcome the problems created by energy crises in the region. The challenges of the energy sector in the ASEAN countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand — are then examined in greater detail.
This book examines the understanding, practices and challenges that Malaysia's higher education institutions face in their efforts to internationalize higher education at their respective institutions. This issue is of great importance to academics, policy-makers and students in institutions of higher learning in Malaysia, given the country's aspiration to become a hub for higher education. Malaysia is considered to be one of the success stories in the developing world in its efforts to internationalize its higher education. In the last decade or so, Malaysia has evolved into an emerging contender for international students, based on its transnational programmes and relative cost advantages. Increasing inflows of international students have changed Malaysia's position in the global arena from a sending to a receiving country as well. The findings in this book show that providers and students alike agree that internationalization is here to stay and that there are huge challenges ahead, while managing internationalization remains a prerogative for both institutions and the country. The lessons garnered from Malaysia's experience will also assist other developing countries that are embarking on the same internationalization journey.
The world is undergoing dramatic transformations in the wake of the crumbling of the Cold War order, and the ebbs and flows of these changes are not passing unnoticed in Southeast Asia. Indeed, the region is witnessing its own mini-versions of glasnot and perestroika, as countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, for instance, seek their niches in the emerging opportunities and constraints that characterize the international economic and political scene. This, coupled with the dynamism of the member states of ASEAN, makes Southeast Asia a particularly promising and exciting area -- at a turning point in world history and human affairs. Cast in a formal style that is unencumbered by lengthy analyses or commentaries, Regional Outlook provides succinct yet substantive and easily readable overviews and insights into the current geo-political and economic situations in the individual countries and the region as a whole, together with the likely trends over the next year or so. The review will serve as a useful and handy guide to the region's aspirations and prospects each year, in addition to casting a look ahead.
The great Indian nationalist leader Subhas Chandra Bose arrived in Singapore in 1943 to revitalize the Indian National Army (INA). Taking the opportunity of the Japanese occupation of parts of Southeast Asia, he launched armed struggle against British colonial rule in India. Two years later, that attempt failed at the eastern gates of India. Yet, it was a temporary failure because the INA helped set in motion a series of developments within India. These would culminate in its freedom in a further two years. Bose is household name in India. He is remembered in Southeast Asia as well, particularly among Indians. However, while his contributions to India's independence movement have been recorded exhaustively, less is known about the legacy that he left behind in Southeast Asia.This book seeks to fill that gap in the international understanding of a great Indian nationalist and pan-Asianist. It records how participation in the nationalist struggle invested Southeast Asian Indians with a rare sense of dignity and helped foster a mushrooming of militant trade unions, making it difficult for the returning British planters to perpetuate their control over what had been a docile workforce. The INA's Rani of Jhansi movement proved to be a pioneering effort at drawing Southeast Asian Indian women out of their traditional roles and expectations. It inspired some of them to take up mainstream roles for the cause of equality and emancipation. A Gentleman's Word retraces this journey of self-discovery of those who were inspired by Subhas Chandra Bose.
Both international trade and investment by East Asian countries have become significantly regionalized. To support this development further, efforts for regional integration have flourished in the forms of bilateral and regional free trade agreements and the ASEAN+3 and East Asia Summit processes, among many others. This book is a compilation of papers and discussions originally presented at the international symposium held during the recent global financial crisis. The symposium aimed to shed light not only on the usual economic aspect but also on other aspects of the multidimensional phenomenon called "regional integration". Thus, in this volume the authors explore the relationship between the U.S. influence and East Asian regionalism, the characteristics of East Asian integration, and the politics of inclusion/exclusion in the integration process. In addition, they point out some "missing links" in integration efforts such as cooperation in the areas of logistics, finance, trade in services, infrastructure and human resource movement. Since the global financial crisis did not deter integration efforts (rather, it has encouraged them), this book serves as a guide for future East Asian integration in terms of what to expect and what is to be done.
The story of Dr Baey Lian Peck should be well known, but it is not. Not even among Singaporeans, and especially not among the young. This tells us a lot about a Singapore caught in pathological haste and prone towards ignoring values that do not add to the financial bottom line. The innovativeness of Dr Baey did not only make him a very wealthy man before he was forty, it also made him an indispensable actor in the implementation of urgently constructed national policies. Political leaders such as Dr Toh Chin Chye, Lim Kim San, Chua Sian Chin and Dr Goh Keng Swee picked him to solve pressing problems such as skyrocketing inflation in the early 1970s, the crisis in prisoner ward in the late 1970s, and the drug addiction epidemic in that same latter period. His one condition for taking on public positions was that he should not be paid. It was exactly this independent trait that made him so highly effective. This book tells his amazing life story, taking us into a surprising world where the qualities that make a good entrepreneur are exactly what make a good public servant, as long as he remains unbound by the bureaucracy. "Dr Baey Lian Peck put on hold a growing and profitable family business and decided to serve the nation in community and social service. He wore many and different hats and did remarkably well in all the challenging fields he undertook. His contribution to the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts was the most significant." – K.V. Veloo, pioneer in Probation and Aftercare who set up SANA(Aftercare) Counselling Service, and Prison Welfare Service.
Part One of this book is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted by the author during 1970_72 on a local branch of the Muhammadiyah in the town of Kotagede, a suburb of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This work, first published in 1983, observed that the Muhammadiyah social and educational movement had reformed traditional Javanese Islam into a vital living faith and adapted Muslim life to modernity. The author was one of the first scholars who had noted that there was continuing Islamization in Indonesia and predicted its progress in the future.Part Two is based on the author's three decades of follow-up visits to the Kotagede from the 1970s to 2010. During this period, the Muhammadiyah movement made enormous advancements, enough to to make the town known as a "Muhammadiyah town". On the national level, the Muhammadiyah has grown to be the second largest Islamic civil society organization (after the traditionalist Nahdlatul Ulama) in Indonesia, with millions of members and supporters. Yet, the wider environment for it has been altered greatly by urbanization, diversification and globalization. It is also facing unprecedented challenges arising from calls for democratization in the post-Soeharto era. The longitudinal study in this volume depicts the most recent dynamics of the Muhammadiyah movement in a local as well as transhitoric context.
America is drifting towards another collision with Asian countries. This book sets the situation in perspective by tracing the development of relations between them during the last two centuries. No longer needing allies as it did during the Cold War, the United States is now using its economic power to force them to open their markets to its exports and to move towards Western democracy. American pressure is making Asians appreciate what they have in common, and helping to overcome the divisions that have kept them dependent on outside powers. But collision is not inevitable. America has played a critical part in the transformation of East Asia. It still has much to teach, and it now has much to learn as well. By studying Asian experience, Americans can re-learn the importance of self-discipline, and face Asian competition without relying on their power and resorting to protectionism. APEC shows the way for the United States and other Western countries to benefit from the fast growth of Asian economies, and make the whole of the Pacific area more prosperous.
"As we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the ASEAN-Japan Dialogue Partnership, the essays in this book remind us, and amplify the ASEAN-Japan relations. The complexities of this relationship, including the external influences which have impinged on its development over the years, are cogently discussed and recorded for the younger generation and students of ASEAN-Japan ties. The intricacy and spread of ASEAN-Japan cooperation mechanisms are also well highlighted in this book, while several thought-provoking commentaries on the future of this four-decade old partnership give pause to the readers. Many of the challenges that exist in this relationship originated from domestic political dynamics in the ASEAN countries and Japan, as well as from the neighbouring states and key trading partners."Ambassador Ong Keng Yong, Former ASEAN Secretary General"The monograph on ASEAN-Japan relations is the intellectual highlight of the 40 years anniversary of ASEAN-Japan cooperation. ASEAN has become an indispensable partner and friend of Japan and its role as the hub of cooperation, development and stability in the region will without doubt become even more important after the establishment of the ASEAN Communities in 2015. The monograph containing contributions of the most renowned and respected experts on ASEAN provides us with enlightening overview, inspiration as well as guidance for our future common path. I would like to recommend this monograph to everybody interested in the further deepening of the ASEAN-Japan relations."Ambassador Yoshinori Katori, Ambassador of Japan to Indonesia,Former Ambassador in charge of ASEAN
"Amitav Acharya has written a splendidly ambitious book. Travelling from the discipline of International Relations to the historiography of Southeast Asia and back again, it draws upon a range of methodologies to analyse the issue of identity in the configuration of Southeast Asia. But it provides more than an academic assessment. With this book, Acharya must be judged to have contributed not just to the study of Southeast Asian regionalism, but to the process itself."–Anthony Milner, Basham Professor of Asian History, Australian National University
"Maritime power has been a key defining parameter of economic vitality and geostrategic power of nations. The first decade of the twenty-first century has witnessed the rise of China and India as confident economic powers pivoting on high growth rates and exponential expansion of science, technology and industrial growth. Sequel to their steadily growing economic clout has been the emphatic resurgence of their maritime power evident in maritime shipping, port development and the concomitant expansion of naval power.Dr Vijay Sakhuja, a former Indian Navy officer, in this pioneering study has splendidly elucidated and examined the resurgence of Asian naval power and its political-diplomatic, economic-commercial, science-technological-industrial, grand-strategic and operational-doctrinal dimensions. Using a neorealist framework, the author provides robust and insightful analysis of how China and India as great powers, using their maritime military capabilities, would evolve and act in global affairs."— Professor Sanjay Chaturvedi, Centre for the Study of Geopolitics, Punjab University, Chandigarh
This is a ground-breaking history of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, part of the Indian National Army led by Bengali revolutionary Subhas Chandra Bose during World War II. The Regiment, a hitherto forgotten part of "the Forgotten Army", was composed largely of teenage volunteers from Malayan rubber estates, girls who had never seen India yet were eager to enlist to liberate India from colonial bondage. Bose, creator of the Regiment, connected a historical thread extending from the original Rani of Jhansi, killed in battle by the British in 1858, through Bengali women revolutionaries of the 1930s, to the Regiment, which he hoped would spearhead the liberation of India. The Rani of Jhansi Regiment provides a model of empowerment relevant for contemporary Indian women.
With the disappearance of the imperial structures that had dominated Southeast Asia, newly independent states had to develop foreign policies of their own. But so far few if any of these states have been willing to allow the public to explore any documentation of their activities. Building on his earlier work that drew on U.K. records, the author incorporates material from New Zealand archives - which also contain reports from Australian and Canadian diplomats - to provide an historical analysis of the foreign policies of Southeast Asian nations from a New Zealand perspective.
