Behind The Myth Rle Modern East And South East Asia

For most people, the ‘economic miracle’ in Asia means Japanese, Korean or Taiwanese dynamism. Less is known about Southeast Asia, where economies grouping over 300 million people have clocked astounding growth rates since 1970. But fast growth is only part of the story. In this book, first published in 1989, James Clad offers an inside look at Malaysia’s ‘kampong commerce’, at oil-rich Brunei’s ‘Shell-fare state’ and at Thailand’s business blend of bureaucrats, generals and local Chinese. The author opens the window on business politics in Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as explaining how Singapore, although a notable exception to economic passivity and business corruption, still remains hostage to geography and overseas Chinese insecurity. Apart from these country surveys, this book also analyses the constants of South East Asia and Hong Kong, including commodity earnings and the financial power of the Chinese. It describes claims of ‘intellectual dishonesty’ at Asia’s largest development bank and counters fashionable optimism that weak regional institutions will evolve into an Asian common market. Yet Clad also describes South East Asia’s impressive achievements, including an account of how their new multinational companies are feeling their way into the world economy.

From the time of its original publication in France, this cultural history (first published in English in 1966) by an international authority has stood apart from other histories of South East Asia. Most such accounts describe events before 1500 in summary fashion, and concentrate on later developments. This book, on the contrary, deals mainly with the earlier, formative epochs that marked the flowering in the region of the Great Traditions of Hinduism and of Buddhism. Following a succinct sketch of the prehistoric period, the book moves on to a chronological account of the developments from the Chinese conquest of Annam in the third century to the period of European conquest in the nineteenth. It reflects the author’s thoughtful views concerning the evolution of political institutions, religions, literatures, and arts that distinguished the region. In geographical scope it embraces Thailand, Burma, and the area formerly known as French Indochina, and is an indispensable guide to the making of the region.

The reemergence of China as a political force has triggered sharp reassessments of its future role in the Asia-Pacific region. There has been much hyperbole about China's economic power, especially if it is linked with the entrepreneurial talents of the ubiquitous Chinese spread around the globe. Some countries have been encouraged to sound warning bells about China's future ambitions to dominate the region. All this is not surprising, even understandable. But the danger of exaggeration to the point where efforts to predict what China and the Chinese will do become merely alarmist, and the predictions become self-fulfilling, has to be guarded against. There is no easy remedy for deep-seated suspicion and hostility leading to persistent attempts to mislead and provoke. The recent financial crisis in East Asia has aggravated some worst-case scenarios and these may bring additional worries to the region's plans for ultimate recovery. The three essays in this volume focus on some areas where myths and prejudices have long survived. They offer different perspectives and suggest alternative ways to approach certain problems of understanding China's relations with Southeast Asia. Contents:Confronting MythsChina's Place in the RegionCulture in State Relations Readership:General. Keywords:

The West no longer regards communism in East Asia as a threat. On the contrary, because the communist party states of East Asia appear to be undergoing a process of reform directed primarily at economic modernization, it is now regarded as a potential market. The West’s attitude is reinforced by the recognition of East Asia’s economic importance more generally – a perception which in itself undoubtedly stimulated reform in the region’s communist party states. The causes, extent and consequences of reform in the East Asian communist party states are the concerns of the contributions to this volume, first published in 1988. It includes chapters on the reform process in China, North Korea, Vietnam and Mongolia; as well as examinations of the roles played by both China and the Soviet Union in the Asia-Pacific region. They demonstrate that a belief in a simple, single process of economic and political liberalization – brought about by the drive for economic modernization, the production imperative – is a misleading argument. Although the production imperative might act as a stimulus to reform, it is neither a sufficient nor even a necessary condition. In individual countries the communist party’s search for legitimacy, a change of leadership, or the relationship with the USSR have equally been the spur to reform. The drive for economic modernization may even be a consequence of the communist party’s desire to reform rather than a cause. The absence of a uniform pattern does not detract from the potential consequences of economic and political change. These challenge socialist thinking on the nature of collective life, ownership and rural society.

The first anthology in English of South-East Asian myths, this book is an engaging look at these rich storytelling traditions. It includes new translations of some shorter tales and concise paraphrases of longer epics. There are separate sections devoted to poetry, drama, proverbs, and prose from various regions and cultures. A wide range of readers will find themselves absorbed in the romance, tragedy, drama, and adventure of South-East Asian kings, princes, princesses, heroes and heroines, and ordinary people.

This 7-volume set reissues a range of classic out-of-print texts that cover a host of issues that have contributed to the development of modern East and South East Asia. With titles covering economics, politics, history, anthropology and security, this set provides the researcher with an essential resource on the region.

Regional inter-governmental human rights organizations have been in operation for sometime in Europe, the Americas and Africa. These regional human rights mechanisms have proven to be useful and effective in comparison to the global human rights mechanisms available at the United Nations. The purpose of this study, first published in 2004, is to investigate the possibility of establishing a regional inter-governmental human rights mechanism in East Asia, with a focus on the contributions of nongovernmental organizations' (NGOs) to such a development.