Southeast Asia After 9 11

This book is a critical analysis of how the discursive and material practices of the "War on Terror" influenced security politics in Southeast Asia after 9/11. It explores how the US-led War on Terror, operating both as a set of material practices and as a larger discursive framework for security, influenced the security of both state and non-state actors in Southeast Asia after 9/11. Building on the author’s own critical security studies approach, which demands a historically and geographically contingent method of empirically grounded critique, Writing Southeast Asian Security examines some of the unexpected effects that the discourses and practices of the War on Terror have had on the production of insecurity in the region. The cases presented here demonstrate that forms of insecurity were constructed and/or abetted by the War on Terror itself, and often occurred in concert with the practices of traditional state-centric security. This work thus contributes to a larger critical project of revealing the violence intrinsic to the pursuit of security by states, but also demonstrates pragmatic opportunities for a functioning politics of theorizing security. This book will be of much interest to students of critical terrorism studies, critical security studies, East Asian, and Southeast Asian politics, US foreign policy, and IR in general.

Contents: (1) The Rise of Islamist Militancy in Southeast Asia: Overview; The Rise of Al Qaeda in Southeast Asia; (2) The Jemaah Islamiya (JI) Network: History of JI; JI¿s Relationship to Al Qaeda; JI¿s Size and Structure; (3) Indonesia: Recent Events; The Bali Bombings and Other JI attacks in Indonesia; The Trial and Release of Baasyir; (4) The Philippines: Abu Sayyaf; The MILF; The Philippine Communist Party; (5) Thailand: Southern Insurgency; Current Government¿s Approach; Little Evidence of Transnational Elements; (6) Malaysia: Recent Events; A Muslim Voice of Moderation; Maritime Concerns; Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Malaysia; Terrorist Groups in Malaysia; Malaysia¿s Counter-Terrorism Efforts; (7) Singapore: U.S.-Singapore Coop.

This book critically analyses the specific threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia since the Bali blasts of 12 October 2002 and the US-led war on Iraq. It offers a comprehensive and critical examination of the ideological, socioeconomic and political motivations, trans-regional linkages, and media representations of the terrorist threat in the region, assesses the efficacy of the regional counter-terror response and suggests a more balanced and nuanced approach to combating the terror threat in Southeast Asia. The contributors include leading scholars of political Islam in the region, renowned terrorism and regional security analysts, as well as highly regarded regional journalists and commentators. This represents a formidable and unequalled combination of expertise. Contents:The Religion/Ideology FactorThe Al Qaeda FactorThe Media FactorThe ASEAN FactorThe US FactorThe Indonesia Factor Readership: Government officials in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the US, especially those engaged in counter-terrorism policymaking and execution; academics engaged in terrorism and counter-terrorism research and teaching; graduate students engaged in research on terrorism and counter-terrorism; and laymen with an interest in the topic of terrorism. Keywords:Bali;Counter-Terror;Second Front;Jihad;Political Islam;Salafism;Al Qaeda;Jemaah Islamiyah;Abu Bakar Bashir;Riduan Isamuddin (Hambali);J W Marriot Hotel

This timely work examines the scale and root causes of terrorism across Southeast Asia, including the role of al-Qaeda's ascendancy in the region. It begins with an overview of the analytical and theoretical framework for discussing the subject. Individual chapters then examine terrorist activities from both functional and country-specific perspectives. The book traces fundamental linkages between terrorism and security issues, such as illegal immigration, narcotics trafficking, and other criminal activity. In addition, it considers the issue of convergence - the growing connection between criminal groups and terrorism, and how this may facilitate future violence. Written by a range of experts in the field, the individual chapters reflect a variety of perspectives. The contributions fall into two broad categories - chapters that directly address terrorism (the groups, their ideologies, their modus operandi, their origins, and state responses to them); and chapters that address the "enabling environment" that exists in Southeast Asia (the role of transnational crime, porous borders, convergence between terrorism and crime).

Papers presented at the International Workshop on International Terrorism in Southeast Asia and its Likely Implications for South Asia, held at New Delhi, 28-29 April 2004.

The September 2001 terrorist attacks shocked the world. But what did they change? In this book Asia specialists from academe and policy think tanks assess the impact of 9/11 on the Asia Pacific. Drawing on unique fieldwork, access to a wide range of documents and inside expertise, the authors consider how old geo-strategic and cultural fault lines have been overlaid with new security threats from state and non-state actors. With chapters on specific countries and regions, defense policies, terrorism, and current and potential conflict zones, this collection critically examines the Asia Pacific region's post-9/11, as well as post-Iraq war, security architecture.