Asian Studies Commons^™

Ko Ko Gyi [Myanmar, Activist], Ko Ko Gyi

Digital Narratives of Asia

Myanmar democracy activist Ko Ko Gyi spent a total of 17 years in prison for his political beliefs. First detained for his involvement in student protests in 1989, he was eventually released in 2012, along with 600 others, when the military-led government began implementing reforms. Mr Ko Ko Gyi now champions democracy and human rights issues as General Secretary of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society. He was also a member of the government's Rakhine Investigation Commission to investigate the sectarian violence in Rakhine state. He speaks to DNA about the darkest days of his time in the infamous …

Enhancing Indonesian Citizenry Through The Liberal Arts In Higher Education, Judith Puncochar

Other Presentations

Indonesian democracy needs an informed, educated citizenry with skills of perspective taking, debate, and evidence-based reasoning. A rigorous study of the Liberal Arts holds promise for honing a strong Indonesian democracy and a well-educated citizenry. Students who study the Liberal Arts are more likely to develop skills of civic engagement, moral and ethical reasoning, critical thinking, problem solving, and lifelong learning. Educators who learn how to structure and encourage academic controversy as part of the expected university Liberal Arts classroom experience are more likely to deliver opportunities for students to practice perspective taking, deal with difficult ethical conflicts, and hone …

Mapping The Umbrella Movement: Uncovering Grounded Theologies In Hong Kong, Justin Kh Tse

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

As this Syndicate forum on the Umbrella Movement and theology winds to a close, the physical occupations in Hong Kong seem to be nearing their end stage. With court injunctions, police clearances, statements of support from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for the Hong Kong government, the attempted voluntary surrender of Occupy Central leaders to the police, and a student hunger strike after over seventy days of street occupations, it might seem late in the game to call for the mapping of “grounded theologies,” “performative practices of placemaking informed by understandings of the transcendent,” woven into the political constitution …

China And Central Asia's Transnational Concerns Require Multilateral Solutions, Blake Tobin

HIM 1990-2015

After seven decades of regional domination, the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 put the whole continent in a state of political and economic uncertainty. The sudden absence of a strong, yet generally predictable hegemon initiated an intense debate centered on whether or not the rise of China posed a grave threat to the region or whether it would bring stability and cohesion to the region. After 23 years of observation, it is now safe to presume that China does not pose a military threat to the region. Simply because China does not have expansionist or aggressive political …

“Decentralization Dilemma In Indonesia: Does Decentralization Breed Corruption?”, Glenys Kirana

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Given the pervasiveness of corruption, collusion and nepotism during Suharto’s rule (1967-1998), many people assume that the Reformasi era (1998-present) would introduce a new wave of liberal democratic values, which would consequently reduce corruption in Indonesia. This paper seeks to look at the changes in people’s socio-political incentives to corrupt given the changes in political and legal structure, analyzing it in the context of its contribution to Indonesia’s socio-economic development. Specifically, it centers on how decentralization has affected corruption in the regional districts, legislative, judiciary, and other civil society groups. It is the prominence of the corruption issue in the …

Autism Spectrum Disorder In An Indian Context: Impact Of Socioeconomic Factors On The Experiences Of Individuals With Asd And Their Families, Kendall Harman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

While Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition that appears in comparable rates across social, ethnic and geographic groups, the quality and quantity of ASD-related resources and services is significantly lower in developing countries, including India. Moreover, sociocultural factors play a major role in the experiences of people with ASD. Yet, the bulk of ASD-related research has been conducted in developed countries. This study aimed to examine how social, cultural, political and economic factors impact the experiences of people with ASD living in India and their families. Seventeen parents of children with ASD were interviewed, and semi-structured observations of different …

Securitization And De-Securitization In The Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands Territorial Dispute, Lukas K. Danner

Dr. Lukas K. Danner

Goenawan Mohamad [Indonesia, Editor Of Tempo], Goenawan Mohamad

Digital Narratives of Asia

Goenawan Mohamad is the founder of Indonesia's Tempo magazine and a leading voice of democracy in the country. As founding editor, Mr Goenawan had to make the tough call of whether to continue Tempo's critical reporting of the government and face a ban, or toe the line to ensure survival. DNA talks to him about how he came to his decision and stuck to his principles, as well as his take on the many Indonesian leaders he has observed.

Risk Regulation In China, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Local political power poses a formidable challenge to Beijing's efforts to enforce regulation...and shore up popular support for the regime

Singapore’S Growth Story: Leadership And Innovation, S. R. Nathan, Rajendra K. Srivastava

Asian Management Insights

The sixth president of the Republic of Singapore, S.R. Nathan, talks about leadership and innovation as the key foundation stones in Singapore’s growth story in this interview with Rajendra Srivastava.

On The Road To Watershed Hustings, Tan K. B. Eugene

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Law and former Nominated Member of Parliament Eugene Tan noted that with just 23 months left in the 12th Parliament's five-year term, the next polls, which will have to be held by Jan 9, 2017, promise to be the watershed general election. He also commented that it will almost certainly be a straight fight between the ruling People's Action Party and the Workers' Party, providing some indication of whether Singapore is evolving from a one-party dominant to a two-party political system.

Foreign Relations - Northeast Asia, Lukas K. Danner

Dr. Lukas K. Danner

No abstract provided.

China's Nine-Dashed Map: Maritime Source Of Geopolitical Tension, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The South China Sea (SCS) is becoming an increasingly contentious source of geopolitical tension due to its significance as an international trade route, possessor of potentially significant oil and natural gas resources, China’s increasing diplomatic and military assertiveness, and the U.S.’ recent and ongoing Pacific Pivot strategy. Countries as varied as China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and other adjacent countries have claims on this region’s islands and natural resources. China has been particularly assertive in asserting its SCS claims by creating a nine-dash line map claiming to give it de facto maritime control over this entire region without regard to …

The Yangon Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growth, Institute For Societal Leadership, John W. Ellington

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

Since its independence from British rule in 1948, Myanmar has struggled with multiple obstacles, including a series of violent internal ethnic and sectarian conflicts, isolationist fiscal policies instituted by an increasingly distrustful military government and international sanctions and condemnation following government crackdowns in 1988 and 2007. In spite of all these setbacks, President Thein Sein’s decision in 2011 to liberalise the country’s political and economic systems has created a new wave of optimism for what was once commonly regarded as a failed state.

The Phnom Penh Report: National Landscape, Current Challenges And Opportunities For Growth, Institute For Societal Leadership, John W. Ellington

Institute of Societal Leadership Research Collection

Once a relatively sleepy agrarian kingdom, Cambodia has experienced some of the most horrific violence since the close of the Second World War. Between 1970 and 1999, the country was the victim of both a brutal civil war as well wider regional conflicts. The Khmer Rouge seizure of power in 1975 brought four years of forced collectivisation and mass killings that have haunted the Cambodian psyche ever since. The decade of Vietnamese occupation that followed only further exacerbated the country’s massive humanitarian problems. When the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) exited after elections in 1993, it left behind …

Has The Cold War Returned To East Asia?, James T. H. Tang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The rise of a non-democratic China as the world ‘s second largest economy, still officially subscribing to Communism or ‘Socialism with Chinese characteristics’ as its ideology1, has raised the spectre of the return of the Cold War to Asia with the United States and China on opposing sides, with China backed by Russia, its former Cold War ally. But to what extent are there historical parallels between the Cold War and the current East Asian international relations system?

China’S New Identity Crisis, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

China's Democracy Challenge, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

The Domino Logic Of The Darkest Moment: The Fall Of Singapore, The Atlantic Echo Chamber, And 'Chinese Penetration' In Us Cold War Policy Toward Southeast Asia, Wen-Qing Ngoei

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This essay argues that Anglo-American memories of Japan's victory in Singapore in 1942, which British Prime Minister Winston Churchill labeled Britain's "darkest moment" in World War II, soon would underpin the domino logic within US Cold War strategy. For both American and British policymakers, Japan's war machine had fused together in interconnected insecurity the bastions of Euro-American colonial power. In Southeast Asia, it had imposed the condition that one state's vulnerabilities impinged upon the stability of its neighbor. This vision of Southeast Asia's interconnected insecurity was central to the domino logic within US Cold War policy. US policymakers' preoccupation with …

The Nine-Dashed Line: ‘Engraved In Our Hearts’, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

The Rise Of The Dragon And The Consequences For Neighboring Small Powers: The Case Of Nepal, Bibek Chand, Lukas Danner

Lukas K. Danner

No abstract provided.

The Perception Gap Between China And Its Neighbors, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

U.S. - Asean Organized Crime Cooperation As Part Of Washington's Rebalancing Policy Toward The Asia-Pacific, Tuan Anh Luc

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This research addresses the reasons why the United States of America (U.S.) has been involving in the effort of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to combat transnational organized crime. The author argues that Washington has been doing so because: first, it wants to prevent and suppress negative influences of Southeast Asian organized crime and protect national interests; second, it wants to increase regional capabilities, sometimes at the Association's request, and narrow differences so as to effectively deal with transnational organized crime; and third, it wants to justify its presence in the region and pave the way …

How To Boost Spain’S Business Presence In Singapore: Opportunities In The Wake Of The Free Trade Agreement With The Eu, Maria Garcia, Clara Portela

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The recently signed Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Singapore opens up new business opportunities for Spanish companies on the island, which is already Spain’s top trading partner in South-East Asia. One highlight of the accord is the elimination of restrictions on the percentage of foreign investment in financial services and sectors such telecommunications, engineering and shipping. At the same time, the possibility of being able to bid on more government contracts can help companies involved in environmental protection and construction firms. The food industry will benefit from the novel creation of a registry of geographical indications.

Appealing To The Masses Understanding Ethnic Politics And Elections In Indonesia (Doctoral Dissertation), Colm A. Fox

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The mobilization of ethnic groups during elections is seen by many as one of the greatest threats to democracy in ethnically diverse societies. Two important questions are: Why does ethnicity become politicized in some elections, but not in others? and Why do particular ethnic categories become politicized, while others do not? Two arguments in the literature offer explanations. The first argument posits that groups are mobilized along ethnic lines when voters have strong emotional allegiances to their ethnic group; in effect, the ethnic politicization of elections is viewed as a reflection of societal ethnic cleavages. A second argument focuses on …

Integrated Casino Resort Plan In Korea: The Perception Of Korean Government Representatives, Donghwa Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Asian casino market has been rapidly expanding in recent years as evidenced by the success of recently built integrated resorts (IR) in Macau. In light of the successes in Macau, the Korean government has decided to allow an IR to be built near the Incheon International Airport in Korea. The airport, with its great number of transient passengers, provides ample potential customers for the proposed IR. Combining the two factors of Asian casino market growth, and the high number of potential customers, the Incheon IR has a great chance for success.

The Korean government entertained bids from two different …

“China’S 1989 Choice: The Paradox Of Seeking Wealth And Democracy,” (With Joseph O'Mahoney)., Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

The Dangers Of History Analogies, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.

Review Of "Consolidating Taiwan’S Democracy", Su-Mei Ooi

Su-Mei Ooi

The article reviews the book Consolidating Taiwan's Democracy by John F. Copper.

Review Of "Rethinking Asia’S Economic Miracle: The Political Economy Of War, Prosperity And Crisis", Su-Mei Ooi

Su-Mei Ooi

The article reviews the book Rethinking Asia’s Economic Miracle: The Political Economy of War, Prosperity and Crisis by Richard Stubbs.