Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

International and Area Studies Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 331 - 360 of 465

Full-Text Articles in International and Area Studies

Development In The Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle, Toh Mun Heng Jan 2005

Development In The Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle, Toh Mun Heng

Asian Review

In this article, I explore whether regional economic cooperation in the form of growth triangles, made popular during the late 1980s, can continue to be relevant in the face of more formal arrangements such as free trade agreements and other bilateral initiatives in recent years. The discussion is focussed on the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore growth triangle which is a pioneering arrangement in Southeast Asia. This project continues to be a successful mode of cooperation among the three countries and will remain a key and subtle framework for regional economic collaboration amidst the plethora of other initiatives. Growth triangles are one of several …


Contributors Jan 2005

Contributors

Asian Review

No abstract provided.


Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong Economic Corridor, Nguyen Xuan Thang Jan 2005

Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong Economic Corridor, Nguyen Xuan Thang

Asian Review

The paper starts with a brief introduction to the concept of an economic corridor as background to outlining the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, opportunities and difficulties in the development of the Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong Economic Corridor, one of the two economic corridors and one coastal economic belt that were approved by the governments of Vietnam and China in June 2006 for the development of the two countries and the region as a whole. The paper argues that this corridor has good prospects because of its important role in ASEAN China economic relations, and because of the strong political will on the …


Introduction: Regional And Subregional Cooperation And Integration In East Asia, Mya Than Jan 2005

Introduction: Regional And Subregional Cooperation And Integration In East Asia, Mya Than

Asian Review

No abstract provided.


The Future Of East Asian Regionalism: Forging A Common Vision, Richard W. X. Hu Jan 2005

The Future Of East Asian Regionalism: Forging A Common Vision, Richard W. X. Hu

Asian Review

No abstract provided.


Energy Competition And Cooperation In The Bimstec Region: Potential And Prospects For Myanmar, Myat Thein, Myoe Myint Jan 2005

Energy Competition And Cooperation In The Bimstec Region: Potential And Prospects For Myanmar, Myat Thein, Myoe Myint

Asian Review

This paper explores the prospects for Myanmar to contribute towards energy cooperation in the region while at the same time promoting sustainable development at home. Myanmar has large unused reserves of renewables, especially hydropower and biomass. Natural gas contributes to export earnings, but oil imports are growing. India and China have large appetites for energy. Myanmar, along with Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, have unused potential which could contribute to export earnings and growth through export to these large neighbors. However the development of these reserves requires regional cooperation, especially for investment in distribution grids. Currently Myanmar's energy policy is unfocused. …


Notes For Contributors Jan 2005

Notes For Contributors

Asian Review

No abstract provided.


Land Reform In Vietnamese Literature, Montira Rato Jan 2004

Land Reform In Vietnamese Literature, Montira Rato

Asian Review

Even now, Vietnamese historians are reluctant to criticize the land reform campaign of the mid 1950s. However, four novels published between 1988 and 1992 seem determined to locate this traumatic event in the collective social memory. All four are partly based on personal experience, but have different perspectives. One from the viewpoint of a cadre records the damage to the social fabric but blames it on the stupidity of the peasants, and sees all those involved as pawns of history. The second, written from the viewpoint of a landlord, uses irony to examine the lack of justice and morality in …


Notes For Contributors Jan 2004

Notes For Contributors

Asian Review

No abstract provided.


The Network Of Indian Textile Merchants In Thai Society, Inthira Sahee Jan 2004

The Network Of Indian Textile Merchants In Thai Society, Inthira Sahee

Asian Review

In the second half of the nineteenth century, merchants from western India developed a network to sell textile products to a growing mass market in Thailand. This network expanded further in the early twentieth century, especially through the use of traveling salesmen, and import of cheaper Japanese goods. In the 1930s and 1940s, the network had to adjust to changes in both Thai domestic politics, and international politics (especially the Indian independence movement). The Indian cloth merchants' trading network from 1857 to 1947 was characterized by mutual business interests, and cooperation among groups of different geographic background.


Introduction, Piyanart Bunnag Jan 2004

Introduction, Piyanart Bunnag

Asian Review

No abstract provided.


The Chinese Community In Bangkok During The Second Half Of The Nineteenth Century, Piyanart Bunnag Jan 2004

The Chinese Community In Bangkok During The Second Half Of The Nineteenth Century, Piyanart Bunnag

Asian Review

When treaties were made with Western nations, starting with the Bowring Treaty in 1855, more Chinese migrated to Siam. They began to play a greater role in the economy, particularly as middlemen between Western traders and local citizens, but also in other roles in the export-oriented economy such as compradors, pawnbrokers, retailers, wholesalers, bankers, and owners of such enterprises as printing houses and factories. Some worked as common laborers at the docks, factories, and rice mills. During the second half of the nineteenth century, business expanded along new roads, causing environmental changes, crowding, congestion, disorder, and pollution. Fires became common, …


The Japanese Army And Thailand's Southern Railways During The Greater East Asia War, 1941-1945, Puengthip Kiattisahakul Jan 2004

The Japanese Army And Thailand's Southern Railways During The Greater East Asia War, 1941-1945, Puengthip Kiattisahakul

Asian Review

As part of their attempt to establish a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Japanese military leaders took control of Thailand's southern railways to provided direct links to frontline battlefields in Burma and Malaya. They ran special troops from Bangkok to Malaya, and built two new railway tracks extending into Burma. These tracks were used for transporting rice to its troops in Malaya, and to transport troops and war equipment to Burma. Thailand suffered adverse effects. The Railway Department had to carry an enormous amount of loss as costs incurred by the Japanese army were left unpaid. The life and security …


The Concept Of "Development" And The Thai Government's Policies To Develop The Northeast, 1951-1966, Somsri Chaiwanichaya Jan 2004

The Concept Of "Development" And The Thai Government's Policies To Develop The Northeast, 1951-1966, Somsri Chaiwanichaya

Asian Review

After World War II, modernization theory was developed and became a dominant idea, employed by the United States to oppose communism and expand capitalism. The Thai and US governments saw the importance of developing the Northeast region of Thailand, because of both the region's "natural disadvantages" and its strategic location bordering Laos, Kampuchea, and Vietnam. The Phibun government (1951- 1957) launched programs to develop water resources and diversify crops, but initially had no overall plan. During the Sarit regime (1957—1966), a more structured plan emerged under the concept of "development for national security."


The Proactive Cosmopolitan Foreign Policy Of The European Union: The Burmese Issue Reconsidered, Piyapat Bunnag Jan 2004

The Proactive Cosmopolitan Foreign Policy Of The European Union: The Burmese Issue Reconsidered, Piyapat Bunnag

Asian Review

The European Union has turned away from the traditional notion of power politics and moved to assert instead soft civilian or normative power to influence the world. This paper examines the Union's foreign policy towards Myanmar looking from a constructivist perspective, focusing on the objectives of human rights and democratization. The paper sketches the constructivist approach to foreign policy, and then examines the evolution of the Union's foreign policy about human rights and democratization. Then this norm-based foreign policy and its effect on the Union's relations, and conflicts, with ASEAN over Burmese alleged human rights abuses will then come to …


Contributors Jan 2004

Contributors

Asian Review

No abstract provided.


Introduction, Kullada Kesboonchoo Mead Jan 2003

Introduction, Kullada Kesboonchoo Mead

Asian Review

No abstract provided.


Rethinking The Cold War And The American Empire, Soravis Jayanama Jan 2003

Rethinking The Cold War And The American Empire, Soravis Jayanama

Asian Review

The end of the Cold War has renewed interest in Cold War historiography, leading to an explosion of academic literature in this field. A "new Cold War history" seems to be emerging, promising to offer a more international and less "orthodox" perspective, tapping on multi-archival sources. A spate of new works on the crucial and formative period of the Cold War (1945-52) has appeared, on the one hand, shedding a new light on the emergence of the postwar American empire and its foreign relations, and on the other hand, re-examining the role of the Soviet Union and its allies in …


Contesting Us Hegemony: A Case Study On Myanmar, Pin-Kwan Pratishthananda Jan 2003

Contesting Us Hegemony: A Case Study On Myanmar, Pin-Kwan Pratishthananda

Asian Review

In the "unipolar" world, the US claims to use its power to liberal states and civil societies. Myanmar is an anomaly, seemingly untouched by this influence. Since 1988, the military has vastly expanded its power and its roles in the society. The number of armed forces has increased. Intelligence gathering has proliferated. Military-created institutions have taken a larger role in the economy, generating more funds for various activities. The military has neutralized most of the ethnic insurgents, and created a wide range of organizations with roles in society. It has also inculcated an ideology in which the military is indispensable …


A Revisionist History Of Thai-Us Relations, Kullada Kesboonchoo Mead Jan 2003

A Revisionist History Of Thai-Us Relations, Kullada Kesboonchoo Mead

Asian Review

This paper breaks with the traditional approach to the study of Thai- US relations, and provides a different narrative. It takes a revisionist approach: the world after the Second World War cannot be simply viewed in bipolar terms. It examines how Thailand's political structures and political developments were influenced by its relationship with the leading superpower. The main goal of the US was to protect and enhance its business interests and as one element of its strategy to achieve this, it assigned a particular role to Thailand. The paper identifies various periods of Thai-US relations from the end of the …


The Trouble With Hegemony: Hegemonic Destabilization Theory, Jan Nederveen Pieterse Jan 2003

The Trouble With Hegemony: Hegemonic Destabilization Theory, Jan Nederveen Pieterse

Asian Review

This paper revisits hegemonic stability theory to examine whether hegemony, in terms of its major justifications, applies to the United States in the present period. The paper finds that over time, particularly since the end of the Cold War, the role of the United States has increasingly changed from hegemonic stabilization to destabilization. While hegemonic destabilization such as the unleashing of finance capital and military preparedness out of proportion to existing threats, has been noticeable since the Reagan period, recent American policies of aggressive unilateralism and deficit spending have been increasingly destabilizing. This holds implications for how we understand hegemony: …


"September 11" And The Changing Dynamics Of Malaysia-Us Relations, Khadijah Md. Khalid Jan 2003

"September 11" And The Changing Dynamics Of Malaysia-Us Relations, Khadijah Md. Khalid

Asian Review

The events of September 11 have changed US relations with Malaysia and the Southeast Asian region in general. Although Malaysia has been a long-term ally of the US, relations have been complicated by prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's anti-Western stand. Malaysia-US relations reached an all-time low during the East Asian economic crisis which began in 1997. Subsequently, Mahathir has been more conciliatory towards the US. However, the hawkish aggression of the US in Afghanistan and Iraq is again putting pressure on Malaysia-US ties. There is a risk that the US is forsaking its role as a beacon of democracy in the …


The Resurgence Of Us Influence On Thailand's Economy And Southeast Asia Policy, 1990-2001, Ukrist Pathmanand Jan 2003

The Resurgence Of Us Influence On Thailand's Economy And Southeast Asia Policy, 1990-2001, Ukrist Pathmanand

Asian Review

This article offers an unconventional approach to the study of US-Thai relations. The conventional approach emphasizes political, military, and security affairs but ignores the interrelationship between the economic and political roles of the US in Thai policy making. This study emphasizes the US economic influence in two periods: during the period of anti-communism in the Cold War era, and again during the financial crisis of 1997 onwards. The first of these periods was set within the context of the Cold War. The US promoted liberal development policies as part of anti-communist strategy. The second of these periods was set in …


The Far South Of Thailand In The Era Of The American Empire, 9/11 Version, And Thaksin's "Cash And Gung-Ho" Premiership, Surat Horachaikul Jan 2003

The Far South Of Thailand In The Era Of The American Empire, 9/11 Version, And Thaksin's "Cash And Gung-Ho" Premiership, Surat Horachaikul

Asian Review

Though Islam is a political factor throughout Southeast Asia, this paper argues that Islamic fundamentalism does not necessarily govern political life. It also questions generalizations about the increase in political Islamic fundamentalism in the region perceived by the press and American sympathizers. By sketching the roots of the violent conflict in the far south of Thailand, the predominantly Muslim region of the Kingdom, it argues that the violence has been caused not only by Islamic militants consisting of Thai terrorists and Muslim separatist groups who have sought foreign assistance and fought against the Thai state's oppression but also by the …


Cultural Diversity And Coexistence In Asia, Amara Pongsapic Jan 2003

Cultural Diversity And Coexistence In Asia, Amara Pongsapic

Asian Review

When the world was divided into capitalistic-democratic and socialist-communist regimes, most states in both camps as well as Third World countries adopted nationalism as a necessary ideology. National integration was perceived as not only necessary but possible only in a homogenous society. In many countries, cultural diversity existed but was not recognized in nation-building processes. After the fall of communist regimes at the turn of the decade, cultural pluralism became obvious in USSR and Eastern European countries. After 1989, in Eastern European countries where diversity was recognized, the concepts of civil society and good governance were promoted. Economic and social …


Contributors Jan 2003

Contributors

Asian Review

No abstract provided.


The Politics Of The Ngo Movement In Northeast Thailand, Somchai Phatharathananunt Jan 2002

The Politics Of The Ngo Movement In Northeast Thailand, Somchai Phatharathananunt

Asian Review

This paper examines the struggle of the NGO movement in northeast Thailand (Isan) during the 1980s and 1990s. The paper begins with analysis of the differences between the NGOs in the 1970s and in the post-1970s era. This analysis gives the background to the debate within Isan NGOs between the political economists, who engaged in political mobilization, and the community culturalists, who refrained from any kind of political mobilization. In the 1990s, the differences between the two sides were resolved in the course of struggle.


Contributors Jan 2002

Contributors

Asian Review

No abstract provided.


Ngos Organizing Cooperatives: The Philippine Experience, Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem Jan 2002

Ngos Organizing Cooperatives: The Philippine Experience, Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem

Asian Review

Pre-1986 Philippine governments promoted cooperatives as an anticommunist strategy but were unable to make them viable. After the People Power Revolusion of 1986, Left activists promoted cooperatives through NGOs to achieve social justice. Buscayno organized at the grassroots with support from the Aquino Administration. Morales worked at the centre to change the environment for cooperatives by legislation and budget support. The cooperative movement expanded rapidly, but faced huge problems: competition from rice cartels, mismanagement, natural disasters, the temptation for farmers to sell land to real estate developers, and shifts in political patronage. Despite these challenges, the movement continues to grow.


Breaking Free Through Oppositional Peasant Politics In The Philippines, Jaime Mendoza Jimenez Jan 2002

Breaking Free Through Oppositional Peasant Politics In The Philippines, Jaime Mendoza Jimenez

Asian Review

KMP is a peasant movement which draws its strength from local struggles. One example began in 1995 in Batangas when a property company seized land for a tourist development, with government backing. Local peasants blocked the development with human barricades. They formed an organization and allied to the national KMP. They were subject to bribery, intimidation, and selective murder. They responded by taking their case to the people at the local, national, and international level through demonstrations and networking. As a result, they were able to retain control of the land. The strength of the movement comes internally from the …