This paper discusses foreign direct investment from Southeast Asia to China. With the exception of some government-linked companies, most investments from Southeast Asia have been dominated by the region’s overseas Chinese businesses. In addition to cheap labour costs, large domestic...

Review of the edited volume: Askew, Mark (ed.) (2010), Legitimacy Crisis in Thailand, Chiang Mai, Thailand: Silkworm Books (= King Prajadhipok’s Institute Yearbook No. 5 (2008/09)). ISBN 978-974-9511-97-8, 340 pages

Why do some religious parties survive after adopting a moderate ideological outlook while others do not? The rise and fall of religious parties since the onset of democratic transition in Indonesia has set off an intriguing debate over the role and future of political Islam in electoral...

This article explores the genesis of Indonesian political Islam and its interactions with the nationalist secular state in the immediate post-colonial era while examining some of the origins of the ‘radical’ stream that has garnered much attention in the current post-authoritarian...

This article explores the institutionalization of state-led development in Myanmar after 1988 in comparison with Suharto’s Indonesia. The analysis centres on the characteristics and theory of developmental states that emerged from the studies of East Asian countries like Japan, South...

Countries may utilize a long coastline in relation to their landmass as a resource to develop their maritime economy. This paper argues that ASEAN countries differ in utilizing their maritime potential. As a basis for further comparative studies the Center for Policy Research and International...

This essay is an exercise in the phenomenology of personhood based on some 25 years of field research among Javanese, Thai, and Filipinos. As I still slip up from time to time, I am convinced that it is relevant to both scholarly researchers and others with practical interests in the region to...

Review of the Monograph: Fforde, Adam (2009), Coping with Facts: A Skeptic’s Guide to the Problem of Development, Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Pr Inc. ; ISBN-13: 978-1565492684, 246 pages

The major criticism of the ASEAN Community idea is its elitist approaches. It lacks the most crucial components that have brought about the success of other similar regional organizations such as the European Union (EU): the involvement of the general public in the formation process. This study,...

The last decade of the twentieth century and the first of the twenty first century witnessed the peaceful and successful integration of China into the East Asian and the wider global economy. This process, largely market driven, is continuing, and has brought benefits to many tens of millions of...