International Relations in Southeast Asia: The Struggle for Autonomy (review)

Book Reviews535 special access, and brute force" (p. 214). Crony capitalism, which effectively plundered the state, precluded economic reforms and contributed to the country's economic deterioration. The authors also highlighted the social forces that challenged the authority of the state during this period (for example, armed communist and Muslim separatists rebels, the Catholic Church, the Reform AFP Movement, urban middle class, and economic elites), which ultimately led to the collapse of the authoritarian regime in 1986. The remaining chapters ofthe book covered the post-Marcos period (1986-2004) and focused primarily on the problems and challenges faced by the Aquino, Ramos, Estrada, and Macapagal-Arroyo administrations in pursuing good governance, political and economic reforms, as well as the emergence of civil society organizations in a restored democratic order. Compared with the previous sections of the book, these chapters highlighted more the power of social forces in the country in constraining the autonomy and capability of the state especially in pushing for economic and political reforms. Current issues (for example, parliamentary versus presidential government, the fiscal crisis, Muslim separatism, and the Filipino diaspora) are presented in the final chapter of the book as themes that need further study in relation to state formation in the Philippines. Notwithstanding the book's outstanding scholarship and admirable depth and breadth of discussion and analyses about state formation and the dynamics of state-society relations in the Philippines, a salivating reader ofPhilippine politics is left bitin (Tagalog for hanging) because the authors did not provide their tentative, if not bold, assessment about why the Philippine state to this day remains resilient despite its weaknesses. Noel M. Morada Department ofPolitical Science University of the Philippines, Diliman Quezon City, Philippines InternationalRelationsin SoutheastAsia: The StruggleforAutonomy. By Donald E. Weatherbee et al. Oxford, UK: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2005. Softcover: 306pp. In the preface ofthis volume, the principal author, Donald Weatherbee, offers a disarmingly frank and accurate assessment of the book, its 536Book Reviews content, and goals. I can do no better than to quote it in full: "[it] is designed as an introduction to the issues and dynamics of international relations in contemporary Southeast Asia. Its goal is modest. Planned as a textbook, it does not pretend to present new research findings or theoretical insights" (p. xv). Within these admittedly modest parameters, it succeeds admirably. Students will find it accessibly written, with useful guides to further readings, and boxes highlighting and elaborating on key issues and concepts such as the ASEAN Summits or "Aceh's struggle". As an introduction to the international relations ofSoutheast Asia, its principal institutions, and some of the key issues that currently animate its policymakers, it is excellent and can be recommended. However, readers who are interested in new research findings and theoretical insights might want to look elsewhere. Despite Weatherbee's caveat about the absence of new theory, a more substantial introduction to some of the established paradigms might have been useful, even for theory-shy students. Weatherbee actually spends some time talking about the overall significance of the book and the region more generally in the context of theoretical debates in the concluding chapters. Thus it would have been useful if students had been provided with a more extensive sense ofwhat these theoretical debates were about in the context of Southeast Asia, and a clearer sense of the author's own take on some of these issues. Nevertheless, this is not the book's main intention, and it is perhaps unfair to complain about the absence of something it makes no claims to address. Where the book is on undeniably stronger ground is its systematic discussion of international relations issues and/or problems. The organization of the book is fairly conventional, and none the worse for that. After a useful chapter on the origins of "Southeast Asia", Weatherbee introduces what he considers to be the key "actors" that shape the region's international relations. Importantly, he pays particular attention to non-state actors, which he considers to be especially important, despite his preoccupation with "national interests" and his scepticism about the capacity of anything to overcome them. The crucially important impact of the Cold War in Asia rightly merits a separate...