Southeast Asia in a New Era: Ten Countries, One Region in ASEAN

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Edited by Rodolfo C. Severino, Elspeth Thomson and Mark Hong Ten Countries, One Region i n A S E A N NewEra SoutheastAsia in a “This book is about Southeast Asia in a new era. This new era began with a new century and a new millennium posing great challenges to the region and to each country in it. It has a chapter on each of the ten countries in the region, covering both the politics and the economic aspects. It has one on the region as a whole, and one on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It has a thoughtful afterword that is a summary of its contents but is more than the sum of the individual chapters. Many books and chapters of books have been written on Southeast Asia, usually by external observers. Aside from being up-to-date, this book is different from most of them in several ways. Most of the chapters are written by Southeast Asians; indeed, most of the country-chapters are written by natives of those countries. This means that the perspectives are based on local insights, which provide nuance and sensitivity. The book is addressed primarily to the young people of Southeast Asia, so that they can get to know their neighbors better. Each chapter has a guide to further reading and a series of questions to provoke further research and deeper inquiry.” Fidel V. Ramos, Former President of the Philippines (1992–1998) Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace Singapore 119614 http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg SOUTHEAST ASIA Politics & Economics Southeast Asia in a New Era Severino, Thomson & Hong “The destiny of Southeast Asia is determined by its geography. Its location between big powers and its strategic importance to the global player means that the nations of Southeast Asia will always be affected by the policies of countries who have a stake in the region. This book illustrates the dynamics and implications of these relationships. It provides insights into how the Southeast Asian governments are managing the impact of external powers impinging on their respective societies.” Ong Keng Yong, Former ASEAN Secretary-General Director, Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore SEA New Era_soft cvr reprint.indd 1 6/7/10 3:29 PM The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) was established as an autonomous organization in 1968. It is a regional centre dedicated to the study of socio-political, security and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its wider geostrategic and economic environment. The Institute’s research programmes are the Regional Economic Studies (RES, including ASEAN and APEC), Regional Strategic and Political Studies (RSPS), and Regional Social and Cultural Studies (RSCS). ISEAS Publishing, an established academic press, has issued more than 2,000 books and journals. It is the largest scholarly publisher of research about Southeast Asia from within the region. ISEAS Publishing works with many other academic and trade publishers and distributors to disseminate important research and analyses from and about Southeast Asia to the rest of the world. 00 SEA NewEra Prelim.indd 2 6/4/10 3:29:01 PM ...