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  • The Everyday Political Economy of Southeast Asia eds. by Juanita Elias and Lena Rethel
  • Nursyazwani Jamaludin
The Everyday Political Economy of Southeast Asia. Edited by Juanita Elias and Lena Rethel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Pp. 268.

The turn of the 1980s saw an increasing number of Southeast Asian countries progressing towards more marketized forms of economy. This process of economic liberalization did not, however, develop in tandem with the political structures of the time, resulting in the tendency to focus on the role of elites in policymaking. Scholars in this volume suggest that neglecting the voices of agency on the ground diminishes their role in influencing and shaping state policies.

As the title suggests, the objective of this volume is to explore the literature and meanings [End Page 576] associated with the term “everyday” in the context of Southeast Asian studies, as well as political economy scholarship. It not only presents a cogent argument on how neoliberal policymaking is challenged on the ground, but also demonstrates the “power of the powerless” and the “powerlessness of the power” in contributing to the political, economic and cultural transformation of Southeast Asia. Hence, as posited by the editors in the introductory chapter, there is a need to shift from an International Political Economy (IPE) approach to an Everyday Political Economy (EPE) one. At the same time, it is suggested that a study of everyday agency does not negate the role of elites/state; instead, the tensions between the masses and the elites, their respective intentions, and their impact of each other’s actions need to be read together for a better understanding of how the market economy operates in Southeast Asia.

This volume is divided into three main thematic sections: (1) From Development to Multiple Modernities; (2) Widening and Deepening Markets; and (3) People, Mobilities and Work. In the first section of the book, the authors look at how civil societies or individuals respond to state-led capitalist projects. Here, Rigg’s study of Vietnam and Thailand is valuable in helping us to understand the way people negotiate their identities as well as their livelihoods amidst changing socioeconomic and political landscape, essentially limiting the effectiveness of state development projects. A similar scenario is observed in Chapters 3 and 4 where Singh and Camba, and Henry explore the roles of civil societies in/against state development projects in the Philippines and Burma. These chapters are useful in explaining how a study of the EPE, in looking at the tensions and conflicts between the ground and the elites (and sometimes, even within civil society (Chapter 3)), helps us to better comprehend the success rate of some policies, and its possible impact on foreign investment.

The second section might especially interest scholars who are keen to know more about the impact of marketization on everyday experiences — for example, when it intersects with one’s religious beliefs/practices, or even educational opportunities. Amidst the growing movement of “halalization” and “Islamic branding”, Fischer and Rethel address how an introduction of marketization in the religious sphere affects locals’ consumption and experiences. Fischer’s “The Political Economy of Muslim Markets in Singapore” might particularly appeal to those who are keen on learning more about the Singapore government’s efforts on disciplining society, in this case through the halal industry. However, while Fischer’s study presents an intriguing narrative in tracing how Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) became the main — and only — governing body to issue the halal certificates, it might be interesting to investigate local Muslims’ reception, and how this may have shaped, for instance, consumption behaviours and religious awareness.

The final thematic section discusses the intersection of gender, ethnicity, and class in the market economy. As Franck shows in Chapter 8, while the Malaysian women in her study may appear to have submitted to patriarchal notions of employment, they made attempts to subvert and reinstate their agency through informal work arrangements. Yet, at the same time, despite Franck’s assertion that agency was exercised through a woman’s “choice” to quit formal employment, one wonders how much of it was already shaped by societal expectations and norms? In Chapter 10, Elias and Louth discuss the notions...

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