Southeast Asia: Politics and Government Drs. Riza Noer Arfani, MA Randy W. Nandyatama, SIP, M.Sc Course Description:

Transcription

1 Southeast Asia: Politics and Government Southeast Asia: Politics and Government Drs. Riza Noer Arfani, MA Randy W. Nandyatama, SIP, M.Sc Course Description: The course is designed to develop comprehension, provide basic information and offer conceptual frameworks on socio-political development and government in Southeast Asian countries (except Indonesia) in 3 (three) major topics of discussion which are in line with contemporary Southeast Asian context: 1. Nation-Building: how countries in the region deal with the issue of nation building, how they develop socio-cultural basis for national integration; 2. State-Building: how they deal with the issues of political institutionalization and political development; how do they create the institutions and rules of the game within domestic politics; 3. Political Economy of Development: how they deal with development issues; how they develop political economy frameworks that can ensure national autonomy. Overall, this course examines the basic nature of governments in Southeast Asia, as well as its state-society relationships, including how a government manages its society and deals with socio-political issues. The course also tries to examine various theoretical approaches in political science which explain the process of state-building, nation-building, and its complex problem with special reference to most of countries in the Southeast Asia. Indeed, there are several interesting similarities in the political, economic and social structure. Yet, there are also numerous distinctive differences with respect to the condition in each country. Although the course covers most countries in Southeast Asia, specific exposition are mainly focused on the five original ASEAN states (except Indonesia), Myanmar and Indochinese states. During the discussion on each country, however, examples from other countries are used as parallels or contrasts in demistifying the respective issue. Pre requisite:

2 1 st Meeting Introduction and Class Orientation Giving explanations to participants about the aims of the class, methods, and some technicalities for the case studies/discussion sessions. The first meeting is providing insight on the overview of politics and governments in various Southeast Asian countries; its trends; salient issues to be addressed and its developments. During this introductory session, major characteristics of Southeast Asian governments and politics, their similarities and differences, and their problems and prospects are briefly examined. Students are encouraged to read some of the general books on Southeast Asian politics as recommended in this syllabus. *Damien Kingsbury, Southeast Asia: A Political Profile. 2nd edition, London: Oxford University Press, 2005, Constructing the Modern State, pp.3-23; *Clark D. Neher: Southeast Asia in the New International Era, 4th edition. Westview, Boulder, Colorado, pp *Regional Outlook: Southeast Asia Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), 2012, Introduction and the political section. Movie presentation (title of the movie is to be decided later) Short lecture/briefing Questions & Answers (Q&A) session Assignments on conceptualization

3 2 nd Meeting Conceptualization 1: Nation-Building The process of Nation-Building in Southeast Asian Countries is not yet over. It is indeed an incremental as well as experimental process. As newly independent countries, various states in the region are struggling to maintain the integrity of the nation. Likewise, several countries in southeast Asia region have rich in ethnic diversities, culture and societal disparities. Hence, these states have different responses to its conditions (ranging from assimilation, acculturation, to pluralistic approach). The first meeting will be facilitating participants to survey the complex nature of nation-building in Southeast Asia. It is argued that Southeast Asia consists of plural societies (multi-racial societies) which are prone to conflict. Some argue that they can be held together through hegemonic control, some argue that consociational democracy also leads to political stability. This political interpretation of conflict has been challenged by scholars of political economy who maintain that the nature of conflict in Southeast Asia is more classthan culture-and ethnic-based. *Alvin Rabushka and Kenneth A Shepsle, Politics in Plural Societies: A Theory of Democratic Instability. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E Merill, 1972). Especially pp *Frey, et.al (eds.), The Transformation of Southeast Asia, Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2004, Chapter 1. *Larry Diamond, ed. Political Culture & Democracy in Developing Countries, Boulder Colorado, 1994, Introduction: Political Culture and Democracy, pp.1-29 *Nicholas Tarling, Southeast Asia: A Modern History, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, Part 1. *Tom Bottomore, et al. eds., A Dictionary of Marxist Thought. Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press, 1983 pp (sections on class, class conflict and class consciousness) *Wang Gungwu (ed.), Nation-building: Five Southeast Asian Histories, Singapore: ISEAS, 2005, Chapter 1. Lecture & discussion

4 3 rd Meeting Conceptualization 2: State-Building Southeast Asia became one of the most diverse regions in term of Political Diversities. It can be learned from the various political systems and the wider spectrum of democracies been applied in several countries. This region constitutes different types of political systems some of which are more concerned than others about legitimacy. The governments in Southeast Asia use various means to hold onto power, some use hegemonic control, others use democratic and semi-democratic means, including means to promote political developments (e.g. national integration, political participation and general election) and economic development (economic growth and economic equity). This is correlated with the contestation of ideas and political elites competition in domestic level in order to achieve either national interests or personal/collective goals. *Damien Kingsbury, Southeast Asia: A Political Profile, Chapter 2 Authority and Legitimacy, pp *Mutiah Alagappa, ed. Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia: The Quest for Moral Authority. Stanford: Stanford University Press, Chapters 1 and 2 (pp.1-53) *John McGarry and Brendan O Leary, eds. The Politics of Ethnic Conflict Regulation: Case Studies of Ethnic Conflict. London and New York, 1993, Introductory Chapter *Myron Weiner, "Political Integration and Political Development". in Claude E. Welch Jr. ed. Political Modernization. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1967, pp Lecture & discussion

5 4 th Meeting Conceptualization 3: Political Economy of Development How does the State manage its resources to achieve prosperity will be discussed in this session. Ideologically, Southeast Asian States develop various approaches; Some of them are emphasizing State control, the other tended to give more space to the market, or a combination of both. Nevertheless, the Southeast Asian States are sharing similar environment. Therefore, this session will also examining the experiences of developing Political Economic Scheme; of which there is similar trend of capitalism development in the contemporary era. *Rodan, Hewison and Robison, The Political Economy of Southeast Asia, Oxford: Oxford University Press, *Frey, et.al (eds.), The Transformation of Southeast Asia, Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2004, Chapter 2. *Nicholas Tarling, Southeast Asia: A Modern History, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, Part 4. *Sanchita Basu Das, Southeast Asian Economies: Moderating Growth Momentum, in Southeast Asian Affairs 2012, Singapore: ISEAS, 2012, pp Lecture & discussion

6 5 th Meeting Civil Societies in Southeast Asia The course structure will be also incorporating the study on Southeast Asian civil societies to address the role of culture and greater participation of Southeast Asian people in developing their political life. Specifically this seminar will focus on the existence of oposition. Indeed, opposition is often considered as a kind of political contest. Not every country in Southeast Asia is allowed to have political contest. In the countries where it exists, there are two kinds of opposition to the governments, one is violent and the other, nonviolent, and in the past violent opposition had declined but it never ceased. *Mutiah Alagappa, Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia: The Quest for Moral Authority, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995, Chapter 1 and 2. *Lee Hock Guan, Civil Society in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS, 2004, Chapter 1. * Nicholas Tarling, Southeast Asia: A Modern History, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001, Part 3. Lecture & discussion

7 6 th Meeting Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam The Class will hold seminar and discussion session for those who are choosing Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam as their case study. Both countries have same root of Malay tradition and historical tie. Therefore, it will be feasible to corporate the cases from these two countries into one meeting. The participants will be given opportunity to explore several relevant issues, such as the issue of consociational democracy. Malaysia has been described as a typical plural society or deeply divided society in which politics has been divided along racial lines. As there is no common social will, the society could only be held together by force. Nevertheless, some maintain that Malaysia has been successful in introducing consociational democracy and enjoyed relative political stability and economic progress. Nevertheless, with globalization and rapid social change, will this pattern survive? *William Case. Malaysia: Aspects and Audiences of Legitimacy, in Alagappa, ed. Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia, pp *Ho Khai Leong, At a Crossroad: Malaysia Coalitional Politics and Chinese-based Political Parties. CHC Bulletin, issue 11 (May 2008) pp *Ong Kian Ming, Malaysia in 2010: Resurgent Najib and BN, Stumbling Anwar and PR, in Southeast Asian Affairs 2011, Singapore: ISEAS, pp *Afif Pasuni and Joseph C. Liow Signs of the Times: Election Fever, Recurring Themes and Political Malaise, in Southeast Asian Affairs 2012, Singapore: ISEAS, 2012, pp *N. John Funston (ed.), Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS, 2008, Section Malaysia and Brunei. *Clark D. Neher, Southeast Asia in the New International Era, Boulder: Westview Press, 2002, Section Malaysia and Brunei Student presentation & discussion Debriefing

8 7 th Meeting Singapore The Class will hold seminar and discussion session for those who are choosing Singapore as their case study. Some of salient issues are about the problem on Singaporean nation-building; its fragility as a small island state; its success story in achieving prosperity, etc. Indeed, there is no doubt that Singapore has a large middle class and democratic system yet the political development is different from the West as there is no Western Democracy being practiced. Why is it the case? What is the political situation in Singapore? Is the performance-legitimacy working? Has it been a breakthrough in the recent election? What are its problems and prospects? The participants will be given opportunity to explore these issue as well as other relevant issues. Required Readings : *Cho-Oon Khong, Singapore: Political Legitimacy through Managing Conformity, in Alagappa, ed. Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia, pp *Thomas J. Bellows, "Meritocracy and the Singapore political system," Asian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 17, No. 1 (2009): *Ho Khai Leong, Political Consolidation in Singapore: Connecting the Party, the Government and the Expanding State, in Terence Chong ed. Management of Success: Singapore Revisited. Singapore: ISEAS, 2010, pp *Eugene K. B. Tan, Transitioning to a New Normal in a Post-Lee Kuan Yew Era, in Southeast Asian Affairs 2012, Singapore: ISEAS, 2012, pp *N. John Funston (ed.), Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS, 2008, Section Singapore. *Clark D. Neher, Southeast Asia in the New International Era, Boulder: Westview Press, 2002, Section Singapore. Student presentation & discussion Debriefing

9 8 th Meeting Thailand The Class will hold seminar and discussion session for those who are choosing Thailand as their case study. Recent development of its domestic politics is one of most interesting topics to be discussed. Specifically, thailand was described as a typical Bureaucratic Polity, but gradually, it was transformed into Liberal Corporation, forcing the military to move to the background. The rise of Thaksin often signifies the decline of Bureaucratic Polity and the consolidation of democracy but at the same time it also posed a challenge to the old system, and the subsequent upheavals and the military intervention raised more questions about Thai democracy. What does the future hold for Thailand? Nevertheless, the participants could elaborate wider range of issues by using three main frameworks given. *J.L.S. Girling, The Bureaucratic Polity in Modernising Societies. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pp. *Anek Laothamatas, Business Associations and the New Political Economy of Thailand: From Bureaucratic Polity to Liberal Corporation. Boulder: Westview Press, pp.1-20; *Clark D. Neher: Southeast Asia in the New International Era, 4th edition. Westview, Boulder, Colorado, pp *Chairat Charoensin-O-Larn, Military Coup and Democracy in Thailand, in John Funston, ed. Divided over Thaksin: Thailand s Coup and Problematic Transition, Singapore: ISEAS, 2009, pp *Michael K. Connors, Thailand s Emergency State: Struggles and Transformations, Southeast Asian Affairs 2011, Singapore: ISEAS, 2012, pp *N. John Funston (ed.), Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS, 2008, Section Thailand. *Clark D. Neher, Southeast Asia in the New International Era, Boulder: Westview Press, 2002, Section Thailand. Student presentation & discussion Debriefing

10 9 th Meeting the Philippines The Class will hold seminar and discussion session for those who are choosing the Philippines as their case study. The fact that the Philippines is struggling in bringing back the past prosperous success story could be one of interesting topic. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines perhaps is the first country which enjoyed the democratic system. Nevertheless, violence has become a norm in politics and a large number of the population does not enjoy economic benefits. The problem of decentralization persists and corruption, like many countries in the region, is rampant. What has happened to the Philippine democratic system? Is it indeed an Anti-Development State? these issues are among interesting topics. *Walden Bello, The Anti-Development State: The Political Economy of Permanent Crisis in the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, 2004, Chapters 1 and 2. *William Case, The Philippines: Stable but Low Quality Democracy, in Politics in Southeast Asia, pp *Mely Anthony-Caballero, The Philippines in Southeast Asia, in Rodolfo C. Severino and Lorraine Carlos Salazar (eds.) Whither the Philippines in the 21st Century? Singapore: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, ISEAS, 2007, pp Edilberto C. de Jesus, The Philippines in 2010: Reclaiming Hope. Southeast Asian Affairs 2011, (ISEAS), pp *N. John Funston (ed.), Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS, 2008, Section the Philippines. *Clark D. Neher, Southeast Asia in the New International Era, Boulder: Westview Press, 2002, Section the Philippines. Student presentation & discussion Debriefing

11 10 th Meeting Myanmar The Class will hold seminar and discussion session for those who are choosing Myanmar as their case study. Historically Myanmar had a short democratic experience, and in 1962 there was a military coup which introduced a praetorian rule. However, the military could survive until today. Myammar, which has a similar political system like that in Indonesia in earlier times has had the most enduring military rule. Why is the military rule so enduring? Is there any chance of political development in the foreseeable future? Examining its road to democracy, the issue of nation-building are among hundreds of options. *Damien Kingsbury, Southeast Asia: A Political Profile, Chapter 5 Burma: The Garrison State, pp *Tin Maung Maung Than, Myanmar: Military in Charge, in John Funston, ed. Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, pp *Khin Zaw Win, 2010 and the Unfinished Task of Nation-Building, in Nick Chessman, Monique Skidmore and Trevor Wilson, eds. Ruling Myanmar: From Cyclone Nargis to National Elections, Singapore: ISEAS, 2010, pp *David I. Steinberg, Myanmar in 2010: The Election Year and Beyond, Southeast Asian Affairs 2011, Singapore: ISEAS, 2012, pp *David I. Steinberg, The Problem of Democracy in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar: Neither Nation-State Nor State-Nation, Singapore: ISEAS, 2012, pp *N. John Funston (ed.), Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS, 2008, Section Myanmar. *Clark D. Neher, Southeast Asia in the New International Era, Boulder: Westview Press, 2002, Section Myanmar. Student presentation & discussion Debriefing

12 11 th Meeting Indochina As a newly developed sub-region, the Indochinese states have its own distinctiveness. These states show some different pattern compared to most of ASEAN s original countries, especially in its economic, as well as its political behaviour. Locating adjacent to China as one the major political power in Asia, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam stranded in the fabric of its own identity and power in the context of Southeast Asia. Therefore, this seminar will focus to discuss how the regional context and socio-political condition affects the pattern of development in each respective country. Is China's influence very strong? Thus how is the structure of its state-society in each country? *John S. Kahn (ed.), Southeast Asian Identities, Singapore: ISEAS, *Daljit Sing (ed.), Southeast Asian Affairs 2011, Singapore: ISEAS, 2011 Section on Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. *Christoper B. Roberts, A More Mature and Robust State?, in Southeast Asian Affairs 2012, Singapore: ISEAS, 2012, pp *N. John Funston (ed.), Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS, 2008, Section Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. *Clark D. Neher, Southeast Asia in the New International Era, Boulder: Westview Press, 2002, Section Myanmar. Student presentation & discussion Debriefing

13 12 th Meeting Regional issue 1: Ethnic Chinese minorities and Political Participation With the exception of Singapore, ethnic Chinese constitute a minority group in all the countries in Southeast Asia. Nevertheless, its economic strength has been much larger than its numerical strength. In many countries, they have often been perceived to be dominating the economy of the country where they reside. Nevertheless, their economic strength does not translate into political power. Besides, the pattern of political participation varies from country to country: Some are based on ethnic parties while others are based on multi-ethnic parties or non-ethnic parties. How should we explain the different political situations of the ethnic Chinese? Why has there been so much discrimination against ethnic Chinese minorities in many Southeast Asian states? *Leo Suryadinata, Government Policies towards the Ethnic Chinese in the ASEAN States: Comparative Analysis, in Teresita Ang See and Go Bon Juan, eds. The Ethnic Chinese: Proceedings of the International Conference on: Changing Identities and Relations in Southeast Asia. Manila: Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran, 1994, pp *Ching-Hwang Yen, The Chinese in Southeast Asia and Beyond, Singapore: World Scientific, *Kusuma Snitwongse and W. Scott Thomson (eds.), Ethnic Conflict in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS, *Amy L. Freedman, Political Participation and Ethnic Minorities: Chinese Overseas in Malysia, Indonesia and the United States, London and New York: Routledge, 2000, Selected chapters. *Leo Suryadinata, Chinese Politics in Post-Suharto s Indonesia: Beyond the Ethnic Approach? Asian Survey, vol. XLI, no.3 (May/June 2001) pp Student presentation & discussion Debriefing

14 13 th Meeting Regional issue 2: Opposition, Terrorism and Corruption Opposition is often considered as a kind of political contest. Not every country in Southeast Asia is allowed to have political contest. In the countries where it exists, there are two kinds of opposition to the Governments, one is violent and the other, non-violent, and in the past violent opposition had declined but it never ceased. There were communist uprisings which subsided but religious uprisings, especially those related to radical Islam, are going strong. Some of these militant Islamic groups have external links, becoming part of some terrorist networks and posing a threat to political stability. Corruption is also rampant in many Southeast Asian countries and this has been considered as a threat to political stability. How serious are terrorism and corruption in Southeast Asia and to what extent will the two impact the democratic process? What are being done in order to resolve these issues? *Mutiah Alagappa, Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia: The Quest for Moral Authority. Chapters 3 (pp.54-65) *Norma Mahmood and Zakaria Haji Ahmad, ed. Political Contestation: Case Studies from Asia. Heinemann pp (Articles on Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand). *Jon S.T. Quah, Curbing Corruption in Asian Countries: The Difference between Success and Failure. Paper presented at the 4th International Conference on Management in the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges, Macau, October *Daljit Singh, ed. Terrorism in South and Southeast Asia in the Coming Decades, Singapore: ISEAS and McMillan, 2009, pp.82-91, Student presentation & discussion Debriefing

15 14 th Meeting Review and Evaluation Amitav Acharya, Asia is not one, The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 69, No. 4 (November) 2010, pp Short lecture & discussion Q&A session Recapitulation

16 References: There are no text books for this course. But there are a number of general books on Southeast Asian Politics which are used in this course. Nevertheless, most general books are dated. Therefore, students are encouraged to read newly published articles either in the academic journal or collection of papers published in book form and monographs. Students are expected to do their own research for their research paper. The syllabus, however, provides some required readings which will be used for discussion purposes during the seminar. Students are required to read these articles prior to class discussions. Recommended Books Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, An Approach to Political Culture, in Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations, Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, Clark D. Neher, Southeast Asia in the New International Era, Boulder: Westview Press, Daljit Singh (ed.), Southeast Asian Affairs 2011, Singapore: ISEAS, Daljit Singh and Pushpa Thambipillai (eds.), Southeast Asian Affairs 2012, Singapore: ISEAS, Erik Paul, Obstacles to Democratization in Southeast Asia, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, Jomo K. S. (ed.), Southeast Asian Paper Tigers?, New York: RoutlegeCurzon, Kusuma Snitwongse and W. Scott Thomson (eds.), Ethnic Conflict in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS, Larry Diamond (ed.), Political Culture & Democracy in Developing Countries, Boulder: Westview, Muthiah Alagappa, (ed.), Political Legitimacy in Southeast Asia, Stanford: Stanford University Press, N. John Funston (ed.), Government and Politics in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS, Wang Gungwu (ed), Nation-building: Five Southeast Asian Histories, Singapore: ISEAS, Recomended Academic Journals (on Southeast Asia) Contemporary Southeast Asia (ISEAS) Southeast Asian Affairs (ISEAS) Regional Outlook (ISEAS) Asian Survey Journal of Southeast Asian Studies (Cambridge) Third World Quarterly Pacific Affairs

17 Evaluation Criteria: There are 4 (four) components of assessment composition as follows; 1. Continuous assessment: Based on class participation and presence in the class. Students are expected to have done substantial reading before coming to class (10%) 2. Midterm Examination (30%) 3. Individual Assignment: Participants choose one of the States of in the region as a case study. In analyzing the political developments of the selected countries, the participants focused discussions by choosing one of the frameworks given at meetings beginning of the semester (Nation-Building, State-Building, and the Political Economy of Development). a. Proposal Presentation (20%) - Participants prepare research proposal outline and present it during the case study discussion sessions b. Final Exam: The Paper (40%) - The Paper is the final result of the individual research on a case study in a particular Southeast Asian State - Length: Consisted of words - A final version of the paper is due on the final exam date.