Southeast Asia Overview
SE Asia, For many years, has been somewhat ignored by the West (especially the USA) Reasons- issues with Russia, China, Middle East, South Asia, and Vietnam Recent events have brought some attention: -Tsunami Terrorism: Indonesia, Philippines -Democracy in Philippines -Economic Growth in Thailand (recent coup) -Military Dictatorship and Crackdown in Burma -End of US embargo in Vietnam But SE Asia is still not a central concern to most of the West
Countries- Burma (Myanmar) Laos Thailand Vietnam Malaysia Singapore Indonesia Brunei Darussalam Cambodia Philippines (East Timor)
Burma (Myanmar) Laos Thailand Vietnam Cambodia Philippines Malaysia Singapore Brunei Indonesia (East Timor)
Common Characteristics SE Asia has ten countries that have only a little in common: Geographic Proximity Colonial Past Post WWII struggles for independence and modernization Religious Penetration of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity Shift from Agricultural Economies to manufacturing economies Reliance on Patron-Client bonds Village as primary unit of identity
Things in common European and Japanese colonization -- Resulted in: -Nation-States formed, Boundaries established and stabilized -Ports, Railways, and Roads (infrastructure) -Money Economy -Introduction of large scale industries- need for skilled and unskilled labor (leads to.) Many Chinese and Indians brought in to work, they remain there and influence the countries Created and sense of strong Nationalism- esp. post WWII
Economy Common links - continued -Except for Singapore and Brunei, Agricultural base is still the heart of the economy- [Agricultural Villages] The Village headman is the focus of power In villages, there forms patron client relationships which ultimately forms the larger political structure This necessitates making contacts with someone Higher than you (it s who you know)
Common links continued: Politics and government Not Perfect Categories Semi-Democracies (some citizen involvement in choosing leaders: Executives not fully accountable to legislature: civil liberties exist to ensure laws order) Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia Military Authoritarian Government- Burma (Myanmar) Military junta rules Absolute Monarchy- Brunei Communist Authoritarian: Vietnam and Laos - communist party in charge and they have a command economy (in some transition), low level of civil liberties Cambodia is hard to categorize - always changing Exception to categories: Until the 1970 s Thailand was Military authoritarian (also Thailand is still recovering from recent coup d'état) and from approximately 1966-1986 Philippines was Authoritarian (Marcos) Singapore and Indonesia are governed by an exclusive elite (Indonesia is in transition to semi-democracy) Brunei is an Oil Country Malaysia has had long period of Semi-democracy
Common links continued: geography and religion Geographic Categories Mainland Southeast Asia: Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam Insular Southeast Asia (archipelago): Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia Mainland countries are mostly Buddhist Archipelago countries mainly Islamic Exceptions: Singapore- Confucian, Buddhist, Islam, and Christian Philippines- Roman Catholic and some Islam
Common links continued: Political organization ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations an Economic Union Founded in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines, to face the communist threat. Brunei joined in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Burma in 1997 Cambodia joined in 1999 Proposed an economic free trade zone to start in 2013.
Difficulty in Categorizing SE Asian Nations should be remembered