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Introduction
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- By Russell H.K. Heng, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Rahul Sen, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
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- Book:
- Regional Outlook
- Published by:
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Published online:
- 21 October 2015
- Print publication:
- 04 January 2006, pp ix-xii
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- Chapter
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Summary
As is the long-standing pattern in the ASEAN region, politics in some of its member countries are rambunctious and unpredictable while in others, nobody is expecting any significant change. This picture emerges in the ten country reports on politics.
In the Philippines, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is fending off calls to impeach her. In Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, having won an impressive election victory in early 2005, is fast losing his hallmark lustre as an effective leader by the end of the year because of his failure to come to grips with the violent religious/ethnic problems in the country's deep south. Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, one year into his term, gets a mixed report card, which is perhaps what any Indonesian president can realistically expect given the complexities of the country's problems. That is to say this President is not doing too badly. The new prime ministers of Malaysia and Singapore, two places where politics are rather more placid, are busy reinventing their respective country. Nobody expects the unexpected here. The even quieter sultanate of Brunei is actually experimenting with some rather bold political initiatives. These are exciting times for the country; however, very few seem to be curious about the Bruneians.
Among the new ASEAN members, Vietnam is having its Communist Party Congress in 2006 and so is Laos. But the opacity of their politics perhaps hides no more than intra-elite squabbles over how to share power and the perks that come with power. Despite pundits pointing to reformists versus conservatives rifts, the leaders of these countries probably enjoy a stronger consensus than given credit for. That consensus is for the country and themselves to get rich quick.
Given this mindset, development-friendly policies and politics are safely guaranteed for quite a while in these places. Cambodia continues to muddle through and the military regime in Myanmar remains in its political bunker while sorting out how to retain power, give some space to the opposition, and get round international pressure.
Introduction
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- By Russell H.K. Heng, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, Rahul Sen, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore
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- Book:
- Regional Outlook
- Published by:
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Published online:
- 21 October 2015
- Print publication:
- 28 December 2004, pp ix-xi
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Summary
Both Malaysia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the Philippines’ President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had their mandate renewed in national elections. Indonesia voted to have a new President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Singapore's Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong handed the leadership baton over to Lee Hsien Loong. Myanmar deposed its Prime Minister. Cambodia has a new king. Brunei has reconvened its State Legislative Council after 20 years. All these happened in 2004, which may give an impression that change is in the air.
However, the forecast for the region is not to expect anything radical from the new or renewed leadership. In some cases, the rhetoric is not matched by a more sober reality. In others, the need for reforms are dire but the new leader represents only a hope that things will improve somewhat rather than a definite solution to long-entrenched problems.
Indeed many problems remain very much unchanged in the region. Terrorism is still the region's foremost security threat. Indonesia had its third suicide bombing incident in September. A mix of regional separatism and violent forms of Islamic ideology continues to plague the Philippines’ south. A similar problem has escalated in the southern provinces of Thailand. Another pan-region health threat in the form of the avian flu serves as reminder that the disruptive effects of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 can be repeated any time. As always, here and there are pockets of optimism scattered among the patches of resignation. The conduct of peaceful elections in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia augurs well for the region's short-to-medium-term growth prospects. One resilient bright spot is that countries in the region are not at each other's throat even as they grapple with serious domestic problems, thus giving the region an overall environment of peace and harmony. There remains a unity of purpose and will to fight Islamic terrorist groups.
Preface
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- By Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, ANU, David G. Marr, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, ANU, Russell H.K. Heng, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, David Koh, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
- Edited by Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet, David G. Marr
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- Book:
- Beyond Hanoi
- Published by:
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Published online:
- 21 October 2015
- Print publication:
- 22 September 2004, pp vii-ix
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Summary
When the word “Vietnam” is mentioned, many people still think of a war that ended twenty-nine years ago. Yet Vietnam, the country, possesses the second largest population in Southeast Asia and ranks twelfth largest in the world. Surely it deserves to be approached on its own terms, not as a foreign memory.
A stern test of this prescription is to study governance in Vietnam. Undoubtedly, Vietnam's entire political system was profoundly influenced by war and revolution from 1945 to the late 1970s. On the other hand, those western writers who labelled Vietnam “totalitarian” had very little to go on except their own Cold War ideological predilections, extrapolations from Stalin's USSR, and Hanoi's determination to portray Ho Chi Minh and the Communist Party as infallible. Scholars who rejected the totalitarian epithet for Vietnam still found themselves severely limited as to sources that might support alternative models. Fieldwork was impossible, archives were closed, provincial newspapers inaccessible. By default, the utterances of central leaders and public intellectuals dominated writings on contemporary Vietnam. And governance — being inherently political — proved more difficult to research in practice than economic, social or cultural topics. Vietnam's research conditions have improved substantially during the past decade, with scholars able to reside in the countryside, some archival materials rendered accessible, and back sets of hundreds of local periodicals readily available at the National Library in Hanoi. Of equal importance, a new generation of Vietnamese and foreign scholars has emerged and is making its mark in PhD theses and publications. Growing up after the war, these young men and women are looking at received wisdom critically, asking fresh questions, and eagerly taking advantage of the wider range of study opportunities. are delighted that a number of promising young scholars are represented in this book.
While governance is the context for this book, it is still only feasible in Vietnam to examine certain aspects rigorously.
Preface
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- By Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, David G. Marr, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Drs Russell H.K. Heng, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, David Koh, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
- Edited by Ben J. Tria Kerkvliet, Russell Hiang-Khng Heng, David Wee Hock Koh
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- Book:
- Getting Organized in Vietnam
- Published by:
- ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
- Published online:
- 21 October 2015
- Print publication:
- 14 November 2003, pp vii-viii
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Summary
Beginning in 1990, the Australian National University (ANU) has been holding its series of Vietnam Update conferences almost every year. The chapters in this volume began as papers presented at the Vietnam Update 2001 held at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore on 19–20 November. The theme of that particular Update was “Governance in Vietnam: The Role of Organizations”.
By the time of the Vietnam Update 2003, there would have been 10 conferences, each focused on a particular theme. Over the years, the Update has looked at agriculture, education, law, civil society, mass media, urban culture, local government, and social differentiation, to name just a few of the themes. Conference proceedings have resulted in eight publications (books and monographs). The specialized nature of ANU's Vietnam Update is its hallmark, attesting to a capacity to draw on a critical mass of experts, both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese, to explore specific topics. It also underlines the university's long record in researching Vietnam.
The 2001 Update was the first time the conference left the shores of Australia. Holding the conference in Singapore tapped into the island's strategic location in the region and drew a greater attendance from people working in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. Since then, ISEAS has continued to co-host the conference in Canberra in 2002 and 2003. This book underlines how fruitful this ANU-ISEAS collaboration has been. More titles will be available when the volumes from the 2002 and 2003 Updates are published.
Finally, we would like to thank all those who funded the Vietnam Update 2001: the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), ISEAS and the ANU's Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. We are also grateful to staff members of both ANU and ISEAS who rendered invaluable organizational, editorial, and secretarial support.