Regional / International studies Books

Book SynopsisChildren born in south India have better chances of survival, education, and economic success compared to those born in the north. The book explores the reasons behind this disparity and the potential consequences for a centralized India.

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Book SynopsisConventional methods and models for spatial data analysis are based on 'hard' (quantitative, cardinally-measured) information. Approaches such as location-allocation models, optimization models, entropy models, spatial assignment models and regional growth models all re­ flect the past trend to cast complex and multidimensional spatial interaction patterns in the framework of a cardinal metric system. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the analysis of 'soft', qualitative or categoricaily-measured data. In the fields of both parametric and non-parametric statistics and econometrics, a wide variety of techniques and models have been designed which treat qualitative variables in an appropriate manner. All these methods and techniques aim at taking into account the limitations caused by measuring variables on a non-metric scale, and try to avoid ~he use of non-permissible numerical operations on qualitative variables. These endeavors have resulted in new catch phrases for the analysis of qualitative data, such as 'soft econometrics', etc. Researchers in the areas of regional and urban economics, geography and planning have become increasingly aware of the necessity to in­ corporate qualitative data and a wide array of methods for quali­ tative data are now being applied. Applications have included, for instance, spatial consumer choice behavior, locational perceptions and preferences, contingency table analysis, spatial scenario analysis, qualitative impact analysis, project and plan evaluations, spatial conflict analysis, and so forth.Table of ContentsQualitative Spatial Data Analysis: A Compendium of Approaches.- A. Generalized Linear Models and Categorical Data.- Statistical Models for Qualitative Data.- Statistical and Scientific Aspects of Models for Qualitative Data.- Analysis of Qualitative Individual Data and of Latent Class Models with Generalized Linear Models.- Categorical Regression Models for Contextual Analysis; A Comparison of Logit and Linear Probability Models.- Multivariate Contingency Table Analysis with NONMET: Basic Ideas.- Categorical Data Methods and Discrete Choice Modelling in Spatial Analysis: Some Directions for the 1980s.- B. Log-Linear Models.- Hybrid Log-Linear Models.- A Comparison of the Loglinear Interaction Model with Other Spatial Interaction Models.- Modelling Cross-Tabulated Regional Data.- C. Partial Least Squares and Lisrel models.- Systems Analysis by Partial Least Squares.- Recent Developments on Categorical Data Analysis by PLS.- Soft Modelling and Spatial Econometrics: Towards an Integrated Approach.- Structural Equation Models with Qualitative Observed Variables.- D. Multidimensional Qualitative Analysis.- Multidimensional Data Analysis for Categorical Variables.- Analyzing Activity Pattern Data Using Qualitative Multivariate Statistical Methods.- Unemployment and the Rise of National Socialism: Contradicting Results from Different Regional Aggregations.- Generalized Path Analysis for Mixed Geographical Data.- Order-Dependent Measures of Correspondence for Comparing Proximity Matrices and Related Structures.- A Survey of Qualitative Multiple Criteria Choice Models.- E. Fuzzy and Qualitative Structures.- A Linguistically-Based Regional Classification System.- Fuzzy Data Analysis in a Spatial Context.- Qualitative Structure Analysis of Complex Systems.- F. Discrete Choice Models and Dynamics Analysis.- Trends and Prospects for Qualitative Disaggregate Spatial Choice Models.- The Analysis of Panel Data for Discrete Choices.- Travel-Activity Behavior in Time and Space: Methods for Representation and Analysis.- Dynamic Analysis of Qualitative Variables: Applications to Organizational Demography.- Mathematical Specification of Transportation Models.- General Representational Formalisms and Search Procedures for Inferring Models from Categorical Data.- G. Synthesis.- Developing Trends in Qualitative Spatial Data Analysis.

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Book SynopsisThe potato (Solanum tuberosum L) has a high potential to raise smallholder income and improve food security in Eastern Africa. Improving the quality of seed potatoes can contribute to increasing its productivity. Few seed potatoes are currently sourced from specialised multipliers, as farmers largely rely on farm-saved seed potatoes. This often makes economic sense in the absence of affordable high quality seed potatoes and limited market security. Seed potato system interventions need to address the quality of specially multiplied and farm-saved seed potatoes simultaneously. Here it is shown that positive selection, the selection of healthy looking mother plants for the production of seed potatoes by ware potato farmers, can contribute to improving seed potato quality. When looking back an essential success factor of the research trajectory was the researchers'' room to manoeuvre and immerse in partnerships with practitioners, while innovation was made the central objective, rather than research results. The experience shows that it is worthwhile to search for opportunities for incremental innovation and that these can be of a surprising simple nature. For an effective contribution to innovation the mandate of research needs to allow for the active engagement in training, communication and scaling-up.

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Book SynopsisThe volume examines the critical interfaces between the personal and political that frame the utopian visions of Bai Ren's fictional autobiography about the education of Filipino-Chinese sojourners; Robert Francis Garcia's firsthand account of the communist purges; Cesar Lacara's memoirs of a veteran revolutionary; Zelda Soriano's feminist narratives; Peter Bacho's novelistic dissection of Filipino-American identity crisis; and Rey Ventura's ethnography of illegal migrant workers in Japan. They illuminate the ongoing transformation and redefinition of the Philippine nation-state while highlighting the ways in which the individual and collective experiences, struggles, dreams, and aspirations of Filipinos serve to rethink and reinvent notions of belonging, sacrifice, learning, labor, and love that underpin the theory and practice of nation-making.

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Book SynopsisThe exhibition A Fact Has No Appearance explores the impact of new ideas on art in Southeast Asia during the 1970s through the case studies of three artists: Johnny Manahan, Redza Piyadasa, and Tan Teng-Kee, all of whom have been recognised for breaking ground in Southeast Asian modern art. With essays that deliberate upon the impact of their works during the 1970s as well as a rich documentation of their works and archival materials, this catalogue presents a concise study of the three artists and also offers insight into how conceptual art practices took hold in this region.

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Book Synopsis'Local Responses to Global Challenges in Southeast Asia — A Transregional Studies Reader' is a collection of multidisciplinary essays, predominantly derived from papers presented at EuroSEAS 2019, the leading academic conference on Southeast Asian Studies, hosted by Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. It brings together a variety of scholars from Southeast Asia, Europe and North America, allowing for multiple flows and directionalities of knowledge productions and exchanges, be it between the Global South and North as well as within the Global South. The reader presents empirically-oriented, theoretically grounded analyses of local responses to global challenges such as knowledge-productions; notions and practices of building diverse communities; neo-populisms and contentious politics; resources and sustainability; urbanization; labor, livelihoods and mobilities. Each section starts with an introduction reviewing the state of the art. Authors will take cue from a transregional perspective understood as a distinct and alternative perspective on multi-lingual and transcultural spaces of contact, exchange and transfer. This includes a contextualization of phenomena in terms of diverse (cross) linkages and entanglements, including motilities on different scales, i.e. ranging from the local, regional to national and/or global levels. Container-based notions of place and space are addressed in a critical manner, where space and area are understood as notions beyond established systems of ordering and meta-geographies. A key goal is to allow for a consistent conceptual advancement of New Area Studies, which are critical, decentred, decolonial, diversified, and multi-disciplinary in nature.

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Book SynopsisThis book is especially valuable for its policy evaluation studies using both a theoretical model for policies carried out at national and regional levels and for gathering policy evaluation studies in diverse disciplines by empirical study.Policy analysis shown here employs theoretical models such as an international trade model, an optimal tariff, and spatial reorganization. At the same time, factors in well-being are taken into consideration with land development, changes in migration and local economies by natural disasters, validation of efficiency for emission control methods, the relationship between cyberspace and physical space in urban networks, and NPOs’ investment activities.The empirical research reported in this volume analyzes Japan, China, and Asian-Pacific cities. In the case of Japan, studies focus on the finances of local governments, the real estate industry, the role of consumer cooperatives in a food system, and agriculture and its productivity in hilly and mountainous areas. As well, the effects of industrial clusters in megacities and investment in high-speed railways and prediction of human behavior during an earthquake are studied. In China’s case, studies focus on food policy and the effect of ecology and environment on migration policy. For Asia-Pacific cities, studies show performance rankings of “super cities” in the region.The book defines the frontier of policy evaluation following a middle path between theoretical study and empirical study with regard to evaluation. In addition, the book contributes to an understanding of the relationship between the goals and targets of sustainable development. This book is highly recommended for graduate students, policymakers, and researchers concerned with policy evaluation.Table of ContentsTable of Contents Preface Section 1: Chapter 1 Trade, capital accumulation, and wage differentials: A dynamic model of the comparative advantage theory.- Chapter 2 Ex-post Risk Management of Environmental Contamination of Municipal Water.- Chapter 3 Endogenizing the Reservation Value in Models of Land Development over Time and Under Uncertainty Revisited.- Chapter 4 Illegal Dumping of Industrial Garbage and an Optimal Tax System.- Chapter 5 Natural Disasters, Disaster Recovery Policies, and Regional Economy.- Chapter 6 An investigation of hierarchical central place systems and optimal spatial structures for improving regional welfare.- Chapter 7 Agglomeration and dispersion mechanism of cities system with interior structure.- Chapter 8 Emission Standards versus Emission Taxes with Foreign Firms.- Chapter 9 Budget Deficits of the Central Government and the Decentralization of Local Governments Section 2: Chapter 10 Socio-Economic Factors Affecting the Innovativeness of Start-ups in Japan: Comparative Analysis between Social Enterprises and Commercial Enterprises.- Chapter 11 Multi-agent Simulation for Prediction of Human Behavior during a Hypothetical Earthquake.- Chapter 12 Dynamic Changes in Food Consumption in China: Focusing on the Rice Retail Market.- Chapter 13 Ecological migration policy and livestock farm management.- Chapter 14 Assessment of Policies on Environmental Impacts of Socioeconomic Activities: A Case Study of Kasumigaura Basin, Japan.- Chapter 15 Industrial Agglomeration Due to High-Speed Railway Investment: A Monopolistic Competition Model Impact Assessment.- Chapter 16 Performance Rankings of Asia-Pacific Super Cities by means of Data Envelopment Analysis.- Chapter 17 Econometric Analysis of Economic Growth and Internal Population Migration Based on Three Regions of China.- Chapter 18 Output and Profit Effects of Backward Integration through Joint Projects: A Successive Cournot Oligopoly Model of the Real Estate Industry.- Chapter 19 Analysis of Regional Agricultural Productivity Growth Using the Malmquist Productivity Index: The Case of Chugoku, Japan Section 1: Chapter 1. Trade, Capital Accumulation, and Wage Differentials: A Dynamic Model of the Comparative Advantage Theory.- Chapter 2. Ex-post Risk Management of Environmental Contamination of Municipal Water.- Chapter 3. Endogenizing the Reservation Value in Models of Land Development over Time and Under Uncertainty Revisited.- Chapter 4. Illegal Dumping of Industrial Garbage and an Optimal Tax System.- Chapter 5. Natural Disasters, Disaster Recovery Policies, and Regional Economy.- Chapter 6. An Investigation of Hierarchical Central Place Systems and Optimal Spatial Structures for Improving Regional Welfare.- Chapter 7. Agglomeration and Dispersion Mechanism of Cities System with Interior Structure.- Chapter 8. Emission Standards versus Emission Taxes with Foreign Firms.- Chapter 9. Budget Deficits of the Central Government and the Decentralization of Local Governments.- Section 2: Chapter 10. Socio-Economic Factors Affecting the Innovativeness of Start-ups in Japan: Comparative Analysis between Social Enterprises and Commercial Enterprises.- Chapter 11. Multi-agent Simulation for Prediction of Human Behavior during a Hypothetical Earthquake.- Chapter 12. Dynamic Changes in Food Consumption in China: Focusing on the Rice Retail Market.- Chapter 13. Ecological Migration Policy and Livestock Farm Management.- Chapter 14. Assessment of Policies on Environmental Impacts of Socioeconomic Activities: A Case Study of Kasumigaura Basin, Japan.- Chapter 15. Industrial Agglomeration Due to High-Speed Railway Investment: A Monopolistic Competition Model Impact Assessment.- Chapter 16. Performance Rankings of Asia-Pacific Super Cities by means of Data Envelopment Analysis.- Chapter 17. Econometric Analysis of Economic Growth and Internal Population Migration Based on Three Regions of China.- Chapter 18. Output and Profit Effects of Backward Integration through Joint Projects: A Successive Cournot Oligopoly Model of the Real Estate Industry.-Chapter 19. Analysis of Regional Agricultural Productivity Growth Using the Malmquist Productivity Index: The Case of Chugoku, Japan.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on spatial planning of megacities that are growing in Asia, Africa, and America. These cities are not be seen in isolation from their respective influence regions. They complement each other. Most of the solutions to the problems of such cities are found in their respective regions, and, on the other hand, the regions derive their strength from their respective megacities. There is a need for promoting integrated spatial planning of megacity regions. The five chapters in this book highlight the spatial planning of such regions.Table of ContentsChapter 1 Evolution of Large Cities and Megacity Regions Growth and Spatial Distribution of Large Cities Global Scenario Growth of Million-plus Cities in India Geographical Distribution of M+ Cities Distribution of Megacities Distribution among States / UTs Primacy at State-level Characteristics of Megacities in India Merging of Cities and Evolution of new Regional Spatial Patterns Urban Corridors DMIC Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) Bengaluru-Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC) Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) Defence Corridor East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC) Mega-regions City Regions City Region: Definition Metro-city Regions Megacity Regions Polycentric Regions Functional / Morphological Polycentricity Chapter 2 Megacity Region Spatial Model Earlier Attempts Polarised Activity Centres Model Adaption of PAC Model for Megacity Region Approach to Conceptualisation Structure of a Megacity Region Spatial Configuration Basis for Spatial Arrangement Basic Spatial Unit of the Model: Cluster of Villages Micro-Region Sub-Region Megacity Region Basic Characteristics of the Megacity Region Spatial Model Settlement Pattern Road Hierarchy and Pattern Advance reservation for other Transit Systems Flexibility in the Model Application Application to Coastal Megacity Regions Application as Urban Corridors Application to less than a Million City Regions Application to Million-plus City Regions Cascading of Micro-regions Flexibility to to Spatial Planners Testing the Megacity Region Spatial Model Overall Spatial Configuration The Radius of Influence of a Megacity Total Area of the Megacity Region Regional Spatial Hierarchical Units and their Governance Micro-regions Sub-regions Composition of Megacity Region Core Test Results Application of Megacity Region Spatial Model Application as a Descriptive Tool Appraisal of existing Regional Plans: examples of NCR and MMR Preparation for application Regional Spread Sub-regions Settlement Hierarchy Road Hierarchy and Road Pattern Application as a Prescriptive Tool Steps for application for planning megacity region Steps for application for planning at sub-regional / district level Steps for application for planning at micro-regional / block level Application of the Spatial Model to Megacity Regions in other Countries Chapter 3 Dynamics of Megacity Regional Development Introduction Need for Preparation of Regional Plan for Delhi The Mass Migration of 1947-48 Establishing an Institutional Framework for Regional Planning High Power Board Constitution of NCR Planning Board Dynamics of Spatial Development Spatial Structure Spatial Patterns Hierarchy of Settlements Settlement Pattern Land Utilisation Zones Land Cover Road Patterns Dynamics of Socio-economic Development Policy of Containment of Delhi’s Population Policy of Dispersal of Employment-generating Activities from Delhi Policy of dispersal of Central Government Offices Policy of Dispersal of Wholesale Markets Policy of Dispersal of Industries Other Policies Promoting Industrial Development SEZ Policy 2000 IT Policy Regional Transport Policy / Strategy Road Transport Policy Bus Transport Policy on Rail Network Air Transport Policy Communication Policy Environment Policy Summing Up Dynamics of Spatial Development Dynamics of Socio-economic Development Chapter 4 Megacity Regional Governance and Plan Implementation Effect of Megacity Regional Plans Megacity Regional Governance Types of Megacity Regional Governance Systems Regional Governing Bodies in India Ministries / Departments / Agencies Metropolitan Regional Development Authorities Statutory Authorities Constitutional Provisions on Territorial and Local Governance Metropolitan Planning Committees District Planning Committee Urban Local Governing Bodies Rural Local Governing Bodies Gram Panchayat Intermediate Panchayat District Panchayat Implementation Strategies Implementation through Statutory Provision Implementation through Modifications to the Sub-regional / Development Plans Implementation through Projects Implementation through Central / State Government Interventions Implementation through Advocacy Resource Mobilisation Land Assembly Land Acquisition Land Pooling and Redistribution Scheme / Town Planning Scheme Accommodation Reservation Transferable Development Right Fiscal Resource Mobilisation Central / State Government Grants Market Borrowings Bilateral / Multilateral Funds Domestic Funds Internal Accruals Loans from Planning / Development Agencies / Projects Financed by NCRPB Funding through Convergence Resource Mobilisation through PPP Foreign Direct Investment Human Resource Mobilisation Chapter 5 Emerging Advances and Innovative Approaches (Tentative title, work on this Chapter is in progress) Transforming Global Urban Geography Need for Regional Planning Innovative Approach to Regional Planning Collaborative Planning Integrated Planning Spatial and Economic Integration Territorial Integration National, State, Regional, Sub-Regional, Micro-Regional, Urban and Rural Integration Through Cascading · Neo Spatial Patterns Urban Corridors Megacity Regions Clusters Urban Corridors and Rural Wedges Zero-Waste Nodes · New Tools For Planning Megacity Region Spatial Model Geographical Information System Regional Spatial Data Infrastructure Blockchain Information Technology (Regional Command Centre) · New Thrust Areas Social / Spatial Equity Conservation of Heritage And Culture Climate Change Resilience Green Regional Mobility Sustainability Trends in Implementation Trends in Regional Governance

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on geospatial information in living spaces, providing many examples of its collection and use as well as discussing the problems of how it is used and its future prospects.Geospatial information science is in the process of evolving and being systematized, with the technical and usage aspects of the real world stimulating each other. This book systematizes the technical aspects of positioning; of geography, which manages and represents what is measured in units of earth coordinates; and of data science, which aims to efficiently express and process geographic information, all by introducing contemporary examples that are systematized with regard to their use in our living spaces. Examples of geospatial information used in almost all aspects of our lives, including urban areas, transportation, disaster prevention, health and medical care, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, culture, ecology, and topography, are presented, along with examples of their use in each area. One of the major features of this book is that it describes the use of data from earthquake disasters that is unique to Japan, as well as the use of open data and personal data in Japan, which is a trend that is gaining attention in many countries. In this way the book systematically describes events and circumstances in living spaces that are revealed by the expression and analysis of geospatial data, with case studies and discusses their use in the IoT era.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Fundamentals and Applications of Geospatial Information (Yasuhiro Kawahara, Yoshihide Sekimoto).- Part I Expression of Geospatial Information.- Chapter 2. Base Map Development and Surveying in Japan (Toshikazu Seto).- Chapter 3. Various Representations and Processing Techniques of Geospatial Information - Appropriate Control of Big Data Behind (Yoshihide Sekimoto).- Part II Mobile Communications and Positioning.- Chapter 4. Ground-based and Space-based Positioning (Yasuhiro Kawahara).- Chapter 5. Observation from Space - Remote sensing (Masahiko Nagai).- Part III Utilization of Geospatial Information in Daily Life.- Chapter 6. Applications in Urban Facility and Land Management - from Urban Facility Management to Smart Cities (Yoshihide Sekimoto).- Chapter 7. Applications in Transportation Systems and Mobile Devices - Capturing the Movement of People (Yoshihide Sekimoto).- Chapter 8. Applications in Crime Prevention (Ikuho Yamada).- Chapter 9. Applications in Health and Healthcare (Ikuho Yamada).- Chapter 10. Application in Times of Disaster - Through the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the Great East Japan Earthquake, and Covid-19 (Yoshihide Sekimoto).- Chapter 11. Utilization in Agriculture, Forestry, and Marine Management (Masahiko Nagayama, Yasuhiro Kawahara).- Chapter 12. Utilization in Behavior, Ecology, and Cultural Property Surveys (Yasuhiro Kawahara).- Chapter 13. International Applications (Yoshihide Sekimoto).- Part IV Open Data and Personal Data in the Use of Geospatial Information.- Chapter 14.The advent of a participatory data society and the use of open data (Toshikazu Seto).- Chapter 15. Future geospatial information in harmony with advanced technology and human life (Yoshihide Sekimoto, Yasuhiro Kawahara).

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Book Synopsis"Realpolitik Ideology" represents path-breaking research on the Indonesian military (TNI) going beyond traditional scholarship on the TNI's dual function or dwifungsi which has been one of the dominating fields of analysis in Indonesian studies since the 1970s. Addressed to political scientists, sociologists, historians, anthropologists and defence practitioners, this book interprets security policy in terms of its social roots asserting that the realpolitik behaviour of the TNI has strong "socio-cultural" undertones, which in turn shape the development of military doctrine. The argument made in the book is that only through a better understanding of the doctrines that reinforced the military's significant presence in Indonesian affairs and their subsequent restructuring can Indonesia's policy-makers attempt meaningful reform of the TNI.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the author marshals evidence to support an arena-specific approach towards viewing Vietnam's state-society relations. In practice, the Vietnamese party-state's relations with society vary from the hard and uncompromising state, with the bureaucracy getting its way, to society's ability to negotiate the state's boundaries and regimes to make them less harsh. Any analysis of Vietnam's state-society relations needs to recognize and demonstrate both elements of dominance and accommodation, as well as specify the context in which either or both are seen. Alone, neither is adequate. In particular, the idea of the ""state"" needs to be disaggregated because ""state"" is not a singular actor that is coherent or uniform through time and space. To demonstrate how state-disaggregation can make our view more nuanced, this book analyses state-society interaction at the ward level of Hanoi, an urban local authority.

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Book SynopsisSince its inception 31 years ago, Southeast Asian Affairs (SEAA) has been an indispensable annual reference for generations of policy-makers, scholars, analysts, journalists, and others. Succinctly written by regional and international experts, SEAA illuminates significant issues and events of the previous year in each of the ten Southeast Asian nations and the region as a whole. Southeast Asian Affairs 2007 begins with five incisive regional surveys, which focus on political change, gender issues, and socio-environmental impact on Southeast Asia in 2006. The eleven country sections with the inclusion of Timor-Leste discuss incisive surveys of regional economic, political, and social trends. It offers indispensable country reviews.

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Book SynopsisThis monograph argues that although the United Wa State Party (UWSP) has been branded by the international community as a "narco-trafficking army," the organisation has an ethnic nationalist agenda whose aim is to build a Wa state within Burma. The UWSP is not innocent of narcotics-related crimes, but few conflict parties in Burma can claim to have clean hands. The weak capacity of the UWSP leadership has prevented it from developing a clear vision of how to develop a Wa state. Although the UWSP has promoted Wa nationalism, the population under its control is not mono-ethnic. The UWSP has implemented a ban on opium cultivation to comply with international pressure. It has called for international aid to offset the impact of the ban, but so far not enough assistance has come through. The organisation has relocated thousands of Wa villagers to the Thai border area, displacing part of the original Lahu, Akha, and Shan populations and aggravating ethnic tensions.Relations with the government remain tense, and peace has not been achieved. It is unlikely the UWSP will agree to disarm until some of its basic demands have been met. The United States has indicted eight UWSP leaders on drug trafficking charges. Thailand sees the UWSP as a security threat and accuses it of producing amphetamines. China has a better relationship with the UWSP and has given support and technical advice to the organisation. The drug trade is controlled by powerful ethnic Chinese syndicates that have no interest in conflict resolution and state building. Demonising and isolating the UWSP will make the organisation more dependent on them, and will obstruct reconciliation efforts in Burma.

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Book SynopsisThe Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore for a Closer Economic Partnership (ANZSCEP) that came into force in January 2001 assumes important significance as it is the first comprehensive bilateral FTA that was signed involving Singapore, and also the first bilateral FTA of an ASEAN member, thus initiating the process of 'new regionalism' in Asia. This book provides a deeper understanding about motivations of New Zealand and Singapore to enter into other bilateral FTAs and some of the visible impacts observed since their implementation.

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Book SynopsisSince its founding in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has been an increasingly large part of the life of Southeast Asia, although most people in the region know very little about it. ASEAN has helped bring peace and stability to the region. It has successfully engaged the world's major powers, in East Asia and beyond. ASEAN has taken steps to integrate the regional economy as an important means of cooperatively improving the region's competitiveness, attracting investments, generating jobs, raising incomes, and lowering costs and prices. ASEAN has also formed networks for dealing with regional problems like communicable diseases, environmental degradation, and transnational crime. An essential part of the ""Southeast Asia Background Series"", this book seeks to shed some light on what ASEAN is all about.

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Book SynopsisSince its inception in 1974, Southeast Asian Affairs (SEAA) has been an indispensable annual reference for generations of policy-makers, scholars, analysts, journalists, and others. Succinctly written by regional and international experts, ""SEAA"" illuminates significant issues and events of the previous year in each of the Southeast Asian nations and the region as a whole.""Southeast Asian Affairs 2008"" provides an informed and readable analysis of the events and developments in the region in 2007. In the regional section of this volume, the first three articles provide the political and economic overview of Southeast Asia and the region, while the fourth and fifth examine ASEAN at its fortieth year. Eleven country reviews as well as four special theme articles follow, delving into domestic political, economic, security, and social developments during 2007 and their implications for countries in the region and beyond.

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Book SynopsisFirst published in 1977, C. M. Turnbull’s one-volume history of Singapore has been an essential resource for more than forty years. Turnbull’s History provides a solid foundation for understanding of the two-hundred-year trajectory of Singapore from colonial outpost to world city. While many modern studies focus on current affairs or very recent events, emphasizing Singapore’s successful transition from the developing to the developed world, Turnbull connects this story to Singapore’s colonial experience under the East India Company and the British Crown. This new edition, building on two earlier thorough-going revisions, presents the standard history in a new and more affordable format for students, teachers, and anyone fascinated by the many stories of changing Singapore.Table of Contents Plate Maps Preface Abbreviations Introduction to the First Edition Introduction 1. The New Settlement, 1819–1826 2. "This Spirited and Splendid Little Colony", 1826–1867 3. High Noon of Empire, 1867–1914 4. "The Clapham Junction of the Eastern Seas", 1914–1941 5. War in the East, 1941–1942 6. Syonan: Light of the South, 1942–1945 7. The Aftermath of War, 1945–1955 8. The Road to Merdeka, 1955–1965 9. The New Nation, 1965–1990 10. The New Guard, 1990–2005 Notes Further Reading Index

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Book Synopsis“Southeast Asian Affairs, first published in 1974, continues today to be required reading for not only scholars but the general public interested in in-depth analysis of critical cultural, economic and political issues in Southeast Asia. In this annual review of the region, renowned academics provide comprehensive and stimulating commentary that furthers understanding of not only the region’s dynamism but also of its tensions and conflicts. It is a must read.” – Suchit Bunbongkarn, Emeritus Professor, Chulalongkorn University “Now in its forty-sixth edition, Southeast Asian Affairs offers an indispensable guide to this fascinating region. Lively, analytical, authoritative, and accessible, there is nothing comparable in quality or range to this series. It is a must read for academics, government officials, the business community, the media, and anybody with an interest in contemporary Southeast Asia. Drawing on its unparalleled network of researchers and commentators, ISEAS is to be congratulated for producing this major contribution to our understanding of this diverse and fast-changing region, to a consistently high standard and in a timely manner.” – Hal Hill, H.W. Arndt Professor of Southeast Asian Economies, Australian National University

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Book SynopsisSince 2011, Myanmar has experienced many changes to its social, political and economic landscape. The formation of a new government in 2016, led by the National League for Democracy, was a crucially important milestone in the country’s transition to a more inclusive form of governance. And yet, for many people everyday struggles remain unchanged, and have worsened in recent years. Key economic, social and political reforms have stalled, conflict persists, and longstanding issues of citizenship and belonging remain. The wide-ranging challenges of living with Myanmar are the subject of this volume. Each other offers a different perspective on the socio-political and economic mutations occurring in the country and the challenges that still remain. The book is divided into six sections, and covers critical issues ranging from gender equality and identity politics to agrarian reform and the representative role parliament. Collectively, these voices raise key questions concerning the institutional legacies of military rule and their ongoing role in subverting the country’s reform process. However, they also offer insights in the creative and productive ways the Myanmar’s activists, civil society, parliamentarians, bureaucrats and everyday people attempt to engage with and reform those legacies.

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Book SynopsisThe United States launched a new Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy in late 2017 after reluctantly concluding that its patient effort to engage and socialize China to the rules-based order since 1972 had failed. China’s behaviour since 2009 convinced the United States that China is a revisionist power seeking to impose an authoritarian model of governance in Asia which, if successful, would end the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific as well as endanger US security and vital trade interests.The new US FOIP strategy initiative seeks to engage like-minded nations in economic, security (both traditional and non-traditional), and political governance partnerships to construct a collaborative and scalable network of relations that will be able to respond flexibly to meet a wide range of stakeholder needs and regional contingencies across the Indo-Pacific region.The United States occupies a peak organizing role in this network and works with a hierarchy of partners distributed throughout the vast Indo-Pacific to meet the economic, security, and governance capacity needs of network members at any level. The rules-based order is the “operating system” of this network approach, and so the network itself sustains the rules-based order for its members as a collective good. FOIP is more like a club that generates rules-based order benefits for its members and as such has little in common with Cold War bloc politics and containment strategy.Bearing in mind that FOIP is only in its start-up phase and is likely to gather momentum going forward; that the elements of this network strategy are already in place; and that the United States and its main FOIP partners together have considerable material, organizational, and soft power resources, one may say that its prospects for long-term sustainability and success are not bad.

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Book SynopsisSoutheast Asian Affairs, produced since 1974, is an annual review of significant trends and developments in the region. The emphasis is on ASEAN countries but important developments in the broader Asia-Pacific region are not ignored. The publication seeks to provide readable and easily understood analyses of major political, strategic, economic and social developments within the region.Trade Review“Southeast Asian Affairs, first published in 1974, continues today to be required reading for not only scholars but the general public interested in in-depth analysis of critical cultural, economic and political issues in Southeast Asia. In this annual review of the region, renowned academics provide comprehensive and stimulating commentary that furthers understanding of not only the region’s dynamism but also of its tensions and conflicts. It is a must read.” – Suchit Bunbongkarn, Emeritus Professor, Chulalongkorn University“Now in its forty-seventh edition, Southeast Asian Affairs offers an indispensable guide to this fascinating region. Lively, analytical, authoritative, and accessible, there is nothing comparable in quality or range to this series. It is a must read for academics, government officials, the business community, the media, and anybody with an interest in contemporary Southeast Asia. Drawing on its unparalleled network of researchers and commentators, ISEAS is to be congratulated for producing this major contribution to our understanding of this diverse and fast-changing region, to a consistently high standard and in a timely manner.”– Hal Hill, H.W. Arndt Professor of Southeast Asian Economies, Australian National UniversityTable of Contents The Region Southeast Asia in 2019: Adjustment and Adaptation to China’s Regional Impact, by Graham Ong-Webb Economic Overview of Southeast Asia, by Manu Bhaskaran The Rise of the Right: Populism and Authoritarianism in Southeast Asian Politics, by Kanishka Jayasuriya American Foreign Policy and Southeast Asia, by Daljit Singh China’s Belt and Road Initiative Financing in Southeast Asia, by Xue Gong Brunei DarussalamBrunei Darussalam in 2019: Issues Revisited, by Pushpa Thambipillai CambodiaCambodia in 2019: Entrenching One-Party Rule and Asserting National Sovereignty in the Era of Shifting Global Geopolitics, by Kheang Un, Jing Jing LuoIndonesia Post-Election Politics in Indonesia: Between Economic Growth and Increased Islamic Conservatism, by Amalinda Savirani Social Media and the 2019 Indonesian Elections: Hoax Takes the Centre Stage, by Jennifer Yang Hui LaosLaos in 2019: Moving Heaven and Earth on the Mekong, by Geoffrey C GunnMalaysia Malaysia in 2019: A Change of Government without Regime Change, by Ross Tapsell Malaysia and the Pursuit of Sustainability, by Serina Rahman Myanmar Myanmar in 2019: Rakhine Issue, Constitutional Reform and Election Fever, by Nyi Nyi Kyaw The 2020 Myanmar General Election: Another Turning Point?, by Ye Htut The PhilippinesThe Ones Who Don’t Walk Away from the Philippines, by Lowell BautistaSingapore Singapore in 2019: In Holding Pattern, by Khairulanwar Zaini The Bicentennial Commemoration: Imagining and Re-imagining Singapore’s History, by Terence Chong Thailand Thailand in 2019: The Year of Living Unpredictably, by Kanokrat Lertchoosakul Future—Forward? The Past and Future of the Future Forward Party, by James Ockey Timor-LesteTimor-Leste: Twenty Years after the Self-Determination Referendum, by Rui Graça FeijóVietnam Vietnam in 2019: A Return to Familiar Patterns, by Paul Schuler, Mai Truong Succession Politics and Authoritarian Resilience in Vietnam, by Nguyen Khac Giang

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Book Synopsis“This book discusses Vietnam’s relations with ASEAN in the period from the early 1970s to mid-1990s. It focuses on the evolution of Hanoi’s view on ASEAN, from denial to integration in the organization. Further, it reveals the reasons behind Hanoi’s decision to join ASEAN in 1995 in the context of the transformation of the overall Vietnam’s foreign policy when the Cold War ended. Relaxation of the Cold War conditions allowed Hanoi to improve understanding of ASEAN that resulted in better Vietnam-ASEAN relations and subsequent Vietnam’s membership in ASEAN.The author has had access to documents and interviewees that few other researchers can rival. And the richness of the empirical evidence of this book makes a significant contribution to the studies of Vietnam foreign relations in specific and Southeast Asian international relations in general.Trade Review“This is a uniquely well-informed account of Vietnam’s serious internal debates leading to the decision to join ASEAN in 1995. The story starts with a probing analysis of Hanoi’s regional diplomacy and relations with the Soviet Union, China, and the United States from the 1970s onward. Entering the 1990s, the narrative shows how Vietnamese policymakers struggled to reconcile ideological and pragmatic considerations as they navigated complex great-power and regional environments. Professor Tung dispels conventional balance-of- power explanations for Hanoi’s embrace of ASEAN, and argues persuasively that the decision to join grew out of a shift from a revolutionary national identity to an identity centered on developmental state model of the Southeast Asian type. This honest and close-up view of policy debates offers a rare opportunity for readers to understand the logic of policymaking in one of the world’s most complex diplomatic environments.” — Andrew J. Nathan, Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science, Columbia University”

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Book SynopsisBeginning in 2005 as a small electoral reform committee, the Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections – or Bersih – soon became Malaysia’s most prominent social movement, mobilising five mass demonstrations on the streets of Kuala Lumpur and other cities at home and abroad, and becoming a prominent voice not only for electoral form, but against corruption and authoritarianism. Based on participant observation and first-hand interviews with key actors, this is the first academic book that looks at how Bersih operated within an authoritarian system that turned into a movement that aggregated the collective grievance of Malaysians and enabled Malaysian socio-political activism to force the government to concede to elements of electoral reform. Engaging with social movement theory, the author locates Bersih at the centre of the movement for democracy in Malaysia, thus creating a platform for citizen participation and mobilisation that helped form the basis of a new democratic ethos. Along the way, she notes the way in which Bersih evolved out of earlier civil society activism and the Reformasi movement to place political protest and popular mobilisation as important forces in Malaysian politics. This book makes a major contribution to the scholarly work on social movement theories in the Southeast Asian context, and to the growing literature on social movements and democratisations.

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Book SynopsisInternational relations scholarship and the popular media tend to portray China as a great power with hegemonic designs for Southeast Asia. Moreover, studies on Chinese influence in Southeast Asia predominantly focus on the Chinese state. This paper argues that Chinese non-state actors and their daily encounters with local communities in Southeast Asia deserve equal attention as these interactions evidently produce friction at both the society-to-state and state-to-state levels. The influence of Chinese non-state actors in Southeast Asia can be illustrated with three examples, namely, Chinese tourism operations in Thailand, Chinese market demand and agricultural transformations in Myanmar, and Chinese gangs within the casino economy in Cambodia. Thailand has recently become a top tourist destination for Chinese nationals. This has cultural implications as those involved in the tourism industry need to have Chinese language skills. The economic implications include increased competition and decreased accountability as Chinese tour companies have set up in Thailand using Thai locals as nominees. Bilateral relations also soured after a boat carrying Chinese tourists capsized in Thailand. As global prices of corn rose in 2011 and 2012, areas in Myanmar close to the Chinese border have increased corn cultivation to meet Chinese demands for that crop. This has led to deforestation in these areas. Chinese gangsters fleeing their government’s crackdown in China have settled down to operate in the casino economy in Cambodia. Consequentially, there has been a rise in crime rate involving online scams and deteriorating public security. Despite the Chinese government encouraging the Cambodian government to enforce a ban on online gambling, the actions of non-state actors from China continue to be associated with the Chinese state as a whole and there is rising resentment towards the Chinese in Cambodia. The COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily halted cross-border trade between China and mainland Southeast Asia. This has negatively affected local farmers who are dependent on the Chinese market.

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Book Synopsis

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