CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON SOUTHEAST ASIA: CONTEMPORARY POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT IN

SOUTHEAST ASIA 11:00AM – 11:50AM, AUGUST 10, 2013

SAN MARCOS HIGH SCHOOLTEXAS ALLIANCE FOR GEOGRAPHIC EDUCATION

Political Science, Ph.D.Journalism and Mass Communication, Ph.D.

Associate ProfessorDepartment of Political Science

Texas State University

Through the Eyes of Others

Crossroads of the World

The Roots of Contemporary Politics

Common Experience (Political & Non-Political)

Heavy Borrowing (Lacks definite borders)

-External and inter-regional influence

-Economic development

Diversity

-Ethnicities

-Languages

-Religions

The Outputs of Contemporary Politics:

Common Political ExperienceWestern Colonialism

(Anti-Imperial) Nationalism for independence

Cold War trauma

-Japanese occupation & Superpower rivalry

-Internal ideological struggle

-Interstate conflict

-> Border Disputes

-> Constant Communist and Anti-Communist Movement

-> Genocide

The Outputs of Contemporary

Politics: Common Non-Political Experience

Arrival and expansion of non-native religions (12th -17th)

Western ideas of Modernity (16th-20th)

-Civilization

-Capitalism

-Democracy

Economic transition (1980~)

-International labor market

-Rapid economic growth

-China

-> Politically more vulnerable to international market.

The Outputs of Contemporary Politics:

People and Language Hundreds of minority groups / National and local languages

Negative stereotypes against different ethnicities

Less educated

Strong sense of the village

-agricultural village as the unit of identity

-family farm

-patron-client ties

-> Nutritious condition for isolated/ corrupted/ dictator-friendly/ communism-centered political systems

The Outputs of Contemporary Politics:

Religions Religious Values

-Buddhist culture

-Islamic culture

-Animistic culture

-Confucianist culture

-> Hierarchical political systems

No Ways

Border issues

Ethnic cleansing/ Genocide

Human Right

Poverty

Common issues, but different paths

In the Minds of Others

- Tragedy, Violence, Exploitation

- Less frequency

- More in-depth commentaries

- Battleground -> Marketplace

- More complex and sensational

- Stereotypical images

Ways

Infrastructure Investment -> Intra- and Inter-regional trade and economy

Separation between religions, business, and politics

Asian Values

-Harmony

-Consensus

-Hierarchy

-Communitarianism