Is liberal democracy a universal ideal? Proponents of "Asian values" argue that it is a distinctive product of the Western experience and that Western powers shouldn't try to push human rights and democracy onto Asian states. Liberal democrats in the West typically counter by questioning the motives of Asian critics, arguing that Asian leaders are merely trying to rationalize human rights viola…
Gordon Means traces the evolution of Islamic politics in Southeast Asia, ranging from the early arrival of Islam in the region to the challenges it generates, and faces, today. Means's analysis encompasses the events and actions shaping Islamic politics, as well as the impact of Islamic politics on government and public policy outcomes.
This book is a collection of my past speeches and writings. They are jointly selected by Asad Latif and Lee Huay Leng for the English and Chinese versions of the book in consultation with me. Dr Phua Kok Khoo, Founder and Chairman of World Scientific had repeatedly persuaded me to write a book about my views on politics and culture since my time in the Foreign Ministry
The third edition of Re Orient: Change in Asian Societies provides up-to-date information on the important issues and trends in this dynamic region. It analyses them without resorting to oversimplifications or stereotypes, doing justice to the rich variety of the cultural traditions and historical experience within the region. The discussion is clear, direct and free of jargon, and all subjects…
Islamic renewal and reformism is an ongoing process which is commonly thought to have started only in the twentieth century. Professor Azra's meticulous study, using sources from the Middle East itself, shows how scholars in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were reconstructing the intellectual and socio-moral foundation of Muslim societies.
About 80 per cent of the ethnic Chinese outside China also known as the Chinese overseas live in Southeast Asia. This book examines that community in the context of both national and international dimensions. It first discusses the ethnic Chinese and China, addressing the issues of migration, nationality, business success and ethnic conflict; second, Chinese cultural adaptation and various iden…
Arab immigrants to Southeast Asia and their descendants have not received much attention in comparison with immigrants from other parts of the world such as the Chinese, Indians and Europeans. Numerically the Arabs as they are called up till now, have always paled into insignificance besides other foreign minorities, in particular in the colonial period. Even today their presence is hardly noti…
Population mobility increases with economic development and globalization. The migration of people affects countries in many ways -- socially, economically and politically. However, there are fundamental tensions in efforts to manage international migration in a globalizing world. On the one hand, business is transnational as it necessitates the unrestricted flow of people internationally. On t…
The book consists of 17 papers and is devided into two parts. Part I consists of 7 papers dealing with issues on international regimes and the emerging new international order. Part II presents 10 papers discussing issues on ASEAN's expansion of its membership seen from the economic and socio-political dimensions.
East Asian policies that fostered economic growth, reduced poverty, and raised living standards are the main theme of this cogent overview. Seven newly industrialized economies (NIEs) are described and compared. They are Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. These country studies examine the macroeconomic policies common to NIEs. They review the highly flexible…