Religion and Politics in Southeast AsiaSee also Indonesia, Malaysia/Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam. 1. Brief Introduction 1. Brief Introduction to Religion and Politics in Southeast Asia The original ASEAN members were Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Brunei. The poorer newcomers are Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma). The ASEAN’s ten countries have more than a half-billion people and a collective economy worth more than $750 billion. China, Japan, South Korea, and India also usually attend as observers. ASEAN trade with China has grown swiftly and may surpass that with the United States by 2010. There are two parallel trade processes: a free trade area by 2010, including China and the original six members; and negotiations on a single trade area for all ten ASEAN states. How it will all work out is both unsure and crucial to international affairs. Like the early era of the European Coal and Steel Community, the ASEAN countries are perceived basically as an economic pact that will allow its medium-sized members to survive in an international economy run by the major powers. This site focuses on their crucial location between the emerging economic powers of East Asia and South Asia, and their religious diversity. Six members demonstrate a high suitability for interfaith dialogue: Malaysia (moderate Islam), Indonesia (majority Islam, minority Christianity), Philippines (majority Catholicism, minority Islam), Singapore (Confucian “Asian values,” Christianity, Hinduism), Vietnam (Marxism, Buddhism, Catholicism), and Thailand (Theravada Buddhism, Islam). The most recent 2008 United Nations Human Development Index rankings for the six were 63, 107, 90, 25, 105, and 78 respectively. The 2015 projected populations are 29.6, 250.4, 96.3, 4.7, 94.7, and 69.6 million respectively. Just three countries, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines are projected to have over 440 million people in less than ten years. Not only is the region rich in religious traditions, but it maintains strong connections to both East Asia and South Asia (and by immigration to Chinese and Indian communities in North America). It is not just Chinese who have settled throughout the ASEAN region, so have Indians. Hindus, for example, have a significant presence from Singapore to Bali to the Fiji Islands. Hanson (2006) discusses “The Politics of Islam as a World Civilization” (pp. 252-59); and “Latin Asia: the Philippines” (pp. 270-74). 2. A Short Introductory Course to Religion and Politics in Southeast Asia See website recommendations for individual Countries. Then consult the most recent January-February Asian Survey for the last yearly summary of national politics. See asianbarometer.org for recent public opinion Eric O. Hanson, “Asian Challenges for the New Papacy,” Talk at University of Southern California, October 26, 2005. (On USC website) focuses on the global significance of Southeast Asia for a worldwide political consensus based on religious understanding. 3. Other Resource Materials: See January-February Asian Survey for yearly summaries of individual countries. Cady, Linell E.., and Simon, Sheldon, eds. Religion and Conflict in South and Southeast Asia: Disrupting Violence. London: Routledge, 2006. Freston, Paul. Evangelicals and Politics in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Hefner, Robert W., “Civic Pluralism Denied? The Media and Jihadi Violence in Indonesia,” in Eickelman, Dale F., and Anderson, Jon W., eds. New Media in the Muslim World, 2nd ed. (Bloomington, IN.: Indiana University Press, 2003). Kyi, Aung San Suu, “Burma’s Quest for Democracy,” World Religions and Democracy (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 2005), 75-86. Magadia, Jose J. State-Society Dynamics: Policy Making in a Restored Democracy. Manila: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2003). Pinault, David. “Indonesia’s Buddhist Heritage,” America 89 (November 24, 2003). Thompson, Mark R., “The Marcos Regime in the Philippines,” in Chehabi, H.E. and Linz, Juan J., Sultanistic Regimes (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998), 206-30. Wooster, Henry, “Faith at the Ramparts: The Philippine Catholic Church and the 1986 Revolution,” in Johnston, Douglas, and Sampson, Cynthia, eds. Religion, The Missing Dimension of Statecraft (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 153-76. 4. Recent Articles on Southeast Asia “Southeast Asia Urged to Form Economic Bloc,” New York Times, November 29, 2004. Leaders Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of Malaysia urge stronger cooperation among ASEAN nations meeting in Laos. “Opportunity knocks for Beijing,” San Jose Mercury News, December 2, 2004. Report on ASEAN meeting in Laos. “China’s Role Emerges as Major Issue for Southeast Asia,” New York Times, March 14, 2006. Secretary of State Rice visits Indonesia, then Australia, for talks focused on the roles of Islam and China in the region. "Asian Gains Seen In Terror Fight," New York Times, June 9, 2008. Three years after last major strike in Indonesia, three suicide bombers and 19 other people in Bali restaurants, Jemaah Islamiyah has lost strength. Worry that Philippine campaign may be too militarily oriented. "Investors Seek Asian Options To Costly China," New York Times, June 18, 2008. China problems: wages rising 25% a year, inflation, shortages of workers and energy, government concern on pollution. So many companies adopting "China plus one" strategy of expanding outside China, especially to Vietnam. Over last three years, foreign investment in China has grown by one third (from huge base), more than doubled in the Philippines, quintupled in India, and risen more than eightfold in Vietnam. But all these countries have their own problems. "East Asia's Small Edens of Trade Wilt as Need for Exports Dries Up," New York Times, March 5, 2009. Article focuses on current economic situations in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Even in Singapore, manufacturing still drawfs finance, and economic downturn has dried up export market and sellers cut inventory along with slow sales. All three entities have economic and cultural challenges in stimulating domestic demand, and they look to the China market as a partial solution. Singapore has accelerated construction of a government-financed research town for biomedical, materials sciences, and new media industries. October 14, 2009. |
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