International Studies Compendium Project

Extract

Comment on this article   There are diverse sources of political contestation within the 11 states of southeast Asia, but most of the region's violent and nonviolent confrontations have some ethnic dimension. That is, they are frequently perceived as involving some degree of alignment along religious, racial, or linguistic lines; and as being exacerbated by the clashes of cultural allegiance, which seem to arise from such religious, racial, or language differences. In reality, ethnic tensions and conflicts in this region, as elsewhere, often originate more in economic or power rivalries than in cultural differences; and ethnic antagonisms and rivalries are often more the consequence than cause of political conflicts; but the ethnic dimension of politics in southeast Asia is rarely insignificant. This chapter offers an overview of the political relationships between ethnic identities and nation-state identities in southeast Asia. Three different frameworks are outlined, each offering partial illumination of the region's complexities and variations. The discussion begins by noting the plural society view, which takes the social structure of the Southeast Asian countries as its starting point. Then a state legitimacy approach is employed, which sees the national identity strategies adopted by the state elites as the key factor influencing the structure of ethnic politics. Finally, ... log in or subscribe to read full text