With a population in excess of 500 million, Southeast Asia is a region of stark contrasts. The 11 nations which make up the region display huge differences in culture and living conditions and have widely different ethnic, religious and political backgrounds. This book is the sixth volume in the Regional Handbooks of Economic Development series, which sets out to examine the key issues affecting the economic growth of the countries and region under discussion. The series is “aimed at the general reader who wishes to understand the social, political and economic factors that will bear on a region’s economic growth as it moves into the twenty‐first century”.
The volume begins with three chapters which set the historical, political and economic context for the area. The authors bring out the key issues which have influenced the development of the different countries. We therefore learn that down the centuries most of the countries in the region have been governed by different colonial powers; that this is a region rich in natural resources and hence it has played an active role in world trade. The authors explain that the economic systems within the countries of the region have developed as suppliers of raw materials and, as a result, domestic market developments have been largely neglected. Following this historical background are 11 chapters which analyse, in depth, each of the 11 countries ‐ Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the new state of East Timor.
The specific country chapters look in more detail at the post‐1945 political and economic developments which resulted in the Asian Miracle of the 1980s and 1990s. “Asian values” are often put forward as the reason for the great industrial progress, as the people are hard‐working and have great respect for education, family, community and government. Others, however, argue that this is the excuse used by authoritarian governments to stay in power and deprive the people of their rights. Without a doubt, the differing chapters show that the political regimes of the different countries are still frequently full of corruption, collusion and nepotism.
The financial crisis of 1997 meant that the economic achievements ground to a halt. The final chapters therefore speculate on the future of the region; its attitudes towards the environment and its relations with the wider world. Each chapter is clearly written by an academic expert and concludes with a bibliography for further reading.
The appendices include a chronology, beginning in May 1940, of political, economic and military events that continue to affect the countries of the region; a glossary of place names and special terms; a listing of heads of government together with fuller biographies of personalities; a listing of political and economic institutions and ethnic groups which make up the region. Finally, a bibliography of some of the most useful and stimulating English language books on the region completes the volume.
This is an excellent volume for anyone interested in this important region of the world. It will make a useful addition for both academic and public libraries.
