The Future Lies Miles from Home

Beginning of article

The study of south-east Asian politics raises questions about our own societies and about prejudice in western scholarship.

With the events of the past ten years and in the wake of the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, south-east Asia has become a region notable as much for its political uncertainties as for its economic potential. The early 1990s witnessed the consolidation of democracy in Thailand and the Philippines, and 1998 saw the downfall in Indonesia of the long-entrenched Suharto dictatorship, as well as a major challenge to the Mahathir regime in neighbouring Malaysia. The first decade of the new millennium carries the promise of continuing market reform and economic growth in Vietnam; movements against authoritarian rule in Burma, Cambodia and, perhaps, Malaysia; and a variety of new challenges -- militarist, populist, separatist, Islamist -- in the Philippines and Indonesia.

In such an exciting period, the study of south-east Asian politics in the United Kingdom has experienced considerable growth. The dramatic increase in the uptake of the subject over the past decade can be attributed to British and foreign students alike, and the UK has now emerged as the leading centre for south-east Asian studies in Europe. Academic departments in Britain, recognising the need for expertise, …