Southeast Asia
Land Areas (in thousand km2)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mexico (1,964) > Indonesia (1,905)
Myanmar (677) > France (643)
Thailand (513) > Spain (505)
Vietnam (331) > Malaysia (330)
Italy (301) > Philippines (300)
U.K. (244) > Laos (237)
Cambodia (181)
Population (in millions)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
U.S. (319) > Indonesia (254)
Mexico (120) > Philippines (108)
Vietnam (93) > Germany (81)
Thailand (68) > France (66) > U.K. (64)
Myanmar (56) > California (38)
Malaysia (30) > Texas (26)
Laos (7) > Massachusetts > Singapore (6)
Long history of colonialism
• Britain
– Burma, Malay, Sarawak, Brunei
• French
– Indochina
• Netherlands
– East Indies
• United States
– Philippines
Southeast Asia occupied
Southeast Asia
State & Nation Building
and Political Leaders
Development of States
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
Four common challenges all states face
historically or currently
building a nation-state
defining the role of religion
establishing democracy and rule of law
fostering economic development and
fairness
Development of States
FACTORS
International
Domestic
Historical
imperialism
state & nation
building
Contemporary
pressures
globalization &
from below
end of cold war
Struggle for independence
• Japanese occupation (1941-1945)
• Colonial powers return (1945-early 1950s)
• Charismatic political leaders in the
struggle for independence
– Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh
– Indonesia: Sukarno
– Singapore: Lee Kuan Yew
– Burma: Aung San
Their legacies
•
•
•
•
•
Leaders of the independence movements
Negotiations with colonial powers
Charisma & popularity among public
Long periods of authoritarian rule
Today their political successors still play
important roles in respective countries
Ho Chi Minh
• President of north Vietnam
1945 - 1969
• Ho’s successors in the
Communist Party of
Vietnam
Sukarno
• Indonesian President (1949-66)
Sukarno’s daughter
• Megawati Sukarnoputri
– Vice-President (1999 - 2001)
– President (2001 - 2004) of Indonesia
Lee Kuan Yew
• Prime Minister of
Singapore (1959 - 90)
• His chosen successor:
Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong (1990 - 2004)
• His son:
Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong (2004-)
Aung San
• Prime Minister of British
Burma (1945 - 1947)
Aung San’s daughter
• Aung San Suu Kyi: main opposition leader
in Myanmar
Second-generation leaders
• After initial state & nation building, the 2nd
generation leaders gained power through
institutional and/or democratic means
• Long periods of authoritarian rule
• Long periods of economic growth
– Philippines: Marcos (1965 - 1986)
– Indonesia: Suharto (1968 - 1998)
– Malaysia: Mahathir (1981 - 2003)
Marcos
• President of the Republic of
the Philippines (1965 - 86)
President Benigno Aquino III
• The 15th President
of the Philippines
(2010 - )
• Son of late president
Corazon Aquino
Corruption Perceptions Index
• 2010 ranking from
most clean to most
corrupt
• 1. Singapore (9.3)
• 38. Brunei (5.5)
• 56. Malaysia (4.4)
• 78. Thailand (3.5)
• 110. Indonesia (2.8)
• 116. Vietnam (2.7)
• 127. Timor-Leste
(2.5)
• 134. Philippines (2.4)
• 154. Cambodia (2.1)
• 154. Laos (2.1)
• 176. Myanmar (1.4)
Contemporary factors
• International:
– globalization
– end of cold war
• Domestic:
– pressures from below
Globalization
• Japan’s vision: “flying geese”
Taiwan
Singapore
Hong Kong
Korea
Japan
Thailand
Malaysia
Philippines
Indonesia