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Dynamic of Ethnic Relations in Southeast Asia
Editor: Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, Rie Nakamura and Shamsuddin L. Taya
Date Of Publication: Jun 2010
Isbn13: 978-1-4438-2115-5
Isbn: 1-4438-2115-2
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, said in the Far Eastern Economic Review, 28 October 1996: “The threat is from inside ... So we have to be armed, so to speak. Not with guns, but with the necessary laws to make sure the country remains stable.” He implied that ethnic conflict and political instability are inevitable in a multi-ethnic society unless protected by certain laws. Ethnic conflict is like a time bomb. The misuse of human rights for political ends and to exploit ethnic sentiments can spark ethnic conflict.

In theory, the modern nation-state must achieve pluralism in its project of nation building. There are few nations in the world which consist of a single ethnic group. Yet, multi-ethnicity also seems to be a serious challenge to any system of government, especially in Southeast Asia, as it adds possibly deep-running cleavages to societies. Some groups are marginalized in the course of nation-building as a result of the nature of the relationship between nation and state. Arjun Appadurai stated that “the nation and the state have become one another’s project”: groups try to capture states and their power while states try to “monopolize about the nationhood.” There is always tension between the centre and the margin.

The centre often consists of one ethnic group and marginalised minority groups are denied their right to equality. Sometimes horrible wars with thousands of victims commence as a consequence of such processes of ethnically-framed nation-building. Therefore, a democratic setting should be functionally superior; that is, in a better position to moderate the escalatory tendencies inherent in a multi-ethnic setting, thereby achieving less violence-prone conflict management, and its eventual resolution in Southeast Asia.

This book is intended for anyone interested in the subject of ethnic relations and conflicts, especially politicians, policy makers, civil society activists, academia, and students of ethnic/race studies and Southeast Asian politics.

Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, PhD, is Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations (specializing in human rights and Malaysian politics) at College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS), Universiti Utara Malaysia. He is also Chairman of Studies of National Resilience at Dr Mahathir Mohamad Institute of Thoughts, Universiti Utara Malaysia.

Rie Nakamura, PhD, is Associate Professor of Anthropology (specializing in ethnicity and identities, particularly in Vietnam) at College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS), Universiti Utara Malaysia.

Shamsuddin L. Taya, PhD, is Senior Lecturer in International Relations (specializing in conflict and conflict-resolution and Philippine politics) at College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS), Universiti Utara Malaysia.

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Sample pdf (including Table of Contents)

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