This first-ever book about the Lisu brings their ironic worldview to life through vivid, often amusing accounts of individuals, communities, regions, and practices. One of the smallest and last groups of stateless people, and the most egalitarian of all Southeast Asian highland minorities, the Lisu have not only survived extremes at the crossroads ......
Gerald de Cruz's life overlapped many of the spheres of Singapore's history after World War II. As a Eurasian, a nationalist, a communist and then a democratic socialist, as a journalist and a writer, he represents the insurgent energies of a truculent time when a nascent nation was seeking the basis of statehood. His commitment to progressive ......
Over the past decade, app-based driving services like ride-hailing and delivery have become an integral part of business, employment and daily life in Vietnam. This growth, however, has been accompanied by tensions and conflicts between ride-hailing platforms and traditional taxi companies, xe om (motorbike taxi drivers), the authorities and the ......
This study analyzes the various types and stages of conflict that have been experienced by diverse groups and generations of Karen over the six decades of armed conflict between the Karen National Union (KNU) and successive Burmese governments. Instead of focusing on those who are internally displaced, those in the refugee camps on the Thai-Burma ......
On 17 April 2019, Indonesians marched to the polls to elect their president and vice president directly for the fourth time since 2004. The main contenders for the presidency-Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Prabowo Subianto-were the same as when they first clashed in 2014, and the result was the same. Some of the issues raised in 2014 were rehashed in ......
The rise of Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to the presidency in 2014 marked an optimistic turn in Indonesia. At a time when politics were dominated by oligarchs, New Order-era holdovers and corrupt politicians, Jokowi's populist style and humble origins embodied the change that many Indonesians desired. He promised the public a cleaner style of government ......
In recent years, a steady stream of reportage and commentary has spotlighted a dangerous "Islamist threat" in Southeast Asia. This study, by contrast, offers a very different account. In descriptive terms, this study suggests that such an alarmist picture is highly overdrawn, and it traces instead a pattern of marked decline, demobilization, and ......
Democratization in Indonesia has altered the political decision-making processes in many ways. It has also brought about tremendous change to the role of the Indonesian parliament in the country's political system. Once characterized as a powerless rubber stamp, the parliament has developed into a comprehensive and more representative body able to ......
Opinion polls in Indonesia have repeatedly shown that the Indonesian National Army (TNI) is the state institution that enjoys the highest level of public trust. This is not something that is exclusive to Indonesia, however; according to several studies, people around the world place a higher level of trust in their military than they do in other ......
