Edited by Arndt Graf, Chua Beng Huat

With the demise of European socialist economies and the marketization of Asian communist countries, a new global capitalism has reshaped the configuration of the world economy, with speed a determining factor to all transactions of information, finance, goods and services and people.

Sea-ports that were significant for a slower but no less global economy have been undergoing transformation to stay economically and culturally relevant. Some manage to reinvent themselves as tourist cities, some face decline if they do not manage to transform. This volume looks at a number of port cities in Asia and Europe that face this pressure. With contributions considering history, contemporary developments, contacts between ports, the representation of ports and the relations between port cities and their hinterlands.

This comparative study identifies many parallels between local histories and developments in the Asian and European port cities, as well as new opportunities for sharing experiences and learning from the developments and decisions in similar situations in other port cities.

ISBN: 9780710311832

Published November 20 2008 by Routledge.

Identity Construction and Security Discourse

By Rex Li

This volume provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the security discourse of Chinese policy elites on the major powers in East Asia in relation to China’s self-perception as a rising power. It is the first book-length study that utilizes International Relations theories systematically to analyze Chinese security perceptions of the United States, Japan and Russia, and the debate among Chinese international relations specialists on how China should respond to the perceived challenge from the major powers to its rise to a global status.

Rex Li argues that the security discourse of Chinese policy analysts is closely linked to their conception of China’s identity and their desire and endeavour to construct a great power identity for China. Drawing on extensive and up-to-date Chinese-language sources, the study demonstrates that Chinese elites perceive the power, aspirations and security strategies of other East Asian powers primarily in terms of their implications for China’s pursuit of great power status. This new work will contribute significantly to the on-going academic and policy debate on the nature and repercussions of China’s rise.

This book will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students and scholars of Asian security, China’s foreign relations, security studies and international relations.

ISBN: 9780415449403

Published November 19 2008 by Routledge.

By Michael Dillon

This book presents a concise introduction to contemporary China. It is intended as a first book for those coming new to the subject, providing the essential information that most people need to know, without going into excessive detail. Its coverage includes the economy, society, politics and international relations; China's history, especially the twentieth century; and Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as the People's Republic of China.

The book provides an up-to-date and clear guide to the often bewildering changes which have taken place in China in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. It draws on the enormous body of empirical and theoretical research that is being carried out by economists, political scientists and sociologists on contemporary China, but is itself written in non-technical and accessible language. It does not assume any previous knowledge of China and explanations of Chinese terms are provided throughout the book. It includes a map, a chronology, a glossary of Chinese terms, biographical notes on key figures, and a guide to further reading.

ISBN: 9780415343206

Published November 18 2008 by Routledge.

Globalism, Rivalry, Continuity

By Jalal Alamgir

This book is the first major exploration of Indian political economy using a constructivist approach. Arguing that India’s open-economy policy was made, justified, and continued on the basis of the idea of openness more than its tangible effect, the book explains what sustained the idea of openness, what philosophy, interpretations of history, and international context gave it support, justification, and persuasive force.

Drawing on a wide range of contemporary and historical sources, and going as far back as the 19^th century, the author reconstructs how Indian policymakers have interpreted economic priorities, perceived success and failure, and evaluated the destiny of their nation. By the 1990s, their imperatives increasingly highlighted a sense of rivalry, especially with China, and globalism, a desire to play a strong role in world affairs. The book shows how a sense of nationalist urgency was created through globalism and rivalry, allowing policymakers to privilege international needs over domestic political demands, replace economic independence with interdependence as a priority, and ensure that the broad basis of India’s openness could not be challenged effectively even though certain policies faced severe opposition.

This book will be of interest to those working on International Political Economy, Globalization, Economic History, Public Policy, and South Asian politics.

ISBN: 9780415776844

Published November 11 2008 by Routledge.

Politics of trust and scientific advancement

Edited by Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner

This volume investigates human genetic biobanking and its regulation in various Asian countries and areas, including Japan, Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India and Indonesia.. It sheds light on how cultural, socio-political and economic factors influence the set-up of bioethical regulation for human genetic biobanks and how bioethical sensitivities surrounding biobanks are handled.

Apart from placing discourses of trust in an international perspective, the comparative materials presented in this volume also put into perspective the concepts of genetic theft and exploitation, and genetic wealth and trust. This collection contains case studies of biobanking practices in societies with different needs and welfare levels, and provides insights into government strategies towards genetic resources by examining bioethics as practised at home.

ISBN: 9780710313416

Published November 11 2008 by Routledge.

Challenges for Collaborative Action

Edited by Sorpong Peou

Since the end of the Cold War the number of interstate wars has remained relatively low, although whilst states may be more secure than ever this does not mean that individual human beings are too. This has led to a growing recognition of the importance of human security, in contrast to the traditional realist focus on state security. This book explores human security in East Asia, focusing in particular on the challenges to collaboration among actors involved in the process of human security promotion. It examines the theoretical complexities of conceptual arguments about human security, drawing on the ideas of scholars from Asia and the West, to provide a global perspective on what causes human insecurity and how security can best be achieved. It considers in detail case studies of military interventions in East Asia, in particular East Timor, and assesses how successful collaborative efforts have been in providing human security. It also explores case studies of non-military intervention, including international criminal justice in Cambodia and East Timor. It discusses the relationship of regional great powers such as China and Japan to human security promotion, arguing that it will be better served if these powers engage less in the traditional game of geopolitics and if human security objectives do not work against actors' interests. It shows how interventions to uphold human security have not always succeeded to the extent that was hoped, despite the best of intentions, and considers how improved collaboration can be achieved, so that future interventions enjoy more consistent success.

ISBN: 9780415467964

Published November 10 2008 by Routledge.

Edited by Devleena Ghosh, Heather Goodall, Stephanie Hemelryk Donald

This book restores water, both fresh and salt, to its central position in human endeavour, ecology and environment. Water access and the environmental and social problems of development are major issues of concern in this century. Drawing on water's many formations in debating human relationship with a major source of life and a major factor in contemporary politics, this book covers oceans and rivers to lagoons, billabongs and estuaries in Asia, Oceania and the West Pacific. In an interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary analysis of the water problem, the contributors address the physical descriptors of water and water flow, and they interrogate the politicised administrations of water in closely corresponding regions.

Water, Sovereignty and Borders in Asia and Oceania identifies new discursive possibilities for thinking about water in theory and in practice. It presents those discourses that seem most useful in addressing the multiple crises the region is facing and thus should be of interest to scholars of Asian Studies, Geography, Environmental and Cultural Studies.

ISBN: 9780415437264

Published November 07 2008 by Routledge.

Jakarta's security and autonomy polices in Aceh

By Michelle Ann Miller

Armed separatist movements in Papua, East Timor and Aceh have been a serious problem for Indonesia's central government. This book examines the policies of successive Indonesian governments to contain secessionist forces, focusing in particular on Jakarta's response towards the armed separatist movement in Aceh. Unlike other studies of separatism in Indonesia, this book concentrates on the responses of the central government rather than looking only at the separatist forces. It shows how successive governments have tried a wide range of approaches including military repression, offers of autonomy, peace talks and a combination of these. It discusses the lessons that have been learned from these different approaches and analyzes the impact of the tsunami, including the successful accommodation of former rebels within an Indonesian devolved state structure and the expanding implementation of Islamic law.

ISBN: 9780415454674

Published November 07 2008 by Routledge.

Edited by Richard Carney

What have we learned from the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis? Thailand’s recent handling of international capital flows makes this topic of particular relevance, especially when considering that Thailand was the precipitating country in the ‘97 financial crisis. Do Thailand’s recent problems suggest that other countries have not learned the appropriate lessons, nor implemented sufficiently corrective measures? Moreover, are there potential new problems on the horizon - such as the unwinding of global imbalances - that could pose different challenges? To answer these questions, this book brings together a distinguished group of individuals from government, the private sector, international organizations, and academia.

The contributors provide an overview of developments in the main affected countries during the 1997 Asian financial crisis; lessons learned and corrective measures taken in these countries; lessons learned by regional and international actors; how domestic, regional, and international politics have affected the outcomes; and the identification of potential future problems, and levels of preparedness.

Lessons from the Asian Financial Crisis will be invaluable for those studying International relations, international finance, international economics and East Asian studies.

ISBN: 9780415481908

Published November 07 2008 by Routledge.

Edited by Marie Lall, Edward Vickers

This book offers a fresh and comparative approach in questioning what education is being used for and what the effects of the politicisation of education are on Asian societies in the era of globalisation. Education has been used as a political tool throughout the ages and across the whole world to define national identity and underlie the political rationale of regimes. In the contemporary, globalising world there are particularly interesting examples of this throughout Asia, ranging from the new definition of Indian national identity as a Hindu identity (to contrast with Pakistan's Islamic identity), to particular versions of nationalism in China, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam. In Asia education systems have their origins in processes of state formation aimed either at bolstering 'self-strengthening' resistance to the encroachments of Western and/or Asian imperialism, or at furthering projects of post-colonial nation-building. State elites have sought to popularise powerful visions of nationhood, to equip these visions with a historical 'back-story', and to endow them with the maximum sentimental charge. This book explores all of these developments, emphasising that education is seen by nations across Asia, as elsewhere, as more than simply a tool for economic development, and that issues of national identity and the tolerance - or lack of it - of ethnic, cultural or religious diversity can be at least as important as issues of literacy and access. Interdisciplinary and unique in its analysis, this book will be of interest to scholars of political science, research in education and Asian Studies.

ISBN: 9780415452595

Published November 07 2008 by Routledge.