Southeast Asian Perspectives on Power (Hardcover)

This volume explores the myriad manifestations, tropes and experiences of power' in contemporary Southeast Asia. The contributors address the surprising absence of direct scholarly engagement with the theme of power' in Southeast Asia given innumerable social, political and economic transformations of the region over the last half-century. The rise of postcolonial nation-states, industrialization, rapid economic growth, widespread repression and genocide, social upheaval and democratization are just some of the currents that have wrought far reaching changes across Southeast Asia. Power lies at the core of these important developments, whether in the form of brute military force or as a more capillary disciplinary' influence on religious and political subjectivities. New religious, economic and political movements -- all drawing deeply on local traditions while proposing new forms of personhood, civil and political society -- cut across national, cultural, ideological and sectarian boundaries. Yet for all that power can be detected in the region, there seems to be little specifically Southeast Asian about contemporary scholarly analyses. Integrating theoretical debates with empirical evidence drawn from the contributing authors' own research, this volume will be of particular interest to scholars and students of anthropology and Asian Studies.