Description
In this textbook, Weatherbee (emeritus, U. of South Carolina) introduces the issues and dynamics of international relations in contemporary Southeast Asia through a synthesis of the extant literature. He profiles the regional and extra-regional state and nonstate actors; describes the events of the Indochina wars of the Cold War era; examines the economic and political impact of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); and profiles contemporary issues of terrorism, human rights, and the environment. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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This balanced, comprehensive guide to Southeast Asian politics offers a sensible but nondogmatic realist approach to the region's international relations. Donald E. Weatherbee lucidly explains the dynamics of the Southeast Asian subsystem as a struggle for autonomy in pursuit of national interests. He explores three important questions, the answers to which will shape the future Southeast Asia. Will democratic regimes transform international relations in Southeast Asia? Will national leaders succeed in reinventing ASEAN as a more effective collaborative mechanism? Finally, how will the evolving Chinese position, balancing and perhaps displacing the United States as Asia's great power, affect Southeast Asia's struggle for autonomy?
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