This title provides concise, clear definitions of the terms, organizations and personalities making up the economic and political fabric of East Asia. Containing up-to-date, detailed information, this book will prove a key reference to anyone studying the region, an area which is coming to the forefront of international affairs. Short essays on recent history and the economy profile of each country in the region, while other entries detail eminent politicians or heads of state, important national and international organizations, political parties, religions, border disputes and geographical features.
The Korean Peninsula lies at the strategic heart of East Asia, between China, Russia, and Japan, and has been influenced in different ways and at different times by all three of them. Across the Pacific lies the United State, which has also had a major influence on the peninsula since the first encounters in the mid-nineteenth century. Faced by such powerful neighbors, the Koreans have had to struggle hard to maintain their political and cultural identity. The result has been to create a fiercely independent people. If they have from time to time been divided, the pressures towards unification have always proved strong. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Korea covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Republic of Korea.
Burma (Myanmar) is a Southeast Asian country that is emerging from crisis after more than a half century of hard-line military rule and cultural, diplomatic and economic isolation. With the dissolution of its military regime, the State Peace and Development Council, in 2011, a formally civilian but military-dominated constitutional government was inaugurated. By 2012, Burma’s president, retired General Thein Sein, had established a working relationship with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the country’s pro-democracy movement since 1988, and after a 2012 by-election she and members of her opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), entered the new Union Parliament as legislators. However, even with the election victory of Daw Suu Kyi and the NLD in the General Election of November 2015, Burma faces daunting challenges: it is still one of the poorest countries in Southeast, fissured by longstanding ethnic conflicts that have made a nationwide peace agreement elusive and its people’s security and the environment are threatened by foreign economic exploitation. Religious discord is also widely evident, as Buddhist militants instigate violence against the country’s religious minorities, especially Muslims. Today Burma’s prospects are the most hopeful they have been for over half a century, as the country takes steps along the road to a more open society and economy. This edition of the Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar) encompasses not only current developments, but also Burma’s over 1,500 years-old recorded history and the most important features of its cultures, ethnicity, religions, society and economy. This is done through achronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture.
This invaluable Dictionary provides an essential guide to the politics and economics of the African continent. Each individual entry provides clear and concise information, and entries are fully cross-referenced to enhance the book's usability. Organizations listed include contact details wherever possible. Key features * Provides authoritative up-to-date information on a region that is changing fast, and for which reliable data is often hard to locate * Each country's recent history and economy are described and analyzed in separate essays. Entries include: Apartheid, Central African Republic, Christianity, Colonialism, Development Aid, Genocide, Great Lakes, International Monetary Fund, Languages, Nelson Mandela, Mining, Tobacco, Uganda. Countries covered in this voume include: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Spanish North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla), Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seized power in October 1949 China was one of the poorest nations in the world. In fact, it was so weak it had been conquered by Japan, a country one-tenth its size, a decade earlier. Now, more than fifty years later, the People's Republic of China (PRC) is an emerging economic, political, and military superpower with the world's fastest growing economy and largest population (1.3 billion in 2005). A member of the United Nations Security Council since the early 1970s and a nuclear power, China wields enormous influence in the world community. The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of the People's Republic of China contains more than 400 cross-referenced dictionary entries on individual topics spanning China's political, economic, and social system along with short biographies on important figures_from politicians to writers and movie directors_who have shaped Chinese history during the period of Communist rule from 1949 to 2006. Supplementing the entries are a chronology, an introduction, charts outlining the structure of the Chinese government, and a bibliography of works in English, making this a superb resource for college and high school students needing a quick reference on contemporary China.
Thanks to its emerging markets, nuclearization and the internet revolution, South Asia is increasingly at the forefront of current affairs. This invaluable reference source seeks to make the region accessible to business travellers as well as to the general reader. The range of subjects to be covered includes major political processes and events of South Asia (elections and electoral politics, political slang, political parties, diplomacy and territorial divisions), domestic and foreign policy, key personalities, political and economic institutions, sub-national groupings and units (regions, cities, provinces and rural entities), ethnicity and identity, and legal systems (laws and court cases). Key features: * Terms, which are frequently misunderstood in the political and economic processes of South Asia, are explained clearly and succinctly * More than 1,000 entries, covering the key debates, issues, concepts and institutions. Entries include: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Caste System, Corruption, dalits, Electoral System, Federalism, Hindu-Muslim relation, India-US Relation, Kashmir, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Nuclearization, Privatization, Reserve Bank of India, Sikh, Untouchability, Urbanization, Atal Behari Vajpayee. Countries covered in this volume include: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Laos has the smallest population, the weakest military, and despite rapid economic growth in recent years, one of the lowest levels of per capita income in mainland Southeast Asia. Yet a glance at the map reveals its strategic location, between China and Cambodia and Thailand and Vietnam. As Laos was formerly a crossroads for trade routes, the socialist government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic seeks to transform the country into a prosperous crossroads at the heart of this rapidly developing region. Historical Dictionary of Laos, Fourth Edition provides an in-depth examination of one of the least-known countries in Southeast Asia through a detailed chronology, comprehensive introduction, and extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 1,000 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book will be an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Laos.
Dwelling in the highland areas of Northeast India, Bangladesh, Southwest China, Taiwan, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Peninsular Malaysia are hundreds of “peoples”. Together their population adds up to 100 million, more than most of the countries they live in. Yet in each of these countries, they are regarded as minorities. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of the Peoples of the Southeast Asian Massif contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on about 300 groups, the ten countries they live in, their historical figures, and their salient political, economic, social, cultural and religious aspects. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more.
Anyone who has seen the stunning ruins at Angkor, Bagan, or Barabudur will understand why Southeast Asia boasts so many Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization World Heritage sites. But this is only part of an immense historical and cultural heritage, much of which is revealed in this guide that helps readers grasp the sites' value and comprehend the society in which they were created over a period of a thousand years. Covering the countries of Brunel, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam from the 1st through 15th centuries, Historical Dictionary of Ancient Southeast Asia explores the vast and complex history of the region through diagrams. It also includes hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entires on major and minor sites; significant figures; kingdoms and lesser entities they ruled; economic and social relations; and the artistic, cultural, and religious context of the time. Book jacket.
