Remaking Area Studies
Remaking Area Studies

Author: Terence Wesley-Smith

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Published: 2010-04-30

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 082483321X

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This collection identifies the challenges facing area studies as an organized intellectual project in this era of globalization, focusing in particular on conceptual issues and implications for pedagogical practice in Asia and the Pacific. The crisis in area studies is widely acknowledged; various prescriptions for solutions have been forthcoming, but few have also pursued practical applications of critical ideas for both teachers and students. Remaking Area Studies not only makes the case for more culturally sensitive and empowering forms of area studies, but indicates how these ideas can be translated into effective student-centered learning practices through the establishment of interactive regional learning communities. This pathbreaking work features original contributions from leading theorists of globalization and critics of area studies as practiced in the U.S. Essays in the first part of the book problematize the accepted categories of traditional area-making practices. Taken together, they provide an alternative conceptual framework for area studies that informs the subsequent contributions on pedagogical practices. To incorporate critical perspectives from the "areas studied," chapters examine the development of area studies programs in Japan and the Pacific Islands. Not surprisingly, given the lessons learned from critical examinations of area studies in the U.S., there are competing, state, institutional, and intellectual perspectives involved in each of these contexts that need to be taken into account before embarking on an interactive and collaborative area studies across Pacific Asia. Finally, area studies practitioners reflect on their experiences developing and teaching interactive, web-based courses linking classrooms in six universities located in Hawai‘i, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, New Zealand, and Fiji. These collaborative on-line teaching and learning initiatives were designed specifically to address some of the conceptual and theoretical concerns associated with the production and dissemination of contemporary area studies knowledge. Multiauthored chapters draw useful lessons for international collaborative learning in an era of globalization, both in terms of their successes and occasional failures. Uniquely combining theoretical, institutional, and practical perspectives across the Asia Pacific region, Remaking Area Studies contributes to a rethinking and reinvigorating of regional approaches to knowledge formation in higher education. Contributors: Conrado Balabat, Lonny Carlile, T. C. Chang, Hezekiah A. Concepcion, Arif Dirlik, Jeremy Eades, Gerard Finin, Jon Goss, Peter Hempenstall, Lily Kong, Lisa Law, Martin W. Lewis, Robert Nicole, Neil Smith, Teresia Teaiwa, Ricardo Trimillos, Christine Yano, Terence Wesley-Smith.

Contest for the Indo-Pacific
Contest for the Indo-Pacific

Author: Rory Medcalf

Publisher: La Trobe University Press

Published: 2022-01-31

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 1743821042

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The definitive guide to the world's most contested region Updated edition covering the strategic impacts of Covid-19, China's economic coercion against Australia, the Afghanistan withdrawal, Joe Biden, the Quad and US-China rivalry. The Indo-Pacific is both a place and an idea. It is the region central to global prosperity and security. It is also a metaphor for collective action. If diplomacy fails, it will be the theatre of the first general war since 1945. But if its future can be secured, the Indo-Pacific will flourish as a shared space, the centre of gravity in a connected world. What we call different parts of the world - Asia, Europe, the Middle East - seems innocuous. But the name of a region is totemic- a mental map that guides the decisions of leaders and the story of international order, war and peace. In recent years, the label 'Indo-Pacific' has gained wide use, including among the leaders of the United States, India, Japan, Australia, Indonesia and France. But what does it really mean? Written by a recognised expert and regional policy insider, Contest for the Indo-Pacific is the definitive guide to tensions in the region. It deftly weaves together history, geopolitics, cartography, military strategy, economics, games and propaganda to address a vital question- how can China's dominance be prevented without war? 'The complexities of our region can easily bewilder those used to the Manichaean simplicity of the Cold War. Rory Medcalf's book is an elegant, keenly insightful tour of the Indo-Pacific's strategic horizon.' -Malcolm Turnbull

The Chinese Communist Party and China's Capitalist Revolution
The Chinese Communist Party and China's Capitalist Revolution

Author: Lance Gore

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-11-08

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 1136881239

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The Chinese Communist Party and China’s Capitalist Revolution examines issues of political change and development in China. In the last 30 years China has experienced a profound political transformation and a degree of political progress but these are largely mired in the assumption that the free market is inherently incompatible with communism, and the perceived lack of political reforms in China. Indeed, there has not been much in the sense of democratization, multi-party competition, freedom of speech and association, but as this book demonstrates, political development is not limited to these factors. Based on extensive empirical investigations of the impact of the market on the communist party, with a particular focus on its grassroots organisations, this book finds that the Chinese communist party is undergoing profound changes in a host of important areas. By analyzing the impact of China’s socioeconomic transformation on the CCP and the adaptations of the Party to the new environment the book takes stock of the nature and dynamics of political change underway in China. The author concludes that the Chinese communist party we knew no longer exists—it is evolving into something quite different, which must have political implications for both China and the rest of the world. Professor Lance L. P. Gore is a political scientist specializing in contemporary Chinese politics at The East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore.

Consumption in China
Consumption in China

Author: LiAnne Yu

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2014-11-05

Total Pages: 179

ISBN-13: 0745684572

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Consumption practices in China have been transformed at an unprecedented pace. Under Mao Zedong, the state controlled nearly all aspects of what people consumed, from everyday necessities to entertainment and the media; today, shoddy state-run stores characterized by a dearth of choices have made way for luxury malls and hypermarkets filled with a multitude of products. Consumption in China explores what it means to be a consumer in the world’s fastest growing economy. LiAnne Yu provides a multi-faceted portrait of the impact of increased consumption on urban spaces, social status, lifestyles, identities, and freedom of expression. The book also examines what is unique and what is universal about how consumer practices in China have developed, investigating the factors that differentiate them from what has been observed among the already mature consumer markets. Behind the often staggering statistics about China are the very human stories that highlight the emotional and social triggers behind consumption. This engaging book is a valuable resource for students, scholars and business professionals interested in a deeper understanding of what motivates China’s consumers, and what challenges they face as more aspects of everyday life become commoditized.

North Korea
North Korea

Author: Hazel Smith

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-04-09

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 0521897785

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This is a historically founded, empirical study of social and economic transformation wrought by 'marketisation from below' in North Korea.

Non-Traditional Security in Asia
Non-Traditional Security in Asia

Author: Mely Caballero-Anthony

Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 9814414417

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Non-Traditional Security in Asia examines the critical security challenges faced by states and societies in Asia including health, food, water, natural disasters, internal conflict, forced migration, energy, transnational crime, and cyber security. Through the development of a comprehensive analytical framework that establishes the key ingredients to policy evaluation, the editors draw on a wide variety of experts to collaborate in investigating these crucial issues. This inclusive framework ensures that all voices are heard including those oftentimes under-represented and marginalized in society to ensure that academic and policy debates are well informed about the often complex and nuanced nature of these non-traditional security challenges. Through an investigation into these specific non-traditional security threats, Non-Traditional Security in Asia documents and evaluates many of the most pressing challenges faced by Asia today. The authors analyse the ways in which particular issues are addressed by the many stakeholders involved in the policy-making process, both within governments and across societies. The question of how these challenges are addressed across and between the different levels of global governance highlights the strengths and weakness that are directly attributable to policy successes and failures. It is through this layered and comprehensive approach, together with an evaluation of the role of stakeholders, which binds together the chapter contributions to this collection. The book undertakes an issue-specific chapter study of how Asian states and societies address these non-traditional security concerns from environmental adaptation and mitigation measures to conflict resolution. For each issue area, it identifies and explains the concerns of various policy communities, identifying the motivations behind some of the key decisions made to affect change or stabilize the status quo. Essentially it questions not only what a security issue is but also for whom the issue is important and the interaction this has with policy outcomes. With a focus on regional and global institutions as well as national and local ones, this collection illustrates the variety of stakeholders involved in non-traditional security concerns, and reflects on their relative importance in the decision-making process. Through a systematic evaluation of these non-traditional security issues by employing a comprehensive analytical framework, critical appreciation of the dynamics of the policy-making process surrounding issues of crucial national, regional and international significance in Asia are made. As a result of sharing these insights, the contributors provide the tools as well as a selection of issue-specific stakeholders to illuminate the key but complex characteristics of non-traditional security in Asia.

A Regional Economic History of Thailand
A Regional Economic History of Thailand

Author: Porphant Ouyyanont

Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Published: 2017-09-15

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 9814786128

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This book presents an economic history of Bangkok, the Central Region, the North, the South, and Northeastern Regions from the signing of the Bowring Treaty in 1855 to the present. Most research has focused on Bangkok as the centre of change affecting other regions and has neglected other regions that had an influence on Bangkok. This book however looks at the changes not only in Bangkok, but also in the other regions, and emphasizes the ways in which Bangkok had an impact on the other regions, and how changes in the other regions affected Bangkok. It also looks, in turn, at each of the principal regions, and concentrate on the long-term economic and social changes and the various forces which promoted the changes.

Hindsight, Insight, Foresight: Thinking About Security in the Indo-Pacific
Hindsight, Insight, Foresight: Thinking About Security in the Indo-Pacific

Author: Alexander L. Vuving

Publisher: Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies

Published: 2020-09-30

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 0977324664

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Hindsight, Insight, Foresight is a tour d’horizon of security issues in the Indo-Pacific. Written by 20 current and former members of the faculty at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, its 21 chapters provide hindsight, insight, and foresight on numerous aspects of security in the region. This book will help readers to understand the big picture, grasp the changing faces, and comprehend the local dynamics of regional security.