Short description:

By examining the sometimes surprising and unexpected roles that culture and religion have played in mitigating or exacerbating conflicts, this book explores the cultural repertoires from which Southeast Asian political actors have drawn to negotiate the pluralism that has so long been characteristic of the region.

Long description:

By examining the sometimes surprising and unexpected roles that culture and religion have played in mitigating or exacerbating conflicts, this book explores the cultural repertoires from which Southeast Asian political actors have drawn to negotiate the pluralism that has so long been characteristic of the region.

Focusing on the dynamics of identity politics and the range of responses to the socio-political challenges of religious and ethnic pluralism, the authors assembled in this book illuminate the principal regional discourses that attempt to make sense of conflict and tensions. They examine local notions of "dialogue," "reconciliation," "civility" and "conflict resolution" and show how varying interpretations of these terms have informed the responses of different social actors across Southeast Asia to the challenges of conflict, culture and religion. The book demonstrates how stumbling blocks to dialogue and reconciliation can and have been overcome in different parts of Southeast Asia and identifies a range of actors who might be well placed to make useful contributions, propose remedies, and initiate action towards negotiating the region?s pluralism.

This book provides a much needed regional and comparative analysis that makes a significant contribution to a better understanding of the interfaces between region and politics in Southeast Asia.

"This is a welcome addition to the academic debate on the political effects of ethnicity, religion and culture. Edited by Joseph Camilleri and Sven Schottmann, with contributions by eight scholars, it focuses on Southeast Asian countries that have either Muslim majorities or significant Muslim minorities. In their introductory chapter, Camilleri and Schottmann argue that while ethnicity, religion and culture may be politicized to serve the interests of political actors, they may also serve as instruments facilitating dialogue and building harmony." -- Rizal G. Buendia, Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs, Vol 36, Number 3, Dec 2014

Table of Contents:

1. Culture, religion and the Southeast Asian State Part 1: States, discourses and grandes idées  2. Religion and Culture in Southeast Asian regionalism 3. Religious pluralism in Malaysia: Can there be Dialogue? 4. Paving the Ground? Malaysia?s democratic prospects and the Mahathir government?s islamic discourse 5. Turning conservative Muslims into ?good citizens?: New allies in the management of islam in Singapore after 9/11 Part 2: Conflict and reconciliation 6. Managing cultural diversity and conflict: The Malaysian experience 7. From colonialist to infidel: Framing the enemy in southern thailand?s ?Cosmic war? 8. Chinese indonesians, kongkow and prabowo: A story of reconciliation in post-nEw Order Indonesia 9. Finding a way forward: The search for reconciliation in the Philippines 10. Devotional Islam and democratic practice: The case of Aceh?s Qanun Jinayat 11. Tools of conflict, levers of cohesion: Culture and religion in Muslim Southeast Asia