The rapid postwar economic growth in the Southeast Asia region has led to a transformation of many of the societies there, together with the development of new types of anthropological research in the region. Local societies with originally quite different cultures have been incorporated into multi-ethnic states with their own projects of nation-building based on the creation of "national cultures" using these indigenous elements. At the same time, the expansion of international capitalism has led to increasing flows of money, people, languages and cultures across national boundaries, resulting in new hybrid social structures and cultural forms. This book examines the nature of these processes in contemporary Southeast Asia with detailed case studies drawn from countries across the region, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. At the macro-level these include studies of nation-building and the incorporation of minorities. At the micro-level they range from studies of popular cultural forms, such as music and textiles to the impact of new sects and the world religions on local religious practice. Moving between the global and the local are the various streams of migrants within the region, including labor migrants responding to the changing distribution of economic opportunities and ethnic minorities moving in response to natural disaster.

This clear and timely book presents the first sustained and structured analysis of globalization in the East Asian context, exploring the strategies used by East Asian countries to cope with the forces of globalization. Eschewing both neoliberal OhyperglobalizationO chants and neorealist OglobaloneyO castigation, the authors integrate a broad conceptual framework with region- and country-specific case studies. Specifically, the book poses and addresses three major questions about East AsiaOs globalization. First, it identifies the range of contending conceptualizations of globalization that have underpinned the regionOs changing and contradictory views in the 1990s. Second, the book critically probes the discrepancy between promise and performance_the myths and realities_of East Asian globalization and the complex interaction of challenges and responses. Third, the authors evaluates the impacts and consequences of globalization for East AsiaOs political, economic, social, cultural, ecological, and security development. These questions clarify the often-murky nature, challenges, responses, and consequences of globalization, especially in light of the Asian financial crisis and moves toward recovery.

"Drawing on work in a range of disciplines-including history, anthropology, demography, development, environmental studies, political studies, health, sociology and the arts-this work approaches East Asia from new perspectives.The book looks at contemporary Japan and Korea and focuses on many facets of Chinese culture, artistic production, economic development, digital issues, education and international collaboration" -

We are witnessing a transformation in the world economy as a result of the IT/e-business revolution. Modern logistics based on cheap communication and transportation are shifting the locus of production and the international division of labour between the West and the lower wage countries of East Asia and similar changes are occurring within East Asia itself. Looming over the entire picture is the colossus that is China and this transformation is making East Asia the manufacturing centre of the world economy. Written by a recognized expert in the area of business economics, this book analyzes these developments and evaluates their future impact on the development of East Asia and its role in the world economy. The book examines the effect of the IT revolution, globalization and the 'new economy' on the development of East Asia. The first book-length treatment of IT/e-business in the region, it questions whether the e-business revolution will renew and sustain the rapid economic development of East Asia.

The East Asian economic miracle of the twentieth century is now a fond memory. What does it mean to be living in post-miracle times? For the youth of China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, the opportunities and challenges of the neoliberal age, deeply shaped by global forces in labor markets, powerfully frame their life prospects in ways that are barely recognizable to their parents. Global Futures in East Asia gathers together ethnographic explorations of what its contributors call projects of "life-making." Here we see youth striving to understand themselves, their place in society, and their career opportunities in the nation, region, and world. While some express optimism, it is clear that many others dread their prospects in the competitive global system in which the failure to thrive is isolating, humiliating, and possibly even fatal. Deeply engaged with some of the most significant theoretical debates in the social sciences in recent years, and rich with rare cross-national comparisons, this collection will be of great interest to all scholars and students interested in the formation of subjects and subjectivities under globalization and neoliberalism.

Learn to apply the strategies used in East Asia’s phenomenal economic expansion The phenomenal economic growth of many countries in East Asia has no historic parallel. Globalization and East Asia: Opportunities and Challenges examines different aspects of the economic performance of the region over the past three decades, with a focus on what it takes to replicate the experience elsewhere. Nineteen of the finest presentations from the 12th International Conference of the International Trade and Finance Association in Bangkok, Thailand, have been carefully selected and revised by their expert authors, providing powerful, practical economic development approaches that can be used to develop other economies. This comprehensive volume presents an insightful four-part view of the intricate economic workings of East Asia. The first part introduces the distinctive qualities of the policies that sparked economic growth and development. Part two provides comparative studies of different countries and industries in the region and an in-depth study of the East Asian area over the past fifty years. Part three presents sector specific studies within several countries, focusing on international finance. The fourth part spotlights important industry-specific elements and explores the future of globalization in relation to its effects on East Asia. Each chapter is extensively referenced, and several use tables and charts to clearly reinforce crucial points. Globalization and East Asia includes topics such as: the characteristics of East Asian economic growthand how other areas will benefit the rapid economic growth of the region since the end of World War II an evaluation of efficiency and leveraging of assets comparing the United States and the Four Dragon (FD) industries structural weaknesses within Asian countries trade flows between the United States and Thailand a bilateral study the progress of APEC’s environmental cooperation financial resource flows during the 1990s Malaysian financial markets and the Asian financial crisis China’s economic transition and exchange rate policies the use of dual production theory as a model in the world economy Thailand’s telecommunications sectorand how it provides illustration for other sector specific industries in developing countries development of bilateral trade negotiations between the United States and Vietnam the status of United States apparel imports Globalization and East Asia is important, insightful reading for researchers, scholars, and professionals specializing in regional economics and economic development.

In contrast to speculative, sweeping literature on globalization Global Exposure in East Asia grounds globalization theories in a detailed empirical analysis, providing a systematic investigation of what until now have been grand narratives of huge global phenomena. This book presents a micro-level explanation of globalization by examining individual global exposure and its influence in the values and perceptions of individuals, contending that individual and personal global experience, or 'microglobalization', is a key variable in understanding how modern mobile persons act and think in ways different from those who remain geographically immobile and constrained. Drawing on detailed empirical evidence from China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, Global Exposure in East Asia explores the structures of global exposure and their influences on values and identities in contemporary East Asia. A rich, comparative and grounded examination of modern theories of globalization, this book introduces an innovative perspective that highlights the significance of microglobalization in understanding quotidian lives in a context of ever expanding transnational exchanges and connectivities. As such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in globalization, cosmopolitanism, mobility, migration and transnationalism, (national) identity and everyday life.