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Toponyms, along with other urban symbols, were used as a tool of control over space in many African countries during the colonial period. This strategy was epitomized by the British, who applied it in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya from the late 1800s. This paper shows that toponymy in colonial Nairobi was an imposition of British political references, urban nomenclature, as well as the replication of a British spatial idyll on the urban landscape of Nairobi. In early colonial Nairobi, the population was mainly composed of three main groups: British, Asians, and Africans. Although the Africans formed the bulk of the population, they were the least represented, socially, economically and politically. Ironically, he British, who were the least in population held the political and economic power, and they applied it vigorously in shaping the identity of the city. The Asians were neither as powerful as the British, nor were they considered to be at the low level of the native Africans. This was the deliberate hierarchical structure that was instituted by the colonial government, where the level of urban citizenship depended on ethnic affiliation. Consequently, this structure was reflected in the toponymy and spatial organization of the newly founded city with little consideration to its pre-colonial status. Streets, buildings and other spaces such as parks were predominantly named after the British monarchy, colonial administrators, settler farmers, and businessmen, as well as prominent Asian personalities. In this paper, historical references such as maps, letter correspondences, monographs, and newspaper archives have been used as evidence to prove that toponyms in colonial Nairobi were the spatial signifiers that reflected the political, ideological and ethnic hierarchies and inequalities of the time.

Examines political, economic, and ethnic implications of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Questions raised about "Asian values" of order and harmony over freedom of expression and rule of law, growth of Islam, and how the crisis could reawaken ethnic divisions in a plural society.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is one of the most ancient regionalorganizations in Asia. Created in 1967 by the Bangkok Declaration, an interstate declaration, ASEANdid not have a clear legal status until 2007, date of its constituent Charter adoption. Lacking aconventional basis, ASEAN however did not lack the characteristics of an international organization.During the 40 years following its creation, it had chosen a mode of functioning mainly based onrelationship and not on rules of law. The political predominance in the ASEAN functioning therefore leftonly a secondary place to the rules of law, somewhat ambiguous. This particularity, so-called ASEANway, has made ASEAN an organization geared towards the individual interests of its members. In2007, ASEAN adopted a constituent Charter, whose aim is to transform ASEAN into a rule-basedorganization. This Charter, opening a new era for ASEAN, raised it to the rank of internationalorganization – derived subject of international law. It seems to call into question the place of politics inits functioning. The Charter nevertheless reinforced the ASEAN way, which shows the limits of ASEAN.The study of the ASEAN institutionalization aims at proving the cause of the predominance of ASEANway on the law and its repercussions on interstate relationships. This present study carries out theexamination of the link between the aims and the principles as an axiomatical framework of ASEAN, ofits institutional system and its legal order. ; L'Association des nations de l'Asie du sud-est (ASEAN) est l'une des organisationsrégionales les plus anciennes en Asie. Créée en 1967 par la Déclaration de Bangkok, une déclarationinterétatique, l'ASEAN n'avait pas un statut juridique clair jusqu'en 2007, date de l'adoption de saCharte constitutive. A défaut d'une base conventionnelle, l'ASEAN ne manquait pourtant pas descaractéristiques d'une organisation internationale. Pendant les quarante années qui ont suivi sacréation, elle avait choisi un mode de fonctionnement fondé ...

Discusses the greater emphasis placed on economic rather than cultural links between members of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) in the 1990s and whether this will result in the closer political ties needed to support a strong regional organization. Summary in English.

Historical background to and geopolitics of the Mekong river region and relations between Southeast Asian nations; French policy interests. Covers nations and cultures of Indo-China and current relations between China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Examines recent record of China's human rights abuses; critical of view that Westerners do not fully understand Asian values that underlie abuses and suggests stronger action by Western nations. Summaries in English p. 468 and Spanish p. 482. Proposes that Western nations send a firm signal to China that its emergence from economic isolation will be linked to respect of human rights.

Describes recently increased Chinese colonization of Xinjiang province, home to the Muslim Uygur people, since independence of the former Soviet Central Asian republics; history of Uygur independence movement, including recent unrest. Summaries in English p. 469 and Spanish p. 483.