The making of Southeast Asia: international relations of a region

Developing a framework to study "what makes a region," Amitav Acharya investigates the origins and evolution of Southeast Asian regionalism and international relations. He views the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) "from the bottom up"-as not only a U.S.-inspired ally in the Cold War struggle against communism but also an organization that reflects indigenous traditions. Although Acharya deploys the notion of "imagined community" to examine the changes, especially since the Cold War, in the significance of ASEAN dealings for a regional identity, he insists that "imagination" is itself not a neutral but rather a culturally variable concept. The regional imagination in Southeast Asia imagines a community of nations different from NAFTA or NATO, the OAU, or the European Union.In this new edition of a book first published as The Quest for Identity in 2000, Acharya updates developments in the region through the first decade of the new century: the aftermath of the financial crisis of 1997, security affairs after September 2001, the long-term impact of the 2004 tsunami, and the substantial changes wrought by the rise of China as a regional and global actor. Acharya argues in this important book for the crucial importance of regionalism in a different part of the world

Chapter 1: Introduction: Region and Regionalism in the Making of Southeast Asia 1. - Chapter 2: Imagined Communities and Socially Constructed Regions 21. - Chapter 3: Imagining Southeast Asia 51. - Chapter 4: Nationalism, Regionalism, and the Cold War Order 105. - Chapter 5: The Evolution of Regional Organization 149. - Chapter 6: Southeast Asia Divided: Polarization and Reconciliation 180. - Chapter 7: Constructing "One Southeast Asia" 213. - Chapter 8: Globalization and the Crisis of Regional Identity 240. - Chapter 9: Whither Southeast Asia? 289

"Amitav Acharya has written a splendidly ambitious book. Travelling from the discipline of International Relations to the historiography of Southeast Asia and back again, it draws upon a range of methodologies to analyse the issue of identity in the configuration of Southeast Asia. But it provides more than an academic assessment. With this book, Acharya must be judged to have contributed not just to the study of Southeast Asian regionalism, but to the process itself." –Anthony Milner, Basham Professor of Asian History, Australian National University

The making of Southeast Asia : international relations of a region. -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface -- List of Abbreviations -- List of Tables -- 1. Introduction: Region, Regionalism and Regional Identity in the Making of Southeast Asia -- 2. Imagined Communities and Socially Constructed Regions -- 3. Imagining Southeast Asia -- 4. Nationalism, Regionalism and the Cold War Order -- 5. The Evolution of Regional Organization -- 6. Southeast Asia Divided: Polarization and Reconciliation -- 7. Constructing "One Southeast Asia" -- 8. Globalization and the Crisis of Regional Identity -- 9. Whither Southeast Asia? -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author.

Amitav Acharya has written a splendidly ambitious book. Travelling from the discipline of International Relations to the historiography of Southeast Asia and back again, it draws upon a range of methodologies to analyse the issue of identity in the configuration of Southeast Asia. But it provides more than an academic assessment. With this book, Acharya must be judged to have contributed not just to the study of Southeast Asian regionalism, but to the process itself. - Anthony Milner, Basham Professor of Asian History, Australian National University

The Making of Southeast Asia -- Contents -- Preface -- List of Abbreviations -- List of Tables -- 1. Introduction: Region, Regionalism and Regional Identity in the Making of Southeast Asia -- Unity in Diversity -- Interactions and Identity -- Structure of the Book -- 2. Imagined Communities and Socially Constructed Regions -- Defining Regionness -- Material and Ideational Perspectives -- Whole and Parts -- Past and Present -- Inside and Outside -- Permanence and Transience -- Summary of the Argument -- 3. Imagining Southeast Asia -- Introduction -- The Southeast Asian States and State System in the Pre-Colonial Era -- Commerce, Colonialism and the Regional Concept -- After the War: (Re)inventing the Region -- The Contribution of "Southeast Asian Studies" -- Conclusion -- 4. Nationalism, Regionalism and the Cold War Order -- The nationalist Vision of Regionalism -- Development, Legitimacy and Regional (Dis)order -- Great-Power Rivalry and Regional Autonomy -- Conclusion -- 5. The Evolution of Regional Organization -- ASA and Maphilindo -- The Establishment of ASEAn: Motivating Factors -- Dimensions of ASEAN Regionalism -- Conclusion -- 6. Southeast Asia Divided: Polarization and Reconciliation -- Vietnam and ASEAN -- ASEAN and the Cambodian Conflict -- Towards Regional Reconciliation -- East Asian Regionalization and Southeast Asian Regionalism -- The "ASEAN Way" -- Conclusion -- 7. Constructing "One Southeast Asia" -- Towards "One Southeast Asia" -- Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific Idea -- Conclusion -- 8. Globalization and the Crisis of Regional Identity -- The Perils of Globalizatio -- Rainforests and Regional Identity -- Identity and Community -- Regional Identity and Civil Society -- China, India and Southeast Asian Identity -- An East Asian Community? -- Conclusion -- 9. Whither Southeast Asia? -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author.