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This article examines corruption as a social problem and a phenomenon that illustrates certain problems in agenda-setting in sociology. Understanding such questions as why corruption remains largely outside the purview of sociology, and how sociological agendas are set can be found in the works of Syed Hussein Alatas, who wrote about corruption as far back as the 1950s. Sociology of corruption as a subfield failed to take off despite the ubiquity of this phenomenon. In recent years, new books have been published, including an updated version of Professor Alatas's work. Studies of corruption remain a prerogative of the political scientists and public policy experts. Economists see corruption as a market-distorting externality and treat it as a peripheral subject. Gunnar Myrdal, who was an exception, in his Asian Drama, identified corruption as a serious bottleneck for Asian development. The problem persists 40 years on from Myrdal's analysis. In many countries in the developing world, corruption has become part of the fabric of society. Yet, sociological theorization and empirical studies are lacking. This article examines corruption both as a social problem and an indicator of the 'corruption of sociology', drawing on the writings of Alatas, especially his notion of 'captive mind' or the absence of intellectual autonomy on the part of the Third World sociologists.

Based on a survey of junior college and polytechnic students in Singapore, this article argues that there is a gender gap concerning sustainable interest in science. In Singapore, both male and female students perform well in science subjects in the high school leaving examination, but by the time they begin their course of studies in the junior colleges and polytechnics, the female students do not retain interest in science. The relationship between class as well as parental educational background and interest in science is not very strong. The disadvantages set by the class background are to some extent mitigated by the school system, which takes a meritocratic and thus somewhat performance-based egalitarian approach. Recommendations are made to help motivate female students to take an interest in science such as presentation of the role models of female scientists. However, the main target ought to be changes in the culture that promote more gender equality.

This paper examines the consequences of a flood disaster on rural women in northern Bangladesh. Based on fieldwork. it is argued that floods affect rural women more adversely than rural men. Floods destroy the household resources undermining the economic well-being of rural women. Researchers and authorities in charge of rehabilitation have not paid enough attention to the uneven impact of flood disasters on gender groups. Women are rarely involved in the decision-making process regarding disaster response. The lack of participation of women in particular and the local community in general in the planning and execution of counterdisaster plans insure that such issues are not noticed. Bureaucratic disaster respondents to he short term in its scope and fails to link disaster response and rehabilitation with development activities. Various nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the rural Bangladesh seem to have closer ties with the local community and a better understanding of the linkage between rehabilitation and development. However, because of the limited scope of their operations and constraints of resources, the influence of these NGOs are not sustainable. The rural women cope on their own. The status quo ante is achieved, a continuation of impoverished existence which makes them vulnerable to the next flooding or other such disasters. Successful counterdisaster strategies need to take gender dimension into account and link crisis response and rehabilitation strategies to development initiatives. This would entail participation of women in counterdisaster plans and assuring the economic well-being of rural women.

Little attention has been given to the subject of failed coups. This article contends that knowledge of unsuccessftd coups can shed valuable light to better understand successful coups. To this end, a short-lived coup in Bangladesh on 3 November 1975 is analyzed. The paper draws a distinction between legality and legitimacy, suggesting that although all coups are illegal, they vary in the degree of legitimacy, and the question of legitimacy is crucial to a coup's success. It is pointed out that the failure of the 3 November coup can be largely attributed to the failure of advancing legitimacy claims by the coup leaders-with fatal consequences.

The author argues that modernization of Bangladesh society is to an extent contingent upon the ability to accumulate scientific knowledge and to apply that knowledge to enhance the quality of life for its people. The importance of science planning is highlighted. The complex relationship between science and social structure. Obstacles in the institutionalization of science in Bangladesh. Its three groups of intellectual elite. (DÜI-Sen)

Intro -- CONTENTS -- NOTES ON AUTHORS -- FOREWORD SURFACE TENSIONS AND DEEP STRUCTURES --- Wang Gungwu -- INTRODUCTION ASIA AND EUROPE IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD -- EMPIRES -- THE FIRST GLOBALIZATION EPISODE: THE CREATION OF THE MONGOL EMPIRE, OR THE ECONOMICS OF CHINGGIS KHAN --- Ronald Findlay and Mats Lundahl -- MIXED LEGAL SYSTEMS AND COLONIALITY: PARTS OF THE CONSTRUCT OF A GLOBAL LEGAL CULTURE --- Kjell-Åke Modéer -- ASIAN NATIONS AND GLOBALIZATION -- THE NATIONAL, THE RELIGIOUS, AND THE GLOBAL IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN BANGLADESH --- Habibul Haque Khondker -- FROM THE DISCOURSE OF "SINO-WEST" TO" GLOBALIZATION": CHINESE PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBALIZATION --- Yu Keping -- GLOBALIZATION AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHINESE REVOLUTION --- Arif Dirlik -- POLITICAL SELECTIVITY AND CULTURAL RESPONSE IN THE PROCESS OF MODERNIZATION AND GLOBALIZATION: NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA COMPARED --- Kim Kyong-Dong and Lee On-Jook -- FROM DEVELOPMENTAL LIBERALISM TO NEO-LIBERALISM: GLOBALIZATION, DEPENDENT REFLEXIVITY AND SOCIAL POLICY IN SOUTH KOREA --- Chang Kyung-Sup -- VIETNAMESE WOMEN IN TRANSITION AND GLOBALIZATION --- Le Thi Quy -- RELIGIONS AND OTHER WORLD VALUES -- FROM THEOLOGY TO ANTHROPOLOGY OF RELIGIONS: HOW TO ANALYSE THE ROLE OF RELIGIOUS TRADITION IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD? --- Jan Hjärpe -- RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS: CLASHES AND CONVERGENCES IN ASIAN-EUROPEAN DIALOGUES --- Elisabeth Gerle -- CONTINENTS AND REGIONS OF THE WORLD -- EUROPE AND ASIAS: IN THE GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY AND IN THE WORLD AS A CULTURAL SYSTEM --- Göran Therborn -- INDEX.