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"This book analyses the ways in which foreign policy actors in Asia have responded to the emerging great power conflict between the US and the People's Republic of China focusing on medium and small states across the Indo-Pacific. The book offers a much-needed counterpoint to existing analyses on the Indo-Pacific and China's BRI and presents a new perspective by examining how great power politics are locally reinterpreted, conditioned, or at times even contested. It illustrates the policy-level challenges which the US-China rivalry poses for established political and economic practices and outlines how these challenges can be best addressed by smaller states and their societies. A timely assessment of the power play in the Indo-Pacific with the angle of Sino-American rivalry, this book makes an important contribution to the study of Political Science, International Relations, Asian Studies and Security Studies"--

This book analyses the ways in which foreign policy actors in Asia have responded to the emerging great power conflict between the US and the People's Republic of China focusing on medium and small states across the Indo-Pacific. The book offers a much-needed counterpoint to existing analyses on the Indo-Pacific and China's BRI and presents a new perspective by examining how great power politics are locally reinterpreted, conditioned, or at times even contested. It illustrates the policy-level challenges which the US-China rivalry poses for established political and economic practices and outlines how these challenges can be best addressed by smaller states and their societies. A timely assessment of the power play in the Indo-Pacific with the angle of Sino-American rivalry, this book makes an important contribution to the study of Political Science, International Relations, Asian Studies and Security Studies.

Successful reform of the security sector has been regarded as pivotal for a successful transition from authoritarianism to democracy by Western donors. A global cast of contributors examines SSR in a variety of policy fields in Southeast Asia, paying specific attention to the adaption of 'Western' reform concepts by local actors. Paul Chambers, Chiang Mai University, Thailand Felix Heiduk, University of Birmingham, UK Car$olina G. Hernandez, University of the Philippines Deniz Kocak, Free University Berlin, Germany Johannes Kode, independent scholar Jörg Krempel, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt, GermanyNicolas Lemay-Hébert, University of Birmingham, UK Carolin Liss, Griffith University, Australia Henri Myrttinen, International Alert, London, UK Fabio Scarpello, Murdoch University, Australia

Successful reform of the security sector has been regarded as pivotal for a successful transition from authoritarianism to democracy. Contributors examine the so far relatively unexplored theme of Security Sector Reform in Southeast Asia. In an attempt to escape the military-centered approaches dominating contemporary debate this volume examines a wide selection of policy fields, touching on different aspects of SSR such as local ownership, executive and legislative control of security forces, gender mainstreaming, the role of civil society organizations, and the commercialization of security services. Bridging the gap between academics and practitioners, the book brings together diverse perspectives on security sector related reforms in Southeast Asia and their possible future developments.

Abstract
The term Indo-Pacific has enjoyed growing popularity for years as a geographical and strategic construct. Increasingly, the Indo-Pacific is not conceived merely as a geographical construct, but also as a vital alternative to the Chinese "Belt and Road" Initiative (bri). Conversely, Beijing views the debates over the Indo-Pacific as nothing more than an anti-Chinese containment strategy. Chinese criticism notwithstanding, the debate on the Indo-Pacific has gained traction within Europe, too. France promoted its own Indo-Pacific concept from 2018 onwards, followed by Germany in 2020 with their own Indo-Pacific Leitlinien (guidelines) that preceded the launch of the EU's own Indo-Pacific strategy in 2021. To assess possible focus points of an emerging EU approach to the Indo-Pacific, this article evaluates strategic convergence and divergence between the so-called E2, France and Germany. It finds that Germany and France, despite their different role conceptions, converge with regard to their key objectives, planned initiatives and conceptualisations of regional order. The article also finds, however, that these contain, for the most part, very general declarations of interests and intent while also foregoing concrete strategic choices. It argues that any future EU approach to the Indo-Pacific is therefore likely to emerge around the least common denominator focus points, drawing on long-established EU approaches towards the Asia-Pacific, rather than a new, clear-cut EU approach to the Indo-Pacific.

In verschiedenen Städten im Landesinnern Myanmars ist es während der vergangenen Tage zu Angriffen auf Militäreinrichtungen gekommen. Dabei wurden unter anderem Flugfelder des Militärs beschossen, die die Luftwaffe genutzt hatte, um Rebellenstützpunkte der ethnischen Minderheiten im Osten und Norden des Landes zu attackieren. Bislang hat sich niemand zu den Angriffen bekannt, doch ist davon auszugehen, dass sie in Zusammenhang mit dem neu formierten Bündnis zwischen demokratischer Opposition und ethnischen Minderheiten stehen. Angesichts dieser Entwicklung drohen die Gewaltkonflikte in Myanmar von den Grenzregionen auf das gesamte Territorium des Landes überzugreifen, einschließlich der großen urbanen Zentren. Zu befürchten ist daher, dass Myanmar politisch, ökonomisch und sozial noch weiter destabilisiert werden wird.

Military installations have been attacked in various towns in Myanmar's interior over the past few days. Among other things, military airfields that the air force had used to attack ethnic minority rebel bases in the east and north of the country were fired upon. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but it can be assumed that they are connected to the newly formed alliance between the former democratic government and ethnic minorities. In view of this development, the violent conflicts in Myanmar threaten to spread from the border regions to the entire country, including large urban centres. If the violence were indeed to escalate in the coming weeks, Myanmar would be further destabilised politically, economically, and socially.

Der "Islamische Staat" (IS) wurde in seinen syrisch-irakischen Kerngebieten zwar für besiegt erklärt, doch hat er sich mittlerweile in andere Regionen ausgebreitet. Dies betrifft auch Asien, einen Kontinent, auf dem mehr als 500 Millionen Muslime leben. Zu den Ländern, in denen IS-affiliierte Gruppen 2017 verstärkt aufgefallen sind, gehören unter anderem Afghanistan, Indonesien und die Philippinen. Vor diesem Hintergrund untersucht die vorliegende Studie das Auftreten des IS in Asien, die Reaktionen darauf und die Auswirkungen des Phänomens auf nationale und regionale Stabilität. Die Befunde der Studie entkräften zunächst Befürchtungen, es könnte in der Region zu einer raschen Wiedergeburt des IS kommen. Es gibt derzeit keine Anzeichen, dass sich die Erfolge der Organisation auf irakischem und syrischem Gebiet kurz- bis mittelfristig in Teilen Asiens wiederholen werden. Den dortigen IS-Ablegern fehlt es dafür an militärischer Stärke, logistischer Infrastruktur und lokaler Verankerung. Die Gewaltaktionen asiatischer IS-Ableger beschränken sich vielerorts auf sporadische Anschläge und Vorstöße. Militärische Siege über den vermeintlichen Gegner oder dauerhafte Geländegewinne werden dabei nur selten erreicht. Dies sollte jedoch nicht zur Einschätzung verleiten, der IS in Asien sei lediglich ein Schreckgespenst. IS-Gruppen dort profitieren, wie andere militante Akteure auch, vielfach von Legitimitätsdefiziten politischer Eliten und der Schwäche staatlicher Strukturen. Und gerade weil solche Gruppen weitgehend unabhängig von der Zentrale des IS entstanden sind, ist dessen militärische Niederlage in Syrien und Irak kein Garant dafür, dass die Ableger in Asien ebenfalls geschwächt sind oder auseinanderfallen.

Die Gewalt gegenüber den Rohingya, die in der Folge zu Hunderttausenden in das Nachbarland Bangladesch flohen, hat das internationale Image Myanmars stark beschädigt. Als Reaktion auf die Verschlechterung der Menschenrechtslage in Myanmar drohte die EU im Oktober 2018 mit der Rücknahme der Handelspräferenzen, die dem Land zollfreien Zugang zum EU-Binnenmarkt garantieren. Es ist jedoch anzunehmen, dass derartige Maßnahmen die Handlungskalküle der burmesischen Regierung und des Militärs nicht verändern. Sie träfen in erster Linie die Beschäftigten in der Textilindustrie des Landes. Die EU und ihre Mitgliedstaaten sollten daher stattdessen auf eine Kombination aus gezielten Wirtschaftssanktionen gegen Militärunternehmen und verschärften Einreiseverboten und Sperrungen von Konten führender Militärs setzen. Flankiert werden sollte diese Politik von einem intensiveren diplomatischen Engagement gegenüber zivilen Akteuren im Land.

The violence against the Rohingya, which has led hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to seek refuge in Bangladesh, has severely damaged Myanmar's international image. In response to the deterioration of the human rights situation in Myanmar in Octo­ber 2018, the European Union (EU) threatened to withdraw the trade preferences that ensure the country has duty-free access to the EU common market. It seems highly plausible, however, that such measures would fail to alter the political calculations of the Burmese government or of the military. Instead, a withdrawal of the trade preferences would primarily hit the mostly female workers in the country's textile industry. The EU and its Member States should therefore consider a combination of specific sanctions against military enterprises as well as tightened entry bans and account freezes that are directed at leading military personnel. These targeted sanc­tions against Myanmar's armed forces should be flanked by an increase in the level of diplo­matic engagement with civilian actors in the country.