Appendix B: Koreans in Japan and the DPRK

Abstract

It is not often that an entire group of people change their minds on a foreign policy issue, at least within a short space of time. On Kampuchea, this did occur around 1978, when most of those who had previously sympathized with the Khmer Rouge declared their disillusionment. It meant admitting that there was much truth to the militant anti-communists' well-publicized case against the Khmer Rouge, who were indeed one of history's most brutal regimes. In the same period, however, as Michael Vickery has shown in “Democratic Kampuchea—CIA to the Rescue,” many of the same anti-communists suddenly dropped their opposition to the Khmer Rouge, whom they now saw as a useful opponent of Vietnamese communism.     

Faith in forgiveness? Exploring conversions to Christianity within a former Khmer Rouge community

This article explores stories of former members of the Khmer Rouge who have converted to Christianity. It sheds light on the intersections of patterns of religious change in Cambodia, which implicates peace-building, redress, and development trajectories in the wake of conflict and atrocities. The case raises important questions about why former members of the Khmer Rouge convert to Christianity and the social, political, and ethical implications of their conversions. We explore these questions to show that, while transitions and attendant redress efforts in Cambodia have been principally explained at the level of the state, we should pay closer attention to the granular experiences of former Khmer Rouge members as they navigate Cambodia’s changing post-conflict terrain, and the social and cultural sites through which they have made their experiences of the past meaningful.     

Introduction: The Territory of Identity and Remembrance in Okinawa

Abstract

All Cambodian population statistics, of whatever period, include a large measure of hypothesis, assumption, extrapolation, and pure guesswork, and they may not be adequate for the type of calculations undertaken by either Kiernan or myself.

Ben Kiernan's “Orphans of Genocide: The Cham Muslims of Kampuchea under Pol Pot” (BCAS vol. 20, no. 4, Oct.–Dec. 1988) is an interesting study of the experience of the Chams during 1975–79, and as such makes a valuable contribution to the still too little known social history of Democratic Kampuchea (DK). Unfortunately Kiernan has tinkered with the statistics in a tendentious manner in an attempt to prove the case for genocide in Democratic Kampuchea.     

China’s Indochina policy

China has made virtually all the gains it can expect from the war in Cambodia. These include its regional influence, its relations with Thailand and the superpowers, and its punishment of Vietnam. Continued support for the universally condemned Khmer Rouge risks undermining China’s regional standing for no certain gain. It could forestall new possibilities for China in Phnom Penh and even in Hanoi. Thus, China will probably dump the Khmer Rouge when the time is ripe. Acceptance by China of the relities of Hun Sen’s Cambodia—provided it survivies—may be a not-too-distant prospect.     

Cambodia: “Operation total victory no. 43”

Abstract

Rising high above the lush Cambodian jungle, the spiraled gray towers of Angkor Wat mark the cosmological center of one of the most brillant ancient civilizations of Southeast Asia. Today, all that remains of this vast Khmer kingdom is a nation about the size of Washington state, a nation inhabited by nearly seven million people; most of whom spend their lives in the verdant paddy fields surrounding their village. Although proud of their heritage, they do not aspire to new glories of conquest and empire. Rather the Cambodians have long sought one-thing: peace.     

Political suicide among Korean youth

Abstract

A striking aspect of the South Korean political protest movement of the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s was the frequent self-immolation of young Korean activists. This trend toward political suicide—politically motivated voluntary death—began with the laborer Chun Tae-il's suicide in 1970 and increased dramatically in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It is estimated that in the 1980s alone nearly one hundred young Koreans put an end to their lives as a form of antigovernment protest! This article explores why so many young people in Korea have chosen to take their own lives in this way.     

Are We Concerned Yet? Environmental Crisis and Economic Development in China; China on the Edge: The Crisis of Ecology and Development,by He Baochuan; China's Environmental Crisis: An Inquiry into the Limits of National Development,by Vaclav Smil

Abstract

The storyline of China's late imperial and modern history typically revolves around questions of economic development: Was China's economy in the late imperial period developing on its own? If so, what is the evidence? If not, why not? What impact did imperialism have? What have been the developmental strategies of the People's Republic of China (PRC), and how successful have they been? Regardless of whether or not the scholar pursuing these questions is a Marxist (of whatever flavor) or neo-Smithian economist working for the World Bank, development remains at the core of the inquiry and is its central problematic.     

Bibliographies on Korea

Abstract

As Noam Chomsky has pointed out, press accounts about the non-western world, in particular Cambodia, are often as interesting for themselves, as “works of art,” as for information about conditions within the country concerned. For over three years the mainstream western press generally treated the regime of “Democratic Kampuchea” (DK) and its leader, Pol Pot, as very nearly the worst known to human history; and calls for intervention to displace them were heard even from usually responsible quarters. Yet when they finally were displaced, following a war largely provoked by their own actions, and by a polity whose record on human rights had always seemed much better, not only was little rejoicing heard, but the remnants of the DK regime became recipients of recognition and support by the powers who had cried out most loudly against them. Clearly concern with human rights or atrocities was of secondary importance to considerations of international power politics; and if no one was willing to suddenly declare Pol Pot a bulwark of the Free World against Godless Communism, the atrocities over which he had presided tended to be implicitly forgiven as his role in an anti-Vietnamese coalition was emphasized.     

Confrontation or coexistence: The national reconciliation process in Cambodia

On October 23, 1991, the four warring factions in Cambodia signed a peace accord, agreeing to disarm and allow UN‐sponsored elections. Through the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), elections were held in May 1993, despite disruptive efforts by some factions. Yet conflict continues. Professor Yasuhiro Takeda of Japan's Defense University examines current possibilities for reconciliation between the Khmer Rouge and the new government in Cambodia.     

WHEN WAL-MART WIMPED OUT

Abstract

This article offers one China analyst's perspective on a variety of questions related to the unionization of all sixty-six Wal-Mart outlets in China. Why did China force Wal-Mart to unionize? If, as Marx, paraphrasing Hegel, wrote, “all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice,” is Mao making his comeback? Or if, as Marx immediately continued in his own right, “He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce,” is Hu Jintao playing Louis Bonaparte to Mao's Napoleon? Is the Chinese state acting out of a new level of confidence that it can now challenge the world's most prepossessing corporate giants in order to make good on its communist commitments? Is it running scared in the face of a working class that has at last managed to score a victory? Or is it actually strengthening its power through time-honored tactics of mass organizational control that have not really changed despite the new market context? Are China's workers being protected, empowered, or co-opted and subjected to new forms of state control? And why did one of the world's most militantly antiunion corporations go along? Did they have a choice? Did they fear China's state-run union federation? And finally, what does all this portend for the future of labor relations in China?     

Building Governance from Scratch: Myanmar and the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative

ABSTRACT

The Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative is a set of transnational rules that aims at improving governance in the oil, gas and mining sector. Several resource rich countries have joined the initiative since its inception in 2002. The question is why and with what effect? The article explores the case of Myanmar and argues that both state and non-state actors use the transnational regulations of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative framework for their own ends. While the government attempts to attract broader foreign investment and increased foreign aid, civil society tries to address the human rights situation in the country. While this ultimately leads to conflict and confrontation in a society shaken by a long period of authoritarianism and civil wars, there is potential for the Myanmar Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative to provide an opportunity to improve state–society relations and build inclusive governance structures with an improved human rights record. However, the challenges are massive given the weakness of the state, ongoing armed conflict in ethnic minority areas and low trust between political actors.     

The Quest to Understand Global Jihad: The Terrorism Industry and its Discontents

In the 1840s Sarantis Archigenes, an Ottoman Greek citizen, wrote a book on political economy called Tasarrufat-? Mülkiye. The book contained both political-economic knowledge and developmentalist policy recommendations for the Ottoman Empire. The emphasis given to human capital, trade and transportation, industrialization and property relations is noteworthy. Since it did not reach large numbers of people, the importance of Tasarrufat-? Mülkiye has not been appreciated. The goal of this article is to provide an account of Archigenes' views on political economy as presented in his long-neglected book. Had the policy makers in the Empire in the second half of the nineteenth century taken Archigenes' views seriously, a sound development strategy could have been formed.     

Demonizing the enemy: the influence of Russian state-sponsored media on American audiences

ABSTRACT

There is growing anxiety about the influence of international propaganda on public opinion. Under what conditions can countries shift foreign public opinion against an adversary? Does making people aware that news is coming from a foreign source mitigate its influence? I examine these questions in the context of Russian propaganda in the United States. I subject subgroups of Americans to an article from Russia Today (RT), a Russian international television network, criticizing the Ukrainian government. I vary whether audiences are aware of the message source, and/or the intentions, of the Russian-funded network. I show that exposure to information about Ukrainian human rights violations lowers Americans’ evaluations of Ukraine irrespective of source awareness – indicating that making people more aware of foreign propaganda does not attenuate its influence. The findings have important implications for understanding the micro-level effects of international propaganda and the effectiveness of counter-propaganda strategies.     

Islam and politics in a Malay state: Kelantan 1838–1969

Abstract

The contention of this book is that it is necessary to study political activity at the level of the common individual. This position is in clear contrast to the common assumption that individuals are ineffectual in asserting their political rights, unaware of political issues and unimportant in the course of national history. Bowen has aimed his study deliberately at the actions and associations of the commoners involved in the Meiji popular rights movement. He focuses upon three gekka jiken (“incidents of intensified violence”)—the Fukushima Incident of 1882 and the Kabasan and Chichibu incidents of 1884—seeking “to learn why they happened; what they tell about general social, economic, and political conditions; and what consequences they had for society and politics as a whole” (p. 6).     

Review Essay: The Philippines

Abstract

The five papers gathered together in this book examine events leading up to the declaration of martial law in the Philippines by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on September 21, 1972, and the nature of the authoritarian regime that has been in power since that date. They were first presented at the 1974 meetings of the Association of Asian Studies, although the editor indicates that they have been updated to include relevant events through May, 1978.     

The American-Japanese ‘Co-prosperity sphere’

Abstract

For many years Jane Hamilton-Merritt has carried out a publicity campaign in support of Vang Pao and the so-called “Lao resistance,” while condemning the government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and anyone who challenges her own views. Hamilton-Merritt has demonstrated great effectiveness in marshaling the mainstream media, reputable public figures, and otherwise respected institutions as the channels or even mouthpieces for her campaign. The publication of Tragic Mountains highlights her ongoing efforts to find acceptance for her fanciful vision of the recent history of Laos (and the United States). Her success in this campaign has been possible only because few in her audience know the facts behind her distorted misrepresentations. In this book, Hamilton-Merritt constructs a fantastical account of “the Hmong, the Americans, and the secret wars for Laos” that bears little relation to the truth of the events and personalities she discusses.     

Appendix: Lim Li-suat

Abstract

In his “Comments on Cham Population Figures,” Michael Vickery criticizes my 1988 article “Orphans of Genocide: The Cham Muslims of Kampuchea under Pol Pot.” “Kiernan has tinkered with the statistics in a tendentious manner in an attempt to prove the case for genocide,” he claims. Vickery accuses me of making “propaganda” and using “doctored evidence” to support it, of failing to make “honest use” of data, and of “fiddling with statistics to prove a particular political case, which cannot be made.”     

New light on the origins of the Vietnam-Kampuchea conflict

Abstract

“Don't make pretexts about Kampuchea Krom in order to hide your jaw of traitor.”

—Security regulation no. 8 for inmates at the Pol Pot regime's Tuol Sleng prison, Phnom Penh, 1977–8.     

Coming of age in peace,prosperity, and connectivity: Cambodia’s young electorate and its impact on the ruling party’s political strategies

Cambodia’s youthful population is significantly responsible for a recent unexpected decline in the popularity of the Cambodian People’s Party, which has governed since the end of the Khmer Rouge regime. This increasingly young electorate has lived through an era of peace and openness with regular multi-party elections and impressive economic growth resulting in rapid structural change in the economy. Compared to their parents’ generation, this younger generation is better educated, highly mobile, aspires to salaried employment, and is well connected to new sources of information and technology. Because of this, their expectations, aspirations, opportunities, as well as challenges they face are remarkably different from those of older generations. However, Cambodia’s institutions of governance, dominated by personalized and patron–client networks that have been propped up by the ruling elite, has effectively marginalized this emerging youth population. This marginalization from political and economic resources has produced alienation and discontent, which represents a significant political problem for the ruling party’s political strategies.