Eastern Figures: Orient and Empire in British Writing

This article outlines the labour impacts and social consequences of the 1997–98 Asian financial crisis and 2008–09 global financial crisis on Southeast Asia. Both had adverse consequences on output, employment, income and poverty in the region, although the impact of the global financial crisis was much less severe compared to the Asian financial crisis. Economies recovered quickly from both crises. However, labour markets continue to be characterised by informal, vulnerable and precarious employment. The crises and the ensuing efforts of employers to resort to increased flexibility in labour hiring in both crisis and recovery periods fanned labour protests despite the diminutive size of the trade union movement and the underdeveloped system of industrial relations in most countries. In turn, these protests have triggered national and regional debates on rules for labour contracting, minimum wage adjustments and social protection. These debates have remained unresolved even as the region is gearing up for fuller economic integration in 2015 labelled as the ASEAN Economic Community.     

俄罗斯国家定位:从帝国到面向欧亚的民族国家

冷战后的俄罗斯丧失了帝国但还没有形成清晰的国家定位。关于俄罗斯国家定位,从内部看是如何处理帝国后遗症与走向正常的民族国家之间的关系,从外部看是关于走向西方与面向欧亚之间的矛盾。在经历国内政治、经济的艰难转型以及对外的外交博弈,帝国之后的俄罗斯其国家定位必然是建设在面向欧亚基础上的正常的民族国家。     

Imperialism from Below: Informal Empire and the Private Sector in Nineteenth‐Century Germany

Far from being the product of atavistic feudal remnants within German society, nineteenth‐century German imperialism stemmed from precisely the liberal milieu that had come to prominence during 1848‐49. Through an analysis of imperialist texts dealing with Central and South America, and the social logic of these imperialist works, an understanding of the nature of private sector and civil society imperialistic projects emerges that sees liberal imperialists seeking out alternatives to statist solutions in the light of political blockages to their efforts.     

Servants of Empire: An Imperial Memoir of a British Family

This article assesses three recently published books on various aspects of Afghanistan:-

- A Long Goodbye: The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan by Artemy M. Kalinovsky, an assistant professor of history at the University of Amsterdam;

-The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan by Francis J. West, a US Marine combat veteran;

-Vulcan's Tale: How the Bush Administration Mismanaged the Reconstruction of Afghanistan. by Dov S. Zakheim, a US Government official;

The background and training of these authors largely shape their viewpoints. However a careful reading of their books can sharpen our understanding of how the Soviet and US wars resembled and differed from each other, particularly with respect to nation-building, decision making, use of technology, and conflict termination. For the Russians, the similarities outweigh the differences, but there are still Americans who want to prove that they can win a war that the Soviets lost. From their perspective, the differences between the wars outweigh the similarities. The international context is completely different, the US has spent fifty times more money than the Russians and has deployed far more most sophisticated technology. Equally important, the outcome of the end-game is, as yet, unknown. But to most Afghans, comparisons are pointless; the Soviets and Americans both equally deserve to be labelled imperialists.     

The Burden of White Supremacy: Containing Asian Migration in the British Empire and the United States

The Burden of White Supremacy: Containing Asian Migration in the British Empire and the United States . By David C. Atkinson (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2016), pp.334. AU$31.50 (pb). Available in Australia through Footprint Books.