ASEAN in a Globalizing World

In the early 1990s, ASEAN emerged from the Cold War as a confident regional organization. With the accession of Cambodia, it seemed to be fulfilling the aspirations of its founding fathers to expand membership to include all ten Southeast Asian countries. Since the Asian financial crisis of 1997, however, ASEAN's self-confidence has been dealt a severe blow and it faces unprecedented challenges to its current status and future prospects. In the following article, former Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, examines the various issues facing ASEAN today, including the impact of the Asian crisis; the ramifications of socioeconomic and political crises in the affected ASEAN countries; the implications of the rapid and fundamental changes in the international and regional economic, political and security environment; and the enlargement of ASEAN membership. Despite questions over ASEAN's future role, Alatas asserts his belief in the continuing relevance of this regional forum to contribute to regional stability.     

Housing in a Gambia Village

Mr. Rees is a Sanitary Superintendent who in 1948 made a reporton cheap improvements in village housing in the Gambia. A sampleincluded a village of the Mandinka, with a population of 450.     

Renting a flat in Hangzhou

Abstract

Shortly after my arrival at Zhejiang Agricultural University as a visiting scholar, I faced the question of where to live. There were of course the guesthouses on campus, but these ranged in price from 3,000 to 4,800 yuan per month (about US$400 to $600). By contrast, apartment rentals in nearby Hangzhou ran from about 500 yuan per month for a two-room unfurnished flat to a monthly rent of about 1,500 yuan for a furnished, three-room flat equipped with air conditioner, telephone, and assorted fixtures. Even though the latter rates are somewhat expensive by local standards, they still represent a considerable savings over guest-house accommodations on campus, as well as affording a degree of privacy that I deemed important to the conduct of life during my research project.     

Making a Nation in Kenya

The address that follows was given by in the Hon. Michael BlundellM.L.C. former Minister of Agriculture, Kenya, at a joint meetingof the Royal African Society and the Royal Commonwealth Societyon May 7,1959. Mr. Brian Macdona, Vice Chairman of the Councilof the Royal African Society, took the chair.     

Germany's power and the weakening of states in a globalised world: deconstructing a paradox

It is somewhat ironical to ponder Germany's power at a time when radical changes due to globalisation vastly limit the efficiency of state actions worldwide. Certainly, Germany's resources increased with reunification – though the country also has to bear its costs. An enumeration of the – possible – resources of German power provides us, however, with little understanding of the nature of German power, embedded as the country is in a European system from which it derives its strength. Hence, only an analysis of this system fully renders the picture, contrary to what neo-realists and liberals might assume. While Germany did exercise a semi-hegemony over Western Europe in the monetary area up to EMU, the further integration of the EU has altered the European structure and diffused Germany's power. A particular configuration allowed Germany to devise one-sidedly the rules of EMU. This configuration does not exist in other issue-areas, such as, for example, defence and enlargement. This does not mean that power is absent from Germany's tool-box: political credit in particular is abundant. Yet in a larger Europe, where coalitions are more issue-oriented and hence more volatile than formerly, Germany's power will turn out to be more limited than its demands for recognition may lead us to believe.     

Assessing Freedom of Information in Latin America a Decade Later: Illuminating a Transparency Causal Mechanism

More than 100 freedom of information (FOI) laws have been enacted worldwide, nearly half within the last 10 years. Yet these cross‐domain, lynchpin transparency measures have received little scholarly attention. This article assesses the 16 FOI measures adopted across Latin America. Is secrecy being surrendered in a region marked by legacies of opacity? Why are some laws fulfilling their de jure potential in practice while others are not? This article aims to achieve 3 general objectives. It analyzes the de jure and de facto strength of Latin American FOI regimes; it exposes critical data‐based and methodological challenges in evaluating and comparing transparency laws; and it illustrates how a causal mechanism, driven by the interactive dynamics of legislative balances of power and cabinet compositions, has had a determinate influence in shaping the strength of FOI regimes from adoption to implementation and reform.     

Towards a Sociological Understanding of Islamic Radicalism in Indonesia

An upswing in labour costs and currency appreciation during the 1980s caused companies from more advanced Asian economies, such as Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, to search for new manufacturing sites in order to obtain lower costs. China was one of the main options for these outward investments, with its huge and rapidly growing market, plentiful, low-cost labour and vast territory. The literature on foreign direct investment has analysed the location strategies of multinational enterprises across national borders, but there have been fewer studies of location decisions by foreign investors within the borders of a single country. We examine how companies determine which location offers the best opportunity to establish an assembly-type manufacturing site in China. We surveyed 17 Taiwanese enterprises that have established this kind of manufacturing base in China, and found that the major factors influencing location selection are economics, politics, the cluster effect and bureaucratic efficiency. It was found that the eastern region, which includes Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, was considered better for establishing manufacturing bases than other regions.     

Modernism and traditionalism in a history of Islamic law

N. J. Coulson, A History of Islamic Law. (Islamic Surveys, 2). Pp. viii +264. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1964. 21s. net     

Public health in Burma: Anatomy of a crisis

Burma has been ruled by a military government since 1962. A steady deterioration in public health standards has accompanied such rule, with a particularly marked decline following the crushing of the pro-democracy movement in that country in 1988. This article draws attention to a number of aspects of this decline and the growing precariousness of the overall public health system. As it will be suggested, primary responsibility for this state of decay should be borne by the military regime. Through several policies and practices, the military has severely compromised the functioning of the public health system and perverted it in ways that fulfill its narrow political interests, rather than those of the nation as a whole. The article concludes by emphasizing the urgent need for a reinstatement of democratic norms and institutions in Burma, so that the nation's public health needs may be meaningfully addressed and a looming humanitarian disaster averted.     

The Problems of a Multi-Racial Society in Central Africa

The following address was given by the president of the NorthernRhodesia Mines African Staff Association at a joint meetingof the Royal African Society and the Royal Commonwealth Societyon July 23, 1958. Earl De La Warr, President of the Royal CommonwealthSociety, took the chair.