Showing papers in "Journal of Contemporary Asia in 2003"

Nationalism, Confucianism, work ethic and industrialization in South Korea

Abstract: The “economic miracle” of South Korea has been well documented by many scholars, but most studies have focused on the cooperative relations between the state and entrepreneurial elites, with little attention being given to the accomplishments and contribution of Korean labor to industrial development. To date there has been no comprehensive sociological study as to how workers in South Korea were “ideologically” mobilized and motivated to commit their labor power to the process of industrialization. In an attempt to redress this imbalance, this article offers an analysis of the role of Confucianism and nationalism in the state-sponsored ideology of work in South Korea during its economic boom of the 1960s and 1970s. It is argued here that both the workers' voluntary participation in industrial work and the harmony in the workplace, which were two of the most essential factors in the nation's remarkable economic success during the 1960s and 1970s, were intimately linked to a new ideology of work a...

The changing pattern of classes and class conflict in China

Abstract: (2003). The changing pattern of classes and class conflict in China. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 363-376.

Economic crisis, downsizing and “layoff survivor's syndrome”

Abstract: This article deals with layoff survivor's syndrome following the 1997 economic crisis in South Korea. South Korea has been credited with quickly recovering from its economic crisis by implementing policies aimed at economic restructuring. However, researchers have discovered that, in addition to those directly affected by a lay-off, layoff survivors as well suffer from impacts on their mental health — hence the name, layoff survivors' syndrome. The present research focuses on the socio-psychological impact of downsizing on layoff survivors on the basis of a nationwide survey. The findings reveal a significant difference in work attitudes after downsizing, as well as a significant impact on survivors' mental health. The study concludes that these negative impacts may negatively influence organizational productivity, and thus downsizing as a blanket strategy for organizational renewal needs to be reconsidered.

Corruption and the politics of economic decentralisation in Vietnam

Abstract: (2003) Corruption and the politics of economic decentralisation in Vietnam Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol 33, No 1, pp 69-84

Culture, state and economic development in Singapore

Abstract: Within 35 years after independence, Singapore is transformed into a developed city-state. To a substantial extent, this transformation may be explained in terms of the role of the Singapore state, which in part may be attributed to the regulation of certain cultural values — those reconstructed by the Singapore government under the influence of both Western and Oriental cultures. This empirical case poses a challenge to the validity of Weber's interpretation of the cultural causes of capitalistic economic development, especially his critique of Oriental cultures including Confucianism. It equally questions the adequacy of the contesting argument that highlights only the positive role of Confucianism in accounting for Asian economic change. This article proposes an alternative cultural model to transcend their limitations in explaining the economic transformation in Singapore. The inherent problems of the values of the Singapore government are also analyzed.

A critique of “catch-up” theories of development

Abstract: The Asian crisis has rekindled the debate between advocates of neoliberalism, left-wing neoliberalism, and developmental-statism over the best institutions and policies for achieving economic development. However, this debate continues to generate far more heat than light. One reason is that, despite their alleged differences, all three mainstream theories share a common conception of development as “catch-up.” A second and even more important reason is that this shared conception is seriously flawed because of its technological determinism and uncritical stance towards capitalist relations of wage-labor and competition. A Marxist perspective on development dynamics is superior because it recognizes the contradictions of capitalist development and can therefore inform (and be informed by) the ongoing struggles of workers and communities for new development alternatives on national, regional, and global levels.

Kerala's experience of development and change

Abstract: Scholars have variously described the development experience of the Indian state of Kerala as a “model” or a “paradox” or an “enigma” and posited different meanings and significance to its developmental trajectory. Rather than following the usual one-dimensional accounting of Kerala's achievements and shortcomings, we present a historically informed social and political analysis to reveal the meaning and significance of the “Kerala model” of development. This article, thus, critically appraises Kerala's development experience since decolonization to show how the discourse on development and the discursive practices of the dominant actors involved in governance of Kerala diverge in recent years, especially after the second round of economic liberalizations at the national level in 1991, which coincidently corresponds to the beginning of the newest phase of economic globalization. Old lessons are reviewed based on the notion of replicability of the “Kerala model” and new lessons are analyzed within...

Transethnic solidarities in a racialised context

Abstract: “Race” is a social construction of considerable but not totalising force in contemporary Malaysia. Transethnic cultural politics have been part of the social landscape though they have been rendered marginal or seemingly invisible. This article asks if indeed they are so incidental and if so why. Racialisation has not eliminated but obscured and concealed transethnic cultural and social solidarities, so much so that there are hardly the words to describe them. As a result, a language has to be forged that describes society beyond the terms of race and articulates the nuances, heterogeneity and diversity of cultural identities. To this end, the article turns to the history of Southeast Asia, or more specifically, the Malay world. It asks if the region's historical inclusiveness towards cultural difference persists in producing and shaping transethnic solidarities.

Imagining globalisation: The world and nation in Chinese communist party ideology

Abstract: (2003). Imagining globalisation: The world and nation in Chinese communist party ideology. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 318-337.

Globalisation and the garment industry in Sri Lanka

Abstract: The objective of this article is to explain how globalisation, the phase-out of MFA and regionalisation affect the development of the garment industry in Sri Lanka. The article starts with a discussion of the key concepts of globalisation and regionalisation, followed by a presentation of the analytical framework, including a theoretical discussion of winners and losers in commodity networks. It is argued that regionalisation may exacerbate the problems that the Sri Lankan garment industry has already experienced in terms of globalisation. In addition to the limited industrial development effects that are the outcome of the functional division of labour, regionalisation makes it even harder to obtain market access. It is likely that Sri Lanka continues to be tied in, both to the European and American trading blocks for the production of some good quality and reasonably priced standardised garments for the middle market. However, to be tied in as a supplier of standardised products for the middle ...

An internal history of the communist party of Thailand

Abstract: This is a translation of a history of the Communist Party of Thailand, written by a leading party member in 1978. The Thai original was published for the first time in early 2003. The document begins with a background analysis of Thai society, then traces the party's history from the 1920s, and ends with the “lessons” learnt. The document is especially detailed on the party's adoption and adaptation of the Maoist strategy of rural armed struggle.

State Terrorism vs. Jihad in Kashmir

Abstract: Human rights violations are an inevitable casualty of any situation that is uncharacteristic of peace. In the conflicted state of Jammu and Kashmir, not only have they become an everyday occurrence but also an integral part of a vicious circle where increasing violations only perpetuate a more intense condition of insurgency. Kashmir has been an afflicted region for over fifty years since India's independence and her subsequent partition in 1947. Throughout these years, the Indian government has steadfastly held on to its official stand that Kashmir is undisputedly an integral part of India. Pakistan on the other hand blames India of acquiring it through \"fraud and violence. ''t These directly opposing views have rarely been compromised over the last fifty years, resulting in frustrated talks, breaches of agreements, and greater violence in the region. Numerous papers have documented in detail the extent and scope of human rights violations committed by the Indian army as well as the militants against Kashmiri civilians. However, they have failed to effectively address the historical cause of the violations and analyze these gross infractions from an international relations perspective that takes into account not only the internal forces in operation, in this case, the Indian government's national interest but also the external factors such as the undeniable hand of Pakistan, and growing Islamic fundamentalism in almost every part of the world. The studies on the Kashmir conflict have either been a vehement criticism of India's behavior regarding Kashmir or have focused on the inexorable hand of Muslim fundamentalists from Pakistan and Afghanistan and that of other countries with a devoted allegiance to what is called the Islamic Brotherhood. What has not been established is the strong interplay between the Muslim ideological tenet of Jihad vis-h-vis the state terrorism practiced by the Indian army against its own people. These two forces acting against each other have not only caused enormous civilian casualties but also perpetuated the condition of gross human rights violations. National and local media in the countries of India and Pakistan as well as in the region of Jammu and Kashmir have ignored to report on the issue in a manner that is fair, balanced, and complete. The fact that the mainstream media in India and especially in Pakistan has ignored to report the issue in this particular context because of fear of life and more importantly, because of government propaganda in the light of its national security interests, makes imperative the documentation of this article. Instead of focusing on the kind, extent, and scope of human rights violations which have been successfully documented by numerous non-governmental and international

Goodbye to the security state: Thailand and ideological change

Abstract: (2003). Goodbye to the security state: Thailand and ideological change. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 33, No. 4, pp. 431-448.

Authoritarian practices in new democracies

Abstract: Despite the rapid spread of democracy in the developing world over the past 25 years, there has been increasing evidence that a significant number of democratic leaders have been adopting authoritarian practices. Such practices include: utilizing devices to bypass legislatures and/or restrict the ability of opposition parties to operate; restricting the political and civil rights of their people; and politicizing the judiciary in their countries. Yet, questions directed at exploring why this happens are only beginning to be addressed. This article seeks to explain why democratic leaders in developing countries use these sorts of authoritarian practices. This article develops a model that suggests that external economic constraints emanating from the global economy compel elected leaders to adopt certain authoritarian practices in order to overcome the limitations they face as a result of these constraints. Specifically, the constraints imposed by capital mobility and conditional lending by the in...

Thai social movements and the anti-ADB campaign

Abstract: (2003). Thai social movements and the anti-ADB campaign. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 377-398.

Iraq, the United States, and the end of the European coalition

Abstract: (2003). Iraq, the United States, and the end of the European coalition. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 291-298.

J.B. Jeyaretnam: Three decades as Lee Kuan Yew's bête noir

Abstract: J.B. Jeyaretnam was Singapore's most celebrated opposition leader when his career came to an abrupt end in 2001, but he is better known for the injustices he has suffered at the hands of the People's Action Party regime than for anything he has achieved or said. Bankrupted, imprisoned, deprived of his livelihood and expelled from Parliament twice, he has acquired the aura of martyrdom, yet little is known about his life, his ideas or his motivations. Drawing on interview and archival research, this article studies him with a view to better understanding both the man himself and — probably of greater significance — what his experience can tell us about the dynamics of the Singapore policy. Why did he enter opposition politics and keep coming back for more in the face of persecution? Why did the government set out to destroy him with such vehemence? What does this tell us about the limits of political tolerance in Singapore, both today and in the past? What lessons can other opposition figures learn from his experience? And why has Jeyaretnam been treated so harshly while the government nurtures some other opposition MPs as responsible and courteous players?

Labor militancy and Taiwan's export-led industrialization

Abstract: This article focuses on the various patterns of labor militancy in the process of Taiwan's export-led industrialization. It elaborates the variables that contribute to the various patterns of labor militancy and the possible causal relationships between them from three crucial dimensions — economic performances of export-led industrialization, the effects of a politicized environment, and the interaction between labor activists, government and rank-and-filers. By using evidence from Taiwan, it develops a two-dimensional diagram and testifies four propositions. First, export-led industrialization is not always associated with the deterioration of living standards and increasing material hardships, neither does it inevitably give rise to anti-system labor militancy. Secondly, the rise and the intensity of labor militancy have much to do with a politicized environment. Thirdly, when a politicized setting is given, labor militancy which arises in the midst of export expansion tends to be instrumental...

Sub-contracting in rural Thailand

Abstract: This article is based on field research conducted in three villages in Muang district of Khon Kaen province in the Northeast region of Thailand. It provides an outline of the subcontracting system between manufacturing industry and rural villages, by using the fishnet industry as a case study. It shows how the industry has emerged and expanded in Khon Kaen, making the province the centre of Thai fishnet export industry. The article also illustrates the dynamic relationship between factories, agents and home-based workers, and assesses the social and economic impacts of the industry upon rural village communities in the northeastern Thai context.

Sino-Japanese relations in the twenty-first century

Abstract: (2003). Sino-Japanese relations in the twenty-first century. Journal of Contemporary Asia: Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 251-273.

Economic liberalism and the Philippine telecom industry

Abstract: It may be important and even necessary to build a free and fair market competition environment, which could encourage industrial innovation and increase the long-term social benefits of development. However, there is a need for a stronger and more autonomous state authority to settle and safeguard the liberalized market. Since state protection of the market fattens the monopoly company, the liberalization policy should be linked with state efforts to undo the previous monopoly structure. This article argues that specific industrial development, or national economic development in general, may rely more on the intrinsic characteristic of the state rather than on the economic paradigm per se, i.e., statist or neo-liberalist. Furthermore, the improvement of social welfare may depend more on the power structure among political players rather than on the political system itself whether authoritarian or democratic

TRIPS and capability building in developing economies: Critical issues

Abstract: This article addresses three critical issues involving the WTO's TRIPs agreement on capability building in developing economies. First, the agreement looks at seven instruments, which have both common as well as differing implications for capability building in developing economies. Second, four major theoretical arguments address the agreement, i.e. market-driven, regulation, path-dependent knowledge dynamics and network synergies, and basic good characteristics of certain products. Because the capacity to appropriate benefits from the agreement depends on basic and high tech capabilities, it could bring unequal consequences globally, the third issue relates to the state of relative basic and high tech infrastructure of developing economies. The LIDEs have neither the basic infrastructure to ensure compliance nor the high tech infrastructure to support innovative activities. The Asian NIEs — especially the Republic of Korea - enjoy strong high tech and innovative capabilities. Most second-tier N...