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This book investigates the patterns of conflict management in contemporary Southeast Asia. The region has long been characterized by the twin process of state-formation and nation-building, which has been responsible for most of the region's intrastate and interstate conflicts. While this process is still ongoing, regional conflicts and their management are increasingly affected by globalisation, which not only serves as a new source of, or exacerbating factor to, conflict, but also makes new instruments available for conflict management. Employing the concepts of incompatibility management and mediation regime, the book analyses the management of seven conflicts in the region: the Rohingya crisis and the Kachin conflict in Myanmar, the Khmer Krom conflict in Vietnam, the West Papua conflict in Indonesia, the political conflict in Thailand, the Mekong River conflicts involving five Southeast Asian countries and China and the transboundary haze problem emanating from Indonesia. The efforts to manage each of them are imagined as constituting a mediation regime, and its effectiveness is assessed in terms of good governance. Among the findings of the book is that the measures of manoeuvring around incompatibilities are employed predominantly in managing regional conflicts. In intrastate conflicts, which mostly involve ethnic minorities, the authorities first aim to eliminate, or impose its own position on, ethnic parties. When this strategy proves unsuccessful, they have no choice but manoeuvre around incompatibilities, which may eventually open up a space for mutual learning. In interstate conflicts, the manoeuvring around strategy works in a more straightforward manner, contributing to regional stability. However, the stability is achieved at the cost of local communities and the natural environment, which absorb the incompatibilities in conflict.
List of contents
1 Introduction.- 2 The plight of Rohingya people in Myanmar and ASEAN's role in its settlement.- 3 Addressing separatism by ethnic nationalities in Myanmar.- 4 Coping with a transnational conflict involving the Khmer Krom people in Vietnam.- 5 In search of a just settlement to the conflict in West Papua, Indonesia.- 6 A political conflict in the democratisation of Thailand and its management.- 7 Managing the Mekong River disputes.- 8 Preventing dispute over haze through regional and local governance.- 9 Defence diplomacy for the management of the South China Sea dispute.- 10 Conclusion.
About the author
Mikio Oishi is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Heritage at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Since gaining his PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Bradford in 1995, he has been involved in research and publication on Peace and Conflict studies, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. Knowledgeable in the world's major spiritual and humanistic traditions, he is interested in developing a holistic approach to conflict management and transformation in Asian countries, as well as seeking a regional security order reflecting the rich cultures, values and norms of the Asia-Pacific.
Summary
This book investigates the patterns of conflict management in contemporary Southeast Asia. The region has long been characterized by the twin process of state-formation and nation-building, which has been responsible for most of the region’s intrastate and interstate conflicts. While this process is still ongoing, regional conflicts and their management are increasingly affected by globalisation, which not only serves as a new source of, or exacerbating factor to, conflict, but also makes new instruments available for conflict management. Employing the concepts of incompatibility management and mediation regime, the book analyses the management of seven conflicts in the region: the Rohingya crisis and the Kachin conflict in Myanmar, the Khmer Krom conflict in Vietnam, the West Papua conflict in Indonesia, the political conflict in Thailand, the Mekong River conflicts involving five Southeast Asian countries and China and the transboundary haze problem emanating from Indonesia. The efforts to manage each of them are imagined as constituting a mediation regime, and its effectiveness is assessed in terms of good governance. Among the findings of the book is that the measures of manoeuvring around incompatibilities are employed predominantly in managing regional conflicts. In intrastate conflicts, which mostly involve ethnic minorities, the authorities first aim to eliminate, or impose its own position on, ethnic parties. When this strategy proves unsuccessful, they have no choice but manoeuvre around incompatibilities, which may eventually open up a space for mutual learning. In interstate conflicts, the manoeuvring around strategy works in a more straightforward manner, contributing to regional stability. However, the stability is achieved at the cost of local communities and the natural environment, which absorb the incompatibilities in conflict.
