Current course offerings

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Course description

Examines the historical struggle between the authoritarian state and ideas of freedom in Southeast Asia. Taking the countries of the region as case studies the course will study how freedom has been conceptualized in different contexts: in religious terms, in anti-colonial movements, in the rejection of traditional feudal and absolutist rule, in resistance to capitalism and Westernization, in ethno-nationalist separatism, and more recently in liberal, pro-democracy movements. It will examine the impact of economic globalization and the communications revolution on Southeast Asia and the process of economic and political liberalization it has set in train. It will look at the forms of adaptation and resistance to this process by both modern and traditional institutions, including the region's armed forces, monarchies, communist parties, state bureaucracies, business groups, and religious organizations. The course will also consider how the emerging multi-polar global order will impact upon democratization in Southeast Asia. The basic question underlying the course is to what extent liberal democracy is a universally applicable form of political order.

Archived offerings