Multination States in Asia
Accommodation or Resistance

As countries in Asia try to create unified polities, many face challenges from minority groups within their own borders seeking independence. This volume brings together international experts on countries in all regions of Asia to debate how differently they have responded to this problem.

Jacques Bertrand (Edited by), Andre Laliberte (Edited by)

9780521143639, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 22 March 2010

352 pages, 7 b/w illus. 6 maps 5 tables
22.8 x 15.4 x 1.8 cm, 0.47 kg

'This book offers an unrivalled collection of essays on the (mis)management of multinationalism across Asia, in terms of separatist challenges and various efforts to accommodate them through various forms of autonomy and federalism. The book is certain to become the focal point of reference for scholarly debate on such themes. Each and every essay in the volume rewards reading and rereading, and the volume as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts, in terms of the considerable light it sheds on problems of managing multi-nationalism in Asia.' John T. Sidel, London School of Economics and Political Science

As countries in Asia try to create unified polities, many face challenges from minority groups within their own borders seeking independence. This volume brings together international experts on countries in all regions of Asia to debate how differently they have responded to this problem. Why have some Asian countries, for example, clamped down on their national minorities in favour of homogeneity, whereas others have been willing to accommodate statehood or at least some form of political autonomy? Together they suggest broad patterns and explanatory factors that are rooted in the domestic arena, including state structure and regime type, as well as historical trajectories. In particular, they find that the paths to independence, as well as the cultural elements that have been selected to define post-colonial identities, have decisively influenced state strategies.

Introduction Jacques Bertrand and André Laliberté
1. Revolutionary state formation and the Unitary Republic of Indonesia Anthony Reid
2. The crisis of border states in India Rajeev Bhargava
3. Pakistan: neither state nor nation Sumit Ganguly
4. Constitutional politics and crisis in Sri Lanka Sujit Choudry
5. The dilemmas of Burma's multinational society Ardeth Thawnghmung
6. The double-edged sword of autonomy in Indonesia and the Philippines Jacques Bertrand
7. China and the virtual Taiwan nation André Laliberté
8. The failure of China's ideologies in Tibet Gary Tuttle
9. Leninism's long shadow in central Asia Edward Schatz
Conclusion Jacques Bertrand and André Laliberté.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Politics & government [JP]