Contemporary Southeast Asia Vol. 38/3 (December 2016)

Ian Storey, editor

Date of publication: December 2016

Publisher: ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute

Number of pages: 212

Code: CS38/3

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Attained impact factor of 0.906 in Social Sciences Citation Index 2017
Ranked 18th by Google Scholar Metrics 2018 in the Asian Studies and History category

Contemporary Southeast Asia Vol. 38/3 (December 2016)
[Whole Publication, ISSN: 1793284X]

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ROUNDTABLE
1. Roundtable: The Arbitral Tribunal's Ruling on the South China Sea - Implications and Regional Responses, by Clive Schofield, Lowell Bautista, Nong Hong, Anne Hsiu-an Hsiao, Nguyen Thi Tuong Anh, Prashanth Parameswaran, Evan A. Laksmana, authors

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ARTICLES
2. Deciphering the Shift in America's South China Sea Policy, by Phuong Nguyen, author see abstract

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<div>China’s massive reclamation work in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea between 2013 and 2015 was a turning point in US policy towards the South China Sea. China intends to use the artificial islands it has constructed — and the infrastructure it is in the process of installing on them — for military purposes. While for many years the United States largely positioned itself above the long-simmering territorial and maritime jurisdictional disputes between China and five Southeast Asian countries, the prospect of China using its buildup in the southern reaches of the South China Sea to establish greater control of its near seas, in the process diminishing US access to the waters and airspace of the world’s most critical waterways, prompted a reassessment in Washington about the South China Sea being part of larger US core interests, and its grand strategy in the Western Pacific. Washington has responded to China’s reclamation and construction spree with a new, active strategy that aims to deter China from taking further actions at its reclaimed features that would alter the existing military balance of power in the region and make China pay a “net effect” for its behaviour — should it continue to pursue an aggressive course of actions — by engaging more actively with Southeast Asian partners.</div>
3. Xi Jinping's Foreign Policy Dilemma: One Belt, One Road or the South China Sea?, by Wenjuan Nie, author see abstract

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<div>This article utilizes the elements of leadership, political performance and national interests to understand China’s foreign policy decision-making process. In contrast to a state-centred analysis, this article assumes that the supreme leadership’s view of political performance is the most important factor when it comes to foreign policy decision-making. It contends that so-called national interests are often manipulated to serve particular political agendas. Specifically, this article explores whether the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative or advancing China’s interests in the South China Sea can be better utilized to improve Chinese President Xi Jinping’s political performance. The comparison between the two issues incorporates the dimensions of feasibility, significance and morality. In the final analysis, this article finds that the OBOR is likely to be better utilized to enhance Xi’s political performance, which yields some salient implications for future trends in China’s foreign policy.</div>
4. Russia's Image and Soft Power Resources in Southeast Asia: Perceptions among Young Elites in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, by Alexander Bukh, author see abstract

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<div>Since the early 2000s, “soft power” has become one of the most popular analytical tools in International Relations scholarship devoted to analyzing the influence of states in the international arena. Although scholars of Russian foreign policy have also embraced the notion of “soft power”, they have mainly limited the scope of their analysis to Western countries and the former Soviet republics. In contrast, this article focuses on Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, countries whose history of relations with Russia are fundamentally different from both theWest and Russia’s “near abroad”. By analyzing the images of Russia and its soft power resources in these countries, this article seeks to create a more comprehensive understanding of the ways contemporary Russia is perceived in the world and its potential tools of influence in Southeast Asia. Drawing on the results of a survey conducted among university students, this article examines the ways young educated elites in the three countries perceive Russia. It also explores the degree of correspondence between these images and the self-image of Russia espoused by its political elites. The results of this study suggest that while overall Russia is perceived as a Great Power, and its role in the world is seen as mostly positive, there are also important dissonances between the two images. Based on discernible differences among the three groups of respondents in the ways they perceive  Russia, the article also suggests that historical memory plays an important role in shaping these perceptions.</div>
5. Campaigning for All Indonesians: The Politics of Healthcare in Indonesia, by Eunsook Jung, author see abstract

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<div>Many   scholars  argue   that   democratization  is  conducive  to   the development of social  welfare policies and  that  democracy brings  about redistributive  reform due   to  demands from   the   newly  enfranchised poor.  In  reality, however, democratization  does   not  necessarily  bring about  comprehensive  social   welfare reform.  If  not   democratization, what explains social  welfare expansion in  developing countries? This article  examines Indonesia, which began  the  process of democratization in  1998  following the  fall  of  President Soeharto,  and  which has  since become  a  stable  democracy  with   a  consistently  growing   economy. More  than  a  decade  after   Soeharto’s  resignation,  Indonesia  started to  implement a  comprehensive healthcare policy. What explains the gap  between  the   enactment  and   the   implementation  of  this   social policy reform?  In answering this  question, I argue that  electoral competition  alone  does   not   shape  social   policy  reform.  Instead, social   reform  has   institutional  prerequisites, such  as  the   broad- based organization of its advocates. A broad-based organization goes beyond its  narrow   interests, builds cross-class alliance and  pressures the   government. Without  this   prerequisite, democratization  does   not necessarily result  in comprehensive social  reforms.</div>
6. Reflections of a Reformed JIhadist: The Story of Wan Min Wan Mat, by Kumar Ramakrishna, author see abstract

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<div>On  29  August  2012,   a  rehabilitated  former  senior   member  of  the Jemaah Islamiyah  (JI) terror  network, Wan   Min   Wan   Mat,  delivered a  lecture to  a  group of  Malaysian counter-terrorism practitioners  in which he  sketched out the   ideological rationale and   aims of  the   JI network, unpacked in  some detail its recruitment and   indoctrination philosophy and  methodology and  also examined what in  his  personal view  are  potentially useful strategies for  rehabilitating JI militants  or preventing the  further dissemination of  JI extremist ideas. This article examines and  evaluates some of the  key  insights made by Wan  Min  in his lecture, and  argues  that  his  musings are more  than mere  historical interest  in  that   they   have   direct  relevance  to  the   current  struggle against  the   latest incarnation  of  the   continually  evolving  violent jihadist  threat  in  Southeast  Asia   and   globally, namely  the   Islamic State  of  Iraq  and   Syria   (ISIS   or  IS). The central  reason  for  this   is that   the   same  broad   ideology  that   animated  JI —Salafi  Jihadism — basically motivates ISIS  as well.  Hence, even  allowing for dissimilarities in  time and   space, Wan   Min’s  insights about JI could well   provide useful  pointers for  counter-terrorism  practitioners  and specialists dealing with the ISIS  threat today."</div>
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