Civilizing the Margins: Southeast Asian Government Policies for the Development of Minorities

Christopher R. Duncan (Editor)

Southeast Asian nations have devised a range of development programs that strive to incorporate minority ethnic groups into the nation-state. The authors of Civilizing the Margins discuss the programs, policies, and laws that affect ethnic minorities in eight countries: Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam. Once targeted for intervention, people such as the Orang Asli of Malaysia and the hill tribes of Thailand often become the subject of programs aimed at radically changing their lifestyles, which the government views as backward or primitive. Several chapters highlight the tragic consequences of forced resettlement, a common result of these programs. Others question the motives behind pushing minorities into development schemes. Rather than simply describing the effects of the programs and the experiences of participants, the contributors to this book attempt to understand the ideologies and strategies that led to the implementation of these programs.

[This edition contains a new chapter outlining developments since the book was first published in 2004.]

Christopher R. DUNCAN is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and the School of Global Studies at Arizona State University.

publication year: 2008
296 pages
ISBN: 978-9971-69-418-0  Paperback  US$30.00  S$38.00

Our edition is available in East and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.