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<TD width=529><SPAN class=head><FONT color=#cc3300 size=6>Asian
Currents</FONT></SPAN> <BR><STRONG><SPAN class=head2>The Asian Studies
Association of Australia's e-bulletin</SPAN><BR></STRONG><EM>Maximising
Australia's Asian Knowledge </EM></TD>
<TD width=155><IMG height=114
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/images/asiancurrents/9.11/apfrn.jpg"
width=155></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><SPAN class=head3>November 2009 | ISSN
1449-4418 | <A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/asian_current_issues.html">http://asaa.asn.au/publications/asian_current_issues.html</A></SPAN>
for the plain copy (no images) of this issue please click <A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm">here</A>
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<TD vAlign=top><!-- =================================== Contents ============================= -->
<P align=left><STRONG>Sponsored by ARC Asia Pacific Futures Research
Network</STRONG> <A
href="http://www.sueztosuva.org.au/">http://www.sueztosuva.org.au</A> </P>
<HR align=justify>
<P align=justify>In this issue: </P>
<DIV id=menu align=justify>
<UL class=contents>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#1"><FONT
color=#cc3300>From the Editor</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#2"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Analysis </FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#2a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Climate change and India's response</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#3"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Focus of Afghanistan</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#3a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Gender fundamentalist approach needed in
Afghanistan</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#3b"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Beyond the Afghan election</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#4"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Cities and Society</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#4a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Rubbish politics in Phnom Penh</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#4b"><FONT
color=#cc3300>New focus needed on Asian city growth</FONT></A>
</LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#5"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Profiles</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#5a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Marching to a different drummer</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#5b"><FONT
color=#cc3300>History in uniform</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#6"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Media</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#6a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Finding meaning in a world of messages</FONT></A>
</LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#7"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Obituary</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#7a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Artist transcended cultural differences: WS Rendra
1935-2009</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#8"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Review</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#8a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Nam Bang: Most significant Australian-Asian exhibition
in 2009 </FONT></A></LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#9"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Student of the Month</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#9a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>New realities in an imaginary community</FONT></A>
</LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#10"><FONT
color=#cc3300>ASAA News</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#10a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Study of 'China's Jerusalem' wins ASAA President's
Prize</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#10b"><FONT
color=#cc3300>ASAA Prize for Excellence in Asian Studies</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#10c"><FONT
color=#cc3300>ASAA 2010 update</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#11"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Recent Books on Asia</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#11a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>New Books From the ASAA Series</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#12"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Awards and Grants</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#13"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Courses</FONT></A>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#13a"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Expressions of interest called for Japanese reading
course</FONT></A> </LI></UL>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#14"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Positions Vacant</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#15"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Diary Dates</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#16"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Contributing to Asian Currents</FONT></A>
<LI><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#17"><FONT
color=#cc3300>Feedback</FONT></A>
<LI>
<DIV align=left><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#18"><FONT
color=#cc3300>About the ASAA</FONT></A></DIV></LI></UL></DIV><!-- =================================== Body ================================= --><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#top"><FONT
color=#cc3300><IMG src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp"
border=0></FONT></A>
<DIV align=justify>
<P></P></DIV>
<H1 class=headline align=justify><A name=1></A>From the Editor</H1>
<P class=headline align=justify>With the United Nations Conference on
Climate Change in Copenhagen just weeks away, India’s position will be key
to any chance of obtaining a binding international agreement on reducing
greenhouse gas emission. In this issue, <STRONG>Tulsi Charan
Bisht</STRONG> takes a timely looks at India’s record on climate change.
</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Nematullah Bizhan</STRONG> revisits the recent
Afghanistan presidential election which saw Hamid Karzai returned for a
further five years. Despite the political instability of the election,
Bizhan believes there is an opportunity to foster reforms. <STRONG>Cindy
Godden</STRONG> reports on ‘rubbish politics’ in Cambodia in a fascinating
account of Phnom Penh’s most infamous workers, those who make a living
from the city dump in Stung Meanchay. <STRONG>Gavin Jones</STRONG> talks
about his new co-study of mega-urban regions of some of Asia’s largest
cities. </P>
<P align=justify>We profile distinguished historian <STRONG>Richard
Robison</STRONG>, who was recently elected a Fellow of the Academy of
Social Sciences in Australia, and the ASAA Council’s Southeast Asia
representative <STRONG>Kate McGregor</STRONG>, who discusses her
fascination for the Indonesian military. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Carolyn Stevens</STRONG> tells how ‘tie-up’
television commercials are helping Japanese viewers bring meaning to a
world of ‘messages’, and <STRONG>Doug Miles</STRONG> reflects on the life
and influence of one of Indonesia’s most talented artists, WS Rendra, who
died in August. <STRONG>Annette Van Den Bosch</STRONG> reviews what she
considers to be the most significant Australian–Asian exhibition of
2009.</P>
<P align=justify>Our student of the month, <STRONG>Delmus Salim</STRONG>,
returns to his home territory of West Sumatra for his PhD studies, and
sees it with fresh eyes. We report on this year’s ASAA President Prize
winner <STRONG>Nanlai Cao</STRONG> and his thesis on China’s ‘New
Jerusalem’, and Prime Minister <STRONG>Kevin Rudd’s</STRONG> announcement
of two initiatives to fund educational links between Australia and Asia.
</P>
<P align=justify>This is the last issue of Asian Currents for 2009. We
will resume publishing in February. I take this opportunity to warmly
thank our many contributors for their readiness to devote their time and
to meet often unreasonable deadlines. </P>
<P align=justify>Best wishes for the holiday break.<BR></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Allan Sharp</EM> </P>
<P class=headline align=justify><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.html#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A>
</P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></FONT></DIV>
<DIV class=content align=justify>
<H1 class=headline align=justify><A name=2>In the News</A></H1>
<H2><A name=2a></A>CLIMATE CHANGE AND INDIA'S RESPONSE</H2>
<P align=justify>India’s stand on global climate change is often seen as
obscurantist, writes <STRONG>Tulsi Charan Bisht</STRONG>. Its position at the
United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen next month could be
crucial to a binding international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.</P>
<P align=justify>Climate change poses serious threats to India and will
adversely affect agriculture, water resources, coastal ecosystems, forests,
biodiversity and human health. It also poses the threat of large-scale human
displacement from low-lying coastal areas.</P>
<P align=justify>However, India still resists measures that would result in a
binding agreement on emissions reduction, steadfastly holding to a position that
developed western countries are mainly responsible for emissions and global
warming and should therefore bear the responsibility of mitigation. So far,
India has been maintaining this stand for the forthcoming Copenhagen conference.
</P>
<P align=justify>There are two main reasons for India’s reluctance to be bound
by any agreement on an emissions cap. First, economic development is the
foremost priority that drives all policy considerations. Second, India is
arguing for equitable measures and emphasises the principle of ‘common but
differentiated responsibilities’ for various nations to tackle climate change on
a global scale. </P>
<P align=justify>Since India gained independence in 1947, its policy thrust has
been economic development. India’s Planning Commission, the apex body
responsible for the country’s planned economic development, made it clear in
1952 that the main objective of planning was to raise living standards. The
planned state intervention has resulted in a robust industrial infrastructure.
</P>
<P align=justify>However, for decades India’s economic growth was disparagingly
low. In the early ‘90s, India adopted open-market policies coupled with
deregulation and the promotion of private and foreign investment in various
sectors of the economy. Since then, economic growth has been steady, between 6
and 9 per cent.</P>
<P align=justify>Still, a large section of over one billion people lives below
the ‘poverty line’. It is envisaged that to meet the development goals and to
eradicate poverty the country would require a sustained annual economic growth
of 8 to 10 per cent for the next two decades. </P>
<P align=justify>The emphasis on economic growth, however, has environmental
implications. India’s environment is in disarray, as manifested, among other
things, by deforestation, desertification, soil degradation, water and air
pollution, growth of urban slums, and unhygienic living conditions. </P>
<P align=justify>Environmental issues have long been a low priority for Indian
policymakers. At the 1972 UN Conference on Human Environment at Stockholm, the
then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made the point that poverty is the
worst polluter, indicating India’s priority for economic development and poverty
alleviation.</P>
<P align=justify>This, however, does not mean that no policy decisions have been
taken on environmental issues. A number of laws have been enacted such as
<EM>The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, Air (Prevention
and Control of Pollution) Act 1986, </EM>and the<EM> Environment Protection Act
1986</EM>. A Department of Environment was set up in 1980, followed by the
Ministry of Environment and Forest in 1985. </P>
<P align=justify>Within the global climate-change regime, India also has been an
active partner in multilateral negotiations on climate change. It treats the <A
href="http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf">United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 1992</A> as a legally binding
multilateral instrument to deal with the challenges of climate change.</P>
<P align=justify>The principle of ‘differentiated responsibilities’ is of
specific interest for Indian policymakers. After initial hesitation, India
ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. In a recent statement about the Copenhagen
summit, the Indian government emphasised the validity of the UNFCCC, which will
continue to guide India’s future activities and responses on climate change.
</P>
<P align=justify>Apart from insisting that there should be no emissions cap for
developing nations, India has also highlighted the necessity of unconditional
support from the developed nations on transferring green technologies and funds
to ensure sustainable development. </P>
<P align=justify>India’s insistence on ‘differentiated responsibilities’ has
three underlying reasons. First, from the ‘stock’ perspective, India argues that
the accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is a result of the industrialisation
process in the developed nations. As the data reveals, India’s contribution to
cumulative carbon dioxide emissions between 1850 and 2000 has been 2 per cent
compared to a combined 57 per cent for the United States and the European Union.
India, therefore, calls on the developed nations to fulfil their ‘historical
responsibility’ of mitigating emissions. </P>
<P align=justify>Second, from the ‘flow’ perspective, though India is ranked
fifth in the category of major polluters, contributing to<BR>5 per cent of total
global emissions, its per capita emissions are below the world average, and much
below compared to the advanced western economies. </P>
<P align=justify>As the <A
href="http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/national_carbon_dioxide_co2_emissions_per_capita">GRID-Arendal</A>
(a collaborating centre of the United Nations Environmental Program) figures
show, in 2002 the per capita carbon dioxide emissions for India were 1.1 tonnes,
compared to 20 tonnes for the United States. In Australia, per capita carbon
dioxide emissions were 18 tonnes. </P>
<P align=justify>Third, India sees that the lack of commitment from the
developed nations for unconditional support on transfer of green technologies
and funds will result in dependency relationships. India therefore sees its
position as based on a principle of ‘global equity’. It has received strong
support from the civil society organisations working in areas of environmental
and climate change. </P>
<P align=justify>The case of the <A href="http://www.cseindia.org/">Centre for
Science and Environment</A> (CSE), a Delhi-based NGO and research think tank, is
important. In the 1980s, CSE published two citizens’ reports, both scathing of
the perilous state of India’s environment. However, CSE came out strongly
against the propositions of a <A href="http://www.wri.org/">World Resources
Institute</A> (WRI) report questioning the veracity and validity of the
data.</P>
<P align=justify>In 1990 the WRI, in collaboration with the United Nations,
published a report on the state of greenhouse gas emissions. The report
suggested that developing-countries’ emission contributions were almost equal to
those of the developed nations, including the then USSR and Eastern Europe,
indicating that developing countries, such as India, should share the blame for
global warming.</P>
<P align=justify>In calculating country-wise emissions, the report heavily
emphasised emission production on the basis of deforestation, rice fields and
livestock, while underplaying the emissions produced from burning fossil fuels.
Pointing to the WRI report’s prejudiced way of data calculation and projection,
the CSE termed the exercise an example of ‘environmental colonialism’. </P>
<P align=justify>The CSE came out with its own comparative data indicating that
industrialised nations contributed almost two-thirds of greenhouse gas
emissions. Later studies vindicated the CSE stand, showing that developed
nations contributed almost 70 per cent of GHG emissions. Indian policymakers
have used the CSE data to support their demands for an equitable response to the
challenges of climate change.</P>
<P align=justify>However, threats of climate change are real and, in India’s
case, pressing. Prolonged neglect will threaten the life and livelihood of
millions of people. India is also coming under consistent pressure from the
western nations, especially the United States, which is insisting that emissions
need to be measured by volume rather than on a per-capita basis.</P>
<P align=justify>Moreover, India’s armour of ‘equity’ is developing chinks. A
recent Greenpeace report titled <A
href="http://www.greenpeace.org/india/fungames/animations/india-hiding-behind-the-poor"><EM>‘Is
India Hiding Behind the Poor’</EM></A> has raised the issue of internal climate
injustice, where a relatively small wealthy class produces high emissions that
are ultimately balanced by millions of poor people to keep it at a low per
capita rate.</P>
<P align=justify>India’s energy-consumption patterns are an example. Two-thirds
of India’s population live in rural areas and 80 per cent of them are reliant on
biomass energy to meet their daily requirements. </P>
<P align=justify>In last few years India has taken some positive measures. In
2004 it finally fulfilled its commitment to the UNFCCC by bringing out the <A
href="http://www.natcomindia.org/brochure4.pdf">Initial National
Communication</A>, a report consisting of scientific information on issues, such
as GHG emission, inventory estimations and climate vulnerability. </P>
<P align=justify>In 2008, India also unveiled the National Action Plan on
Climate Change. Though silent on the issue of mitigation, the Action Plan
emphasises the need to achieve India’s development goals in a sustainable
manner.</P>
<P align=justify>The Indian government has subsequently announced a $20 billion
solar-energy program and a $2.5 billion forestation fund. The <A
href="http://planningcommission.gov.in/reports/genrep/rep_intengy.pdf">Integrated
Energy Policy 2006</A> is another effort to meet the sustainability criteria by
emphasising diversification of fuel choices and supply sources. Moreover, the
energy intensity of India's GDP has fallen from 0.30 kilogram of oil equivalent
(kgoe) per dollar of GDP in 1980 to 0.16 kgoe in 2004. </P>
<P align=justify>India’s stand at the forthcoming Copenhagen meeting will be
based on the fact that it has taken some measures, while the developed countries
so far have failed to meet their emission-cut obligations. This puts India in a
comfortable situation to bargain, despite pressure, particularly from the United
States, to join the agreement on emissions reduction.</P>
<P align=justify>However, the situation is not an ‘enjoyable’ one, as the
country's environment minister Jairam Ramesh has claimed, because dealing with
climate change is a pressing necessity rather than a luxury for India.</P>
<P align=justify><A href="mailto:tcbisht@yahoo.com">D<EM>r Tulsi Charan
Bisht</EM></A><EM> recently finished his PhD in Anthropology from La Trobe
University. </EM></P>
<DIV class=content align=justify>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A> </P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=3>Focus of Afghanistan</A></H1>
<H2><A name=3a></A>GENDER FUNDAMENTALIST APPROACH NEEDED IN AFGHANISTAN</H2>
<P align=justify>As President Obama ponders what his administration's strategy
should be going forward in Afghanistan, particularly in relation to the request
of general Stanley McCrystal, his commanding officer there, for 40,000, or more,
US troops to be sent for Afghanistan, it's time to ask what role the cause of
women in Afghanistan should play in reaching this decision, says <STRONG>Penny
Andrews</STRONG>. </P>
<P align=justify>It's not evident that any of President Obama's advisors, such
as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice-President Joe Biden, Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are giving any weight to the
cause of women as a relevant factor in determining future strategy in
Afghanistan.<BR><BR>This year marks the 8th anniversary of the invasion of
Afghanistan. President Obama has termed it a ’necessary war’. When the United
States commenced the war against Afghanistan, three purposes were assigned.
First, and foremost, the war was rationalised as a response to the terrorist
attacks in New York and Washington on 9 September 2001, which would eliminate al
Qaeda and overthrow the Taliban government. As such, the war was seen as a
crucial battlefront in the war on terror.<BR><BR>Second, President Bush argued
that US forces would bring democracy to Afghanistan and provide security to
bolster and sustain its democracy. The third rationale, and for many this was
the second most important emotional and political justification, was to liberate
Afghan women from the Taliban government’s vicious and antiquated oppression of
women and denial of women’s human rights. Prior to the commencement of the war,
the media had shown numerous instances of the Taliban government’s disparaging
treatment of women, including public beatings. <BR><BR>Eight years is a long
time for the prosecution of a major international war. It is therefore
appropriate to ask: What has been achieved in the cause for women and their
status in Afghanistan's life? Undeniably, there have been a few notable gains,
such as the increasing number of girls who now attend school, and the presence
of some female parliamentarians. But for the most part the fundamental gains
required for Afghan women to achieve full citizenship have not transpired. Women
continue to remain hostage to President Karzai’s equivocation and compromises as
well as to the authoritarian traditions of warlords supporting, and supported
by, President Karzai. <BR><BR>Afghan women are caught up in violence from all
sides: from US and NATO forces who drop bombs on them or raid their homes and
detain indefinitely family members; to an unrelenting reign of terror from the
Taliban groups who persist in their strategy of denying women basic rights and
who act to undo the few gains and rights Afghan women have in the interim
obtained or may gain; to violence committed by warlords inflicting harsh
punishments on women and seeking to confine them to traditional roles.</P>
<P align=justify>When it comes to women, the war has been another disaster, and
has obscured the continuing denial of their civil and political rights, and its
deleterious impact. Their hopes raised during the early days of the invasion
have turned into a poignant despair. With the warlords and the Taliban
controlling about 90 per cent of Afghanistan, it's not surprising to hear, as
one notable Afghan women activist put it, that the invasion has led to ’no
positive change’ regarding the situation of women.</P>
<P align=justify>This is a horrendous result for women, when combined with the
failure of the war to achieve its other two stated goals. Al Qaeda in
Afghanistan, according to General James Jones, national security advisor to
President Obama, has been reduced to 100 people, although al Qaeda members in
Pakistan and other parts of the world seem to have proliferated. This is
apparent from the amount of terrorist attacks around the world. From London to
Mumbai, from Madrid to Islamabad, and from Baghdad to Jakarta, terrorists have
unleashed unspeakable horror and destruction, sometimes with
impunity.<BR><BR>And while the Taliban government in Afghanistan has been
overthrown, the Taliban insurgency has not only survived, it has prospered. The
terror inflicted on Afghan citizens has increased daily as the Taliban has
become more confident and more powerful. Their numbers have increased and their
positions in many parts of Afghanistan have been strengthened. <BR><BR>As for
the democracy project in Afghanistan, it has been very disappointing, as
evidenced by the Afghan population’s wavering between despair and desperation,
along with the rest of the world. The recent elections, disastrous in their
conduct, proved that the goals of democracy remain elusive, and that the
majority of Afghans still do not have the basic right of selecting their
governing representatives in fair and properly conducted elections, a basic
human right. <BR><BR>Given these conditions, a key issue is to provide for the
basic rights of women. Given past experience, there is no reason to believe that
sending more troops will secure this goal. Can this aim be achieved through
negotiations and reduction of violence? </P>
<P align=justify>That is where the focus should be, not on adding more troops to
wage war. Moreover, securing the rights of women is probably the best way to aid
Afghanistan's indigenous democracy.</P>
<P align=justify>To be sure, the Taliban in the past has been fervently against
women's rights but could the United Nations broker an agreement whereby the war
would be ended in exchange for a guarantee by the Taliban and the Karzai
government to respect and promote women's rights? If so, such an agreement, in
addition to guarantees by the warring parties to prohibit al Qaeda and its
offshoots from maintaining a sanctuary or training ground in Afghanistan, would
be a promising start for concluding the war.</P>
<P align=justify>What exactly would this entail? First, the international
community, through the United Nations, should adopt a policy akin to a zero
tolerance approach to the pursuit of gender equality and the eradication of
violence against women, a gender fundamentalism if you will. This means that
women’s equality, along with the campaign to provide democracy, would be the
raison d’etre for international engagement. </P>
<P align=justify>This must be the commitment of the international community. The
role and status of women would become an important measure of the achievement of
democracy in Afghanistan, perhaps a harbinger of democracy. </P>
<P align=justify>In attempting to work out such a settlement with the Karzai
government and the Taliban, the international community should look to other
successful international campaigns, such as the anti-apartheid campaign, as a
model on which to base a political and diplomatic approach regarding
Afghanistan. </P>
<P align=justify>Through a concerted global campaign, the international
community succeeded, along with internal pressures, in persuading the ruling
white government in South Africa that the continued denial of basic political
rights to black South Africans was self-defeating and ultimately destructive.
</P>
<P align=justify>Similarly, through a combination of diplomatic carrots and
sticks, the international community through the United Nations should engage in
a concerted attempt to get the competing forces in Afghanistan to commit
themselves to pursuing women’s rights to equality. This should be more than a
series of moral exhortations, but should involve committed and strategic
interventions by the United Nations. After all, what sense does it make to
conduct a war without willingness to conduct peace talks?</P></DIV></DIV>
<DIV align=justify>
<DIV class=content align=justify>
<P><A
href="http://www.latrobe.edu.au/bulletin/2009/spring/people4.html"><EM>Professor
Andrews</EM></A><EM> is an International expert on human rights and Chair in Law
at La Trobe University.</EM></P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A> </P>
<HR>
<H2><A name=3b></A>BEYOND THE AFGHAN ELECTION</H2>
<P align=justify>Despite the political instability of the recent presidential
election in Afghanistan, there is opportunity to foster reforms in government
structure and leadership, and to address constitutional shortcomings, says
<STRONG>Nematullah Bizhan</STRONG>.</P>
<P>Soon after the incumbent Karzai was declared president of Afghanistan again
in early November, US president Barak Obama telephoned him to congratulate him
on his re-election and to tell him that his administration needed to be more
serious in its efforts to eradicate corruption.</P>
<P align=justify>Obama reported that Karzai had assured him that he understood
the importance of doing so, but ‘as I indicated to him’, said Obama, ‘the proof
is not going to be in words; it is going to be in deeds.’ Obama’s statement has
set the tone for Afghanistan’s key allies in their relationship with the new
government for the next five years. </P>
<P align=justify>The new government is now in a much weaker position because
Karzai’s re-election was undermined by voting irregularities and the
cancellation of the second-round run-off after Karzai’s main challenger, Dr.
Abdullah, withdrew when his demands for changes in the electoral commission were
not met. </P>
<P align=justify>Pressure on Karzai from the international community to fight
corruption and establish a credible government has placed him in a position to
make tough decisions. This, of course, will be politically costly to him if he
fails to fulfill commitments made to his local allies in return for their
support during the campaign. </P>
<P align=justify>The challenges facing the new government could undermine the
war against terror—rebranded the ‘Overseas Contingency Operation’ by the Obama
Administration—and also challenge the perception of state legitimacy. The most
critical challenge, however, is corruption and drugs, which fuel the Taliban
insurgency and widen the gap between the government and the people. If Karzai
fails to take urgent measures and the government does not deliver results, it
will further worsen the security situatin and misuse of power. </P>
<P align=justify>As far as financial management is concerned, the international
community has more of a role than the government. The way aid is channeled to
Afghanistan, and the ineffective use of this aid, fuels corruption. More than 70
per cent of aid money bypasses the state and goes directly to mainly
international implementing agencies. In most cases, these agencies sub-contract
aid delivery to local companies, which then charge 10–15 per cent administrative
costs for each project. </P>
<P align=justify>Security remains an indicator of success. The lack of consensus
on the war against terror and counter-insurgency approaches has helped the
discredited Taliban regain military strength and new political influence. The
United States’ new strategy, with its focus on increasing troops and protecting
the population might improve things, but not sufficiently without an effective
’Afghanistan Strategy’. </P>
<P align=justify>Afghan security needs to get strengthened, and any domestic and
international increase in troops will need to be done in a historically informed
and culturally sensitive way. Mostly, Afghanistan’s security will remain
dependent on the success of the war against terror in Pakistan. Because of the
political strife and insecurity, development and investment in Afghanistan have
been neglected, and where they do exist they are poorly supported and delivered
in many sectors. This demands competent and committed Cabinet leadership,
including at the technical level, to deliver results. </P>
<P align=justify>Karzai is soon to announce his new cabinet and commitments for
the next five years. Despite the political instability of the presidential
election, there is now an opportunity to foster reforms in government structure
and leadership, and to address constitutional shortcomings. However, history
indicates that until the Afghan people participate in the political process and
there is mutual accountability, or a ‘double compact’, between the international
community and the Afghan government, and between the government and the public,
it will be difficult to expect much improvement in the medium to long term. </P>
<P align=justify>The government’s commitments for the next five years, the
composition of the new cabinet, and evidence of some quick reforms will lay the
grounds for the Afghan people to judge and trust the new government. Insurgency
activity may decrease during the coming winter, but this will depend on how
quickly Afghan and NATO security forces organise themselves to maintain, at
least, a minimally secure environment. </P>
<P align=justify>The government’s top priority remains the restoration of public
trust and building the confidence of its western allies, which will be
conditional on some immediate measures to improve governance. The next six to 12
months will show whether Afghanistan is going in the right direction or facing a
new period of crisis.</P>
<P align=justify><EM><A
href="mailto:Nematullah.Bizhan@foa.anu.edu.au">Nematullah Bizhan</A> is PhD
scholar at the Australian National University and former head of the Afghanistan
National Development Strategy Policy, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit. His
previous report on the Afghan presidential election appeared in the September
issue of Asian Currents.</EM> </P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A> </P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=4>Cities and Society</A></H1>
<H2><A name=4a></A>RUBBISH POLITICS IN PHNOM PENH</H2>
<P align=justify>The Phnom Penh municipal government has negotiated a private
business arrangement that jeopardises the earnings of the city’s most infamous
workers, writes <STRONG>Cindy Godden</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify>The touristic trend where people visit sites of death or
suffering has been termed ‘dark tourism’1. Within Asia, Phnom Penh offers
opportunities to satisfy this rather macabre desire.</P>
<P align=justify>As part of a busy itinerary, many tourists visit the Tuol Sleng
Genocide Museum and then often travel 20 minutes out of town to the memorial
site and mass graves, known as the Killing Fields. If that’s not enough,
half-way back to the city, tourists can stop at the city dump in Stung Meanchay
to experience people suffering now; families scraping a living by picking for
recyclables amongst the city’s waste. </P>
<P align=justify>However, they need not visit the dump to see it, as images of
waste pickers frequently flash across news screens to encapsulate all the woes
of the developing world. A New York Times article described the dump as one of
the saddest sights in the city, and quoted an aid worker as saying, ’this is the
closest thing to hell on earth I've ever seen’. Even US Senator John McCain’s
wife visited the Stung Meanchay dump. An NGO worker said, ’she even hugged some
of them, regardless of their dirty clothes’.</P>
<P align=justify>Visitors to Stung Meanchay dump often describe it as a
traumatic experience. After climbing one of the three mountains of waste—a
collection of over 40 years of detritus—tourists find, on average, 250 people
picking through garbage. Because the miasma enters the nose, sending messages to
the area of the brain that governs emotional responses, it is hardly surprising
the experience is upsetting. </P>
<P align=justify>This leads me to wonder: could the dump be what <A
href="http://www.egs.edu/resources/kristeva.html">Julia Kristeva</A> describes
as a space of abjection? In turn, the sights and smells often trigger a feeling
of wanting to help. Many groups of tourists give out money to the waste pickers
during their visit or return to the dump with gifts of food, clothing and
medicine. Some vow to support the many aid organisations that have been set-up,
mostly by foreigners, to provide alternative income, food, rice, clothing and
schooling for children. </P>
<P align=justify>The waste pickers have come to symbolise poverty in Phnom Penh.
Although they are often labelled as impoverished, they are not exactly the
poorest residents of the city. The waste pickers collect recycling out of
necessity, but their daily income is above the $1.35 per day World Bank
yardstick of poverty in Asia, and often they can earn almost double that of
workers in garment factories or construction. They also have the added advantage
of being able to collect objects from the dump to use in their homes, and
occasionally they experience windfalls when they find mobile phones, jewellery
or cash. </P>
<P align=justify>The waste pickers live side by side in slum settlements on
private land surrounding the Stung Meanchay dump. Most are average Khmers;
former farmers who have migrated to the city specifically to work at the dump.
Nor do they come from the lower rung of a caste system or an oppressed ethnic
minority. The decision to become a waste picker is not necessarily a last
resort, but often one of choice (albeit among only a few options) to secure more
financial independence. As one of my informants tells me, ’I will never forget
the grace of the dumpsite,’ so glad that she had the opportunity to start a life
as a waste picker. </P>
<P align=justify>Within their community, waste pickers represent themselves as
being proudly hard-working, often sharing found food with neighbours, or
parading their discoveries to their friends; ’Where did you get those new
shoes?’ a neighbour asks. ’Phsar Lerr’ (from the market on top of the mountain)
is the playful response. They understand the immediate risks involved, as
injuries and illnesses are common and people have died from accidents, but
despite the risks they do the work because of the benefits it offers their
families.</P>
<P align=justify>In their community, they celebrate their industriousness and
thrive on the adventure of the work. Outside their community, however, they are
aware that they are re-cast as something much different—as being dangerous,
contaminating and not to be trusted. Many recount stories with anger when
outsiders have called them pigs or animals. </P>
<P align=justify>I often wondered how the waste pickers felt when tourists and
visitors came to the dumpsite to stare at them and take photos. Is it a form of
voyeurism, and do they feel upset by it? ‘If they come and give us some money or
food, then it’s ok, they feel pity for us, but if they come and don’t give us
anything, then it means that they look down on us, as if we are animals, so we
don’t like it when they don’t give us anything.’ </P>
<P align=justify>In this space of abjection, where meanings shift, the waste
pickers believe that visitors are evaluating them—a kind of re-valuing—as either
worthy or unworthy, object/animal or human. Locally, they are verbally abused,
but in the interface of the global (East meets West, rich meets poor), the act
of receiving comes to symbolise their humanity. </P>
<P align=justify>I came to learn how the community collectively exaggerated
their vulnerability or impoverished status, often to their financial advantage.
In turn, waste, or the politics of waste, not only enabled them to get free
stuff (and lots of it) but also to feel valued. </P>
<P align=justify>Sadly, this act has come to an end (at the time of writing this
article). The Stung Meanchay dump closed mid-2009 and the municipal government
opened a new ‘waste-management facility’ close to the Killing Fields. Travelling
the additional 10km every day from their home, many of the waste pickers have
continued to earn their daily income at the new facility, even though working
conditions there have become more difficult and dangerous.</P>
<P align=justify>Dark tourism operators, however, need not reprint their maps,
as the municipal government now does not allow visitors, tourists or even aid
organisations inside to see the waste pickers at work. In fact, the municipal
government has stopped recycling buyers from entering the site too, with the
exception of one trading company. This exclusive buyer has dramatically reduced
the price of the recycling materials, resulting in an overnight cheapening of
the waste pickers’ labour, jeopardising the livelihoods of the city’s most
infamous workers.</P>
<DIV align=justify><A href="mailto:@cindy.godden@anu.edu.au"><EM>Cindy
Godden</EM></A><EM> is a documentary photographer and social researcher and is
doing her PhD at the Research School of Humanities, Australian National
University. She is completing a visual-ethnography of urban villagers who
collect recyclable materials in Phnom Penh.</EM>
<P><STRONG>References</STRONG></P></DIV>
<OL>
<LI>
<DIV align=justify>Seaton, A V (1996). <EM>Guided by the Dark: From
Thanatopsis to Thanatourism. International Journal of Heritage Studies,</EM>
2(4): 234-244</DIV>
<LI>
<DIV align=justify>Foley, M and Lennon, J (1996). <EM>Heart of Darkness.
International Journal of Heritage Studies</EM> 2(4): 195-197</DIV>
<LI>
<DIV align=justify>Lennon, J and Foley, M (2000). <EM>Dark Tourism: The
attraction of death and disaster</EM>. London: Continuum.</DIV></LI></OL>
<P align=justify> </P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<H2><A name=4b></A>NEW FOCUS NEEDED ON ASIAN CITY GROWTH </H2>
<P align=justify>A new book argues that there needs to be more focus on
mega-urban regions in Pacific Asia. Co-author <STRONG>Gavin Jones</STRONG> talks
about the study. </P>
<P> </P>
<P align=justify><EM>What are the main themes of your new book with Professor
Michael Douglass (Director, Globalisation Research Center, University of Hawaii)
on Mega-Urban Regions in Pacific-Asia?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>We argue that there needs to be more focus on mega-urban
regions (MURs), defined as the extended areas focused on the large metropolitan
cities. Metropolitan boundaries for cities such as Manila and Jakarta have been
widened at different times to take account of the geographic expansion of their
populations, but even so, at this point most of the action in population and
employment growth of these two vast cities is taking place outside the DKI
Jakarta and Metro Manila boundaries. We argue that planning needs to focus on
the wider mega-urban region, and this requires that data be prepared for such
regions and made available in a way that facilitates such analysis.</P>
<P align=justify>Our study examined the growth of six MURs in Pacific
Asia—Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei and Shanghai—working
with collaborators in each city. We used an agreed approach to defining the
core, inner zone and outer zone of these MURs, and utilised unpublished census
and other data to examine changes within and between these zones.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>How does the approach taken in your book differ from that
of the <A
href="http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/getPage.asp?page=bookView&book=2562">UN
Habitat report State of the World's Cities 2008/2009</A> or the <A
href="http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTWDRS/EXTWDR2009/0,,menuPK:4231145~pagePK:64167702~piPK:64167676~theSitePK:4231059,00.html">World
Bank’s World Development Report 2009?</A>.</EM></P>
<P align=justify>The <A
href="http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/getPage.asp?page=bookView&book=2562">UN
Habitat report</A> includes small cities, and also confines its study to ‘city
proper’ statistics, rather than those for urban agglomerations or metropolitan
areas. Since so much of urban growth takes place outside city boundaries, it is
not surprising that this study finds 40 per cent of cities in the developed
world experienced negative population growth in the 1990s, and that even in the
developing world, where overall levels of urbanisation rose rapidly, 10 per cent
of cities nevertheless experienced net population loss.</P>
<P align=justify>The latest <A
href="http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTWDRS/EXTWDR2009/0,,menuPK:4231145~pagePK:64167702~piPK:64167676~theSitePK:4231059,00.html">World
Bank World Development Report</A> argues that spatial concentration of economic
activity rises with development, and that governments should not resist it by
seeking to target investment and policy attention to the lagging areas of their
countries. Instead, they should adopt a neutral stance on the location of
development activities, but make judicious investments in transport and
communications, which will enable disadvantaged areas to become connected to the
centres of growth. Despite the enormous planning difficulties posed by massive
urban agglomerations, we would basically concur with this view. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>Did the world become 50 per cent urban in 2008?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Perhaps it did, perhaps it didn’t. The point is that the
definition of ‘urban’ varies widely by country. The claim that the world became
50 per cent urban in 2008 is based on accepting the national definitions of
urban, which vary enormously. If all countries had used as restrictive a
definition, as Thailand does, then definitely the world was not yet 50 per cent
urban in 2008. But if they had used as liberal a definition as the Philippines
does, then the world could be considered to have been 50 per cent urban well
before 2008. The key point is that the world is certainly becoming increasingly
urbanised, however we choose to define that term.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>Does research focus too much on mega cities?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>In some ways, yes. There has been a neglect of the dynamics of
change in smaller cities and towns, where the majority of the world’s urban
population lives. In other ways, no. The studies of mega cities have failed to
take account of the dynamics of change in the broader MUR, as noted above, and
more studies of this kind are needed. Also, the MURs have considerably larger
populations than the megacities that constitute their core, and contain a
disproportionate share of their nation’s top talent and productive capacity.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>What is the significance of cities like Shanghai, and soon
Taipei and Bangkok, in being unable to sustain population through natural
increase?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>They will have to rely on migration to maintain their
population. For Shanghai and Bangkok, there is no shortage of potential
migrants. But the characteristics of the migrants and their settlement and
employment patterns will be a crucial determinant of the continued dynamism of
these city regions. In the case of Singapore, which will also soon be unable to
maintain its population through natural increase, there is a crucial difference
in that all the migration to make up the difference will have to be in the form
of international migration. International migrants are also playing a big role
in Taipei’s growth. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>What are the problems of measuring migration through the
conventional measure of the census? How is this a problem for understanding
cities?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Censuses have difficulty in enumerating all migrants to large
cities. If particular categories of migrants tend to be missed, as they probably
are, then the census data gives a somewhat misleading picture of migration
patterns. For example, if construction labourers tend to be missed, but migrants
going into middle level management are fully enumerated, the educational
composition of migrants will be distorted.</P>
<P align=justify><EM><A href="mailto:arigwj@nus.edu.sg">Professor Jones</A> has
followed an academic career closely linked with consultancy assignments in the
areas of population and development, educational planning and urban planning.
After completing his PhD degree at the Australian National University in 1966,
he joined the Population Council, where he worked first in New York, then in
Thailand and Indonesia, before returning to Australia. He was with the
Demography and Sociology Program at ANU for 28 years, serving as head of program
for eight years, and currently holds a joint appointment in the Asia Research
Institute and the Department of Sociology, National University of
Singapore.</EM></P>
<P align=justify> </P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=5>Profiles</A></H1>
<H2><A name=5a></A>MARCHING TO A DIFFERENT DRUMMER </H2>
<P align=justify>In the intellectual and political debates over Indonesia,
<STRONG>Richard Robison</STRONG> has been a distinguished voice over four
decades. He was recently elected a <A href="http://www.assa.edu.au/about">Fellow
of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia</A>. Here he talks about his work
and contribution to the debates.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>When did you become interested in the field of political
and economic change in Asia, and Indonesia in particular?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>My interest in politics and political economy emerged in the
late 1960s and 1970s. This was a time of deep political divisions in Australia
focused around the Vietnam War and the role of the United States more generally
in world affairs. I was fascinated by the way extreme conservative ideas and
interests dominated the politics of the United States and also became deeply
interested in the theoretical debates of the time where dependency theory had
mounted such a passionate challenge to more orthodox ideas. While I was at
Sydney I became interested in the case of Indonesia. At the time, intellectual
and political debates about Indonesia were virtual surrogate battlegrounds for
left and right over larger questions of authoritarianism, revolution,
imperialism and Australia’s place in the conflicts shaping an emerging global
order. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>What has been your particular contribution to the debate
about Asia and the process of political and social change in the region?
</EM></P>
<P align=justify>The debate over political and social change, and specifically
the case of Indonesia, was dominated in the 1970s and 1980s by two schools.
Economists at The Australian National University saw the Soeharto regime as a
new era of rational and technocratic rule set above the irrationalities of
politics. The critics of this approach were concentrated in the politics
department at Monash and heavily influenced by dependency theory and various
populist ideas about peoples’ politics. They saw the Soeharto regime as a highly
repressive and exploitive system operating in league with Western powers.</P>
<P align=justify>I was profoundly unhappy with the first approach and
increasingly uncomfortable with the second. My own ideas were increasingly
focused on ideas about the social and economic underpinnings of state power and
the influence of market capitalism on this process. I drew on a range of earlier
works, including by Wertheim and some of the ideas of dependency theorists, such
as Mortimer and Levine, but more generally upon theoretical works by people like
Barrington Moore and the Weber/Marx debates coming out of England at the time.
<EM>Indonesia: The Rise of Capital</EM>, published in 1986, was the result of
this. </P>
<P align=justify>My appointment to Murdoch University in 1977 provided the
opportunities to develop a more institutionalised base for this type of
political economy. In a new university, new ideas were able to flourish, and a
young staff in the social sciences and humanities built their own teaching and
research programs. This in turn attracted outstanding PhD students, several of
whom now became important figures in the Murdoch ‘political economy school’.
However, the award of an ARC Special Research Centre in 1991 enabled us to fund
our own research projects and to build international networks that endure to
this day. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>Your more recent work has examined the evolution of
neo-liberalism as the defining social revolution of our time. Can you explain
this in relation to Asia?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>I see neo-liberalism as more than just laissez-faire or
neo-classical economics. It is an ideology that requires nothing less than that
the ideas and values of the market are embedded across the institutions of
politics and society. It brings new ideas about the functional nature of
authority, governance, citizenship and participation into a system of
technocratic and managerial rule. It is the highly complex and ambivalent
relationship between neo-liberalism and many of the regimes that rule in Asia
that is so interesting. Their apparent autonomy from so-called distributional
coalitions, whether they are environmentalists, welfare lobbies, labour unions,
and human rights lobbies, makes them attractive to neo-liberals and useful to
larger strategic and ideological priorities of many Western governments. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>You also have a strong interest in governance and
regulation—can you talk about this work in the context of Asia?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>To the extent that ‘good governance’ represents simply the
creation of honest and efficient government, it is difficult to criticise. But
the idea of good governance is more than this. It has generally been understood
by its advocates as a means of most effectively regulating and protecting market
agendas within an abstracted technocratic authority able to bypass competitive
politics and so-called ‘vested interests’. So, in practice, it is not a neutral
concept but often integral to the specific agendas for social and political
change mentioned above. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>Does Australia have the extent and depth of knowledge of
Asia to engage effectively in the region, not only at the official level, but in
business, educational exchanges, development assistance, cultural and other
links?</EM> </P>
<P align=justify>It is difficult to know whether we are better placed than the
Europeans or the Americans in this, or better placed than Asians in their
knowledge of Australia. My guess is that we probably are. Obviously we can do
better, but there are so many competing demands and priorities in education.
</P>
<P align=justify><EM>If not, what should we be doing about it?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>I have always thought it would be ideal if all Australians
could speak another language. However, it is clear that this will only happen if
there is some sort of compulsion. Being an English speaking country there is
less of an immediate imperative to be fluent in another language. And it should
be remembered that knowing one of Asia’s many languages guarantees nothing about
the sophistication of any broader understanding. </P>
<P align=justify>Perhaps more realistic is the prospect of embedding the study
of Asia more widely in various social science, humanities of business degrees.
Here we increasingly confront the advance of various forms of rational choice
and quantitative approaches in social science and business faculties where it is
often believed that different countries can be analysed through sets of presumed
universal data—often derived from US cases— thus negating the need for any
particular cultural or political knowledge. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>What are you currently working on? </EM></P>
<P align=justify>I have just completed writing a paper with <A
href="http://profile.nus.edu.sg/fass/sochvr/">Vedi Hadiz</A> on the political
economy of Islamic politics. I am involved in an Australian Development Research
Award research program on the problems of translating knowledge of politics into
policy agendas in international development. Other than that, I’m trying to
achieve a soft landing back in the real world after almost four decades in
academia and building my interests outside those of political economy.</P>
<P align=justify><A
href="http://wwwarc.murdoch.edu.au/staff/robison.html"><EM>Richard
Robison</EM></A><EM> is Emeritus Professor at the Asia Research Centre and
School of Politics and International Studies, Murdoch University. He is a former
Director of the Australian Research Council’s Special Centre for Research on
Political and Economic Change in Asia and Professor of Political Economy at the
Institute of Social Studies in the Hague. He has published extensively on the
politics of markets and the way markets are being fused within authoritarian and
populist forms of state authority.</EM></P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<H2><A name=5b></A>HISTORY IN UNIFORM</H2>
<P align=justify>A trip through Indonesia as a second-year university student
began <STRONG>Kate McGregor’s</STRONG> passion for the country and her deep
interest in its military.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>What led to your interest in the military in
particular?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Through my studies of Indonesian history and other
history-related topics I became very interested in official history in
Indonesia. When I commenced a PhD on the topic of official representations of
the Indonesian past I constantly encountered the name of one military man and
the Armed Forces History Centre. So my interest in history led to an interest in
the military. </P>
<P align=justify>My thesis examined the broader efforts of the Indonesian
military to produce official history in museums, monuments, films and school
history textbooks. In doing this research I learnt a lot more about the
military’s self-image and how this revolves around key constructions of history.
Representations of the independence struggle—the most revered period of
Indonesian history, for example—remained central to the justification for
dwifungsi, the military’s dual political and social role. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>How has the role of the Indonesian military changed in the
post-Soeharto era, and how significant is the military’s present influence in
Indonesia?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Very early after the demise of the Suharto regime Military
Commander Wiranto enunciated ‘ABRIs New Paradigm’, conceding that dwifungsi was
no longer sacrosanct. The social and political section of ABRI was abolished and
parliamentary representation reduced from 75 to 38. The military no longer
automatically sided with the New Order’s electoral vehicle Golkar and would
refrain from interfering in political parties. This was a quick and dramatic
response to public pressure.</P>
<P align=justify>As part of the New Paradigm, ABRI was also to confine its role
to defence. In April 1999, the police separated from what was known as ABRI and
with this separation, came the new name: TNI. On paper it seemed like a lot had
changed. Yet we also need to reflect on the fact that generations of soldiers
educated during the New Order period were indoctrinated as to the need for a
strong military that can intervene in times of civilian struggle. </P>
<P align=justify>Interestingly, a law on the roles of the TNI and the police
attempts to define the jati diri or ’true essence’ of the TNI by the four
appellations of a People’s Army (Tentara Rakyat), a Struggle Army (Tentara
Pejuang), a National Army (Tentara Nasional) and a Professional Army (Tentara
Professional). The concepts of people’s army and a struggle army are terms that
refer directly to the military’s role in the 1945–49 independence struggle,
which not only look backwards but also form the basis of military claims to
political roles.</P>
<P align=justify>The bill also attempts to uphold the idea of close integration
between the people and the military. The law still enabled some forms of
military participation in politics by continuing the territorial system (which
includes a mirror government of military officials down to the village level).
This territorial system allows the military to act independently from political
authority.</P>
<P align=justify>The territorial command structure was put in place during the
guerrilla war against the Dutch (194–49) and was known as people’s defence
system. It was used during the New Order to suppress opposition. The military
insists this structure is still important because they say the police are not
able to handle serious security disturbances. </P>
<P align=justify>What we also see in the law is the persistence of a belief that
the military should play a role in guiding the nation, which is common to all
political armies. There have been many concessions to the need for civilian
authority yet it seems the leadership continues to ‘reserve’ the right to resist
civilian encroachment into various areas, in particular areas that could
legitimately be seen as the domain of defence and security. The military has
adapted to the new political landscape but now uses security discourse to
legitimise its continuing relevance. </P>
<P align=justify>Another source of power is via their business interests’, which
have not been scrutinised or dismantled. Human rights accountability is another
area where there has been very slow progress. So, in practice, the military
continues to wield influence.</P>
<P align=justify><EM>Can you tell us about your present project—Islam and the
Politics of Post-Authoritarian Indonesia?</EM></P>
<P align=justify>This Australian Research Council-funded project is examining
how memories of violence shape personal and group identities. The analysis is
based on two cases of violence in Indonesia, including the 1965 killings of up
to 500,000 Indonesians. Memories of these killings have created parallel
ambiguities and conflicts to the much-studied memories of the holocaust in
Europe, memories of settler violence in Australia and memories of the Partition
in India, but we know far less about how constructions of this past have
affected societal attitudes and identities. </P>
<P align=justify>The project examines competing representations of the past from
survivors and their families, perpetrators, historians and members of the
younger generation to try to understand how societies, and not just victims,
negotiate past trauma. </P>
<P align=justify>I look at the 1965 anti-communist killings and the 1984 Tanjung
Priok shootings. In the first case Islamic organisations were involved in the
violence; in the latter different Islamic groups were the victims of state
violence. The focus of this study is not the killings themselves, but their
significance in national and communal memory. At stake in debates over memories
of each case of violence are continuing clashes between the left and right in
Indonesia, but also new possibilities of ending these long-standing divisions.
</P>
<P align=justify>In June I co-convened a conference at the National University
of Singapore with Doug Kammen, Vannessa Hearman and Anthony Reid, entitled
Revisiting the Indonesian Killings. We drew together scholars from Indonesia,
Australia, Singapore, the United States and the Netherlands to discuss some of
the most recent research on this topic. <A
href="http://www.insideindonesia.org/">Inside Indonesia</A> will be profiling
some of this research in its next edition. Doug Kammen and I are also editing a
collection on this topic to be published by the <A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/books_south_asia.php">ASAA’s Southeast
Asia series</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><EM><A
href="http://www.history.unimelb.edu.au/about/staff/mcgregor.html">Dr
McGregor</A> is a historian of Indonesia in the School of Historical Studies at
the University of Melbourne, and the ASAA Council’s Southeast Asia
representative.</EM></P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=6>Media</A></H1>
<H2><A name=6a></A>FINDING MEANING IN A WORLD OF MESSAGES</H2>
<P align=justify>Japan’s ‘tie-up’ television commercials are helping viewers
make sense of a disparate and diffused world of messages, meaning and
decision-making writes <STRONG>Carolyn S. Stevens</STRONG>.</P>
<P align=justify>As some of the most dynamic in the developed world, Japan’s
media industries—newspapers, magazines, books, television, radio and other media
outlets such as the Internet—provide a rich landscape for scholars to view
idealised representations of Japanese cultural values. </P>
<P align=justify>One example of such a media landscape is commercial television,
including the ubiquitous commercial. In one particular kind of commercial, the
tai uppua, a musical artist, or artists, is aligned with a product, and the two
images are linked, or ‘tied up’.</P>
<P align=justify>Commonly used since the 1980s, this cross-format promotional
practice presents a compressed, multi-layered and potent image to the consumer.
The way tie-ups have changed over the years suggests that changes in audience
practice affects production of commercials today.</P>
<P align=justify>Broadly speaking, there are three kinds of commercial
styles—often abbreviated to CM in Japanese—in Japan. First, the informative CM,
which focuses on production information (‘30 per cent brighter whites!’);
secondly, the narrative CM, which tells a story and is often serialised during a
single season; and lastly the tie-up where the music and its performance are the
focus. </P>
<P align=justify>Purpose-designed jingles dominated the radio and emerging
television industry until the late ’70s, when the tai-uppu (tie-up), imêji songu
(image song) or komuson (commercial song) were created. The main difference
between a jingle and a tie-up is that the latter is not an anonymous musical
expression but performed by a named singer, normally credited on-screen. In many
cases, the performer is featured as the commercial’s ’protagonist’. These
contracts are attractive to the performer because, even though they initially
promote products, they have a dual function of publicising the performers and
their music. </P>
<P align=justify>One of the pioneers of this form of advertising was the
cosmetics corporation Shiseido, which successfully tied up with Horiuchi Takao,
vocalist of the band Arisu, in 1978. Horiuchi did not appear in the commercial,
but in the early days this was not uncommon. The song’s title, however, did
appear in the final frame. In the 1970s, million-seller singles in Japan were
quite rare, so this single achieving more than 900,000 sales made it a standout
commercial success.</P>
<P align=justify>Years later, the tie-up as a total artistic vehicle matured
into a more complete integration of music, artist and product. Sometimes the
relationship between an artist and a product is ongoing. Veteran
singer-songwriter Nakajima Miyuki enjoyed a long running contract with Japan
Post and was featured as the ‘protagonist’ in a series of commercials for its
annual New Years Card campaign in 1995. Again, she was so well-known that her
name did not appear on screen, but the title of the song did, so that viewers
could purchase the single if desired. This close association between artistic
image and product image has strengthened from the 1970s to the 1990s and is in
line with cultural understandings of media consumption.</P>
<P align=justify>Using television can help to understand popular-culture
products and music to frame social ideologies and consumer desires for analysis,
but it needs careful theorising to ensure interpretations are rigorous and
‘testable’. Audience theory has striven to demystify the ‘power of the media’ in
this way, and interpret these semiotic messages while also understanding their
empirical social and economic functions. Television is usually classed using the
spectacle performance paradigm: audiences are either mass or diffused1. </P>
<P align=justify>For the diffused audience, media experiences are so ubiquitous
that there is little or only a vague recognition that one is an audience member;
rather, the ‘media and everyday have become so closely interwoven that they are
almost inseparable’2. </P>
<P align=justify>Considering the diffused audience, how do we understand tie-up
commercials? By 2009, a very successful CM starring SMAP for the mobile phone
company Softbank demonstrated that the image of the brand has been deconstructed
from the product, the ‘stars’ of the CM and even the music itself. Music and
image are still important but the connections between the layers are
different—the audience becomes diffuse, as does the imagery.</P>
<P align=justify>Post-modern life has seen our lives inundated with rapid fire
media messages, and its pace is ever increasing. Modernity and technology have
accelerated the connections between witnessing, desire and consumer action. </P>
<P align=justify>Tie-ups provide sensory depth to the process, and they ‘touch’
the consumer, bringing together diffused meanings to a disparate audience. That
doesn’t mean it is ineffective—it merely differs in the conceptual relationship
between the layers. Yet the end product can still ‘make sense’ to the audience,
where increasingly the norm is a disparate and diffused world of messages,
meaning and decision-making.</P>
<DIV align=justify><EM><A
href="http://www.asiainstitute.unimelb.edu.au/people/staff/stevens.html">Dr
Carolyn S. Stevens</A> is Deputy Director of the Asia Institute and Senior
Lecturer in Japanese Studies at the University of Melbourne. Her monograph,
Japanese Popular Music: Culture, Authenticity and Power (Routledge, 2008) is, in
part, based on years of experience working in the pop music industry in Japan
during the 1990s. This article is based on a paper Dr Stevens will present at
the American Anthropological Association’s 108th Annual Meeting in December
2009. </EM>
<P><STRONG>References</STRONG> </P></DIV>
<OL>
<LI>
<DIV align=justify>Abercrombie, Nicholas & Brian Longhurst (1998).
Audiences: A Sociological Theory of Performance and Imagination, pp. 37–44,
London, Sage.</DIV>
<LI>
<DIV align=justify>Ibid. p.69</DIV></LI></OL>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=7>Obituary</A></H1>
<H2><A name=7a></A>ARTIST TRANSCENDED CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: WS RENDRA
1935-2009</H2>
<P align=justify>With the death of the poet, writer, dramatist, cultural
activist and theatre director, WS Rendra, in August, Indonesia has lost one of
its most talented artists. <STRONG>Doug Miles</STRONG> reflects on a uniquely
Indonesian cultural and political voice.</P>
<P align=justify>With the passing of WS Rendra on 6 August, it will be
interesting to see whether any of the cognoscenti will gainsay publication of my
certainty that he was the most brilliant of the few Indonesian poets and
playwrights who managed to emerge from and survive the suffocation of literary
creativity under Suharto’s New Order. </P>
<P align=justify>The Smiling General’s regime banned any printing or performance
of <EM>The Struggle of the Naga Tribe</EM>, which hilariously pilloried the
fictive Kingdom of Astinam’s (read Indonesia’s) Queen (Mrs ‘Ten Percent’
Suharto) and her ministers for their vanity, venality and American diseases.
</P>
<P align=justify>Suharto’s guard of military police arrested him rather than his
assailant when Rendra was targeted by a bomber while reciting the even more
satirical <EM>Snapshots of Development in Poetry</EM> from the stage of <A
href="http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/indonesia/jakarta/entertainment-in-jakarta/music-clubs-&-theaters-in-jakarta/-taman-ismail-marzuki-in-jakarta.html">Ismael
Mazuki Theatre</A>. His prosecutors invoked a special Emergency Law that he had
‘provoked the attacker to violence’, and it was the terrorist who walked free
while the poet went to gaol. And not for the only time. </P>
<P align=justify>Rendra’s originality as a craftsman with the words of several
languages defies Wordsworth’s effete definition that ‘poetry is emotion
recollected in tranquiliity’ <EM>(sic)</EM>, and calls for recognition of the
genius he evinced through anything-but-tranquil articulation of authentic and
indeed uniquely Indonesian cultural and political priorities in Western literary
forms.</P>
<P align=justify>For example, he not only scripted poems in his own handwriting
but, more than any other of several fine proponents of the art among his
contemporaries (e.g. his friend Emha, the theologically muscular Muslim bard),
he transformed the ‘ho-hum’ convention of schoolboy elocution at Dutch
eisteddfods into the robustly political and iconically Indonesian genre of
<EM>deklamasi</EM>, with which they packed the theatres of Jakarta and foreign
universities whenever they delivered to the public. </P>
<P align=justify>My tape-recordings vouch for this artist’s remarkable
propensity to draw volcanically creative spiritual energy from his audiences’
inspiration and to compose some of his most inflammatory verses spontaneously as
he fired new verbal barrages from the stage at the regime’s prioritisation of
‘Development’ (Pembangunan) over ‘Freedom’ (Kemerdekaan) in the catechism of
national commitment. Later in the dressing room, he would be genuinely
inquisitive when he asked me to play back lines he had never yet even read to
himself so that he could scribble them down for the first time. </P>
<P align=justify>The specific qualities which constitute Rendra’s greatness as
an artist also included the success with which he transcended cultural
differences with trans-lingual puns. They helped him (deliberately?) to induce
Western novices into an appreciation of Bahasa Indonesia and uncannily to speak
that language before they even knew they were doing so. As one illustration of
the point, the reader might reflect on the whole of the poem from which the
following paragraph borrows a few lines. I refer to ‘Sajak Mata-mata’ (An Ode to
Spies), which features in both <EM>Potret Pembangunan dalam Puisi</EM> (1978)
and SOB (1979, University of Queensland Press).</P>
<P align=justify>Mourners at mortuary gatherings in Australia conventionally
request one another to be upstanding and close their eyes to observe a
collective silence in memory of the deceased. I propose that we will remember
Rendra most appropriately by the very opposite of silence and equally
respectfully with eyes wide open in rousing declamations of what he wrote even
when those who are with us are not all Indonesian speakers. </P>
<P align=justify>Teachers can do no better than follow his example in providing
prospective students of Bahasa Indonesia with such tempting introductions as the
following to the distinctive idiosyncratic possibilities of sculpting the
language that was clay for his wordsmithing.</P>
<P align=justify>Consider for instance the duplication which is so well
exemplified by a word whose root ‘mata’ means ‘eye’ and which, in the
internationally familiar Mata Hari, translates as ‘eye of the sky’ (= sun). As
‘mata2’, the root becomes an expression for ‘spy’ or ‘spies’.</P>
<P align=justify>In recent months I have introduced my tributes for Rendra in
Europe by drawing attention to that simple feature of Indonesian and by inviting
my listeners to participate in the articulation of the poem under consideration
by quietly voicing the words ‘mutter, mutter’ as a chorus to contextualise my
declamation from my own faulty memory of the following excerpts from ’Sajak
Mata2’. The opening stanza of his handwritten notes began with an allusion to
frustrated newspaper readers urinating provocative gossip on others lower in the
political hierarchy as a substitute for the truth which the press muzzled:</P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<P align=justify><EM>Ada suara gaduh di atas tanah. (aduh2) <BR>Ada suara
pi(s)sing kebawah tanah<BR>Ada ucapan-ucapan kacau di antara
rumah-rumah.<BR>Ada tangis tak menentu di tengah sawah.<BR>Dan, lho, ini di
belakang saya<BR>ada tentara marah-marah.</EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P align=justify>I encourage the continuation of the chant of ‘mutter, mutter’,
especially to accompany the fifth stanza about censorship and the expression of
outrage that: </P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<P align=justify><EM>“...Akutak tahu. Kamu tak tahu.<BR>Tak ada yang
tahu..Betapa kita akan tahu,<BR>kalau koran-koran ditekan sensor,<BR>dan
mimbar-mimbar yang bebas telah dikontrol?<BR>Koran-koran adalah penerusan mata
kita.<BR>Kini sudah diganti mata yang resmi.<BR>Kita tidak lagi melihat
kenyataan yang beragam.<BR>Kita hanya diberi gambara model keadaan<BR>yang
sudah dijahit oleh penjahit resmi.<BR><STRONG>Mata rakyat sudah dicabut
Oleh…?</STRONG><BR></EM></P></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P align=justify>The italicised and highlighted initial line of this sixth
stanza translates as‘The eyes of the people have been “extracted” (like
teeth)…by…? </P>
<P align=justify>And the chorus answers with ‘mutter, mutter’, which harmonises
with the declamation’s ‘mata2’.</P>
<P align=justify>Rendra undoubtedly deserves the tribute that his talents with
ball-point and voice really did make the mighty shrink in fear of his art’s
quality under Indonesia’s New Order, and it is surely remarkable that it should
be the contribution which an Indonesian scribbler and declaimer has made to his
country’s cultural heritage that has provided such powerful contemporary
evidence that poetry really does matters. (cf Parini, 2008). </P>
<P align=justify>Future scholarship surely has an obligation to explore such
awe-inspiring literary dynamite.</P>
<P align=justify><A href="mailto:doug.miles@anu.edu.au"><EM>Dr
Miles</EM></A><EM> is a 70-year-old retiree who enjoys poetry while currently
again appreciating the company, coffee and other facilities in his alma mater
(1983–93) Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National
University, between appointments as Professorial Research Fellow at the Centro
In Contri Umani at Ascona in Switzerland and a Research Visitorship in The
Cairns Institute, JCU . The CI has awarded him a grant to conduct further
fieldwork among Yao in Thailand concerning their initiatives in the paragliding
industry as an alternative to opium production. </EM></P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=8>Review</A></H1>
<H2><A name=8a></A>NAM BANG: MOST SIGNIFICANT AUSTRALIAN-ASIAN EXHIBITION OF
2009</H2>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Annette Van den Bosch</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Nam Bang, curated by Boitran Huynh Beattie, <A
href="http://www.casulapowerhouse.com/">Casula Powerhouse</A>, Sydney,
April–June 2009, held in conjunction with an international conference, Echoes of
a War, on 17–18 April, with the American art critic and historian, <A
href="http://www.indiana.edu/~scsweb/jchicago/lippard.htm">Lucy Lippard</A>, as
the keynote speaker. </EM></P>
<P align=justify>The artists exhibited in <EM>Nam Bang</EM> represented several
generations of conflict and its aftermath as a result of colonisation and war,
immigration, post-traumatic stress and other health effects on the Vietnamese
and the soldiers who fought there. Some of these issues were the subject of
papers in the <EM>Echoes of a War Conference.</EM><BR><BR>The aim of the curator
was to show and record some of the ways in which the history of Vietnam is being
rewritten by multiple stakeholders. She notes that when the Vietnam War ended
the psychological and cultural issues common to most post-war societies were
born. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>Nam Bang</EM> was the most significant Australian-Asian
exhibition of 2009 because the range of artworks shown revealed the complexity
of relationships between Vietnam and the rest of the world, and their
inter-generational impact. The theme of the exhibition included artists whose
work ranged from the Vietnam War to the War in Iraq, such as Trevor Woodward, an
artist veteran from Western Australia, with his wall of cartoons,
<EM>Untitled</EM> (2009), and Dinh Quang Le, whose interest in the mistreatment
of prisoners was sparked by Guantanamo Bay.</P>
<P align=justify>Some artists shown have work in the Australian War Memorial
Collection, such as Ray Beattie’s Image for a <EM>Dead Man</EM> (1980), or Nigel
Hellyer’s Silent Forest (1996) in the National Gallery of Victoria, while
others, such as Bruce Barber’s <EM>Remembering Vietnam</EM> and <EM>We Are
United Technologies</EM>, both from 1984, were important in the struggle for
veterans’ recognition of their ongoing health care issues. </P>
<P align=justify>Mai Long’s ritual <EM>The Burning of Godog</EM> 2008 opened the
exhibition in defiance of the narrow political interpretation and accompanying
demonstration that any of us who have exhibited artwork from Vietnam have
experienced from some members of the Vietnamese Diaspora in Australia. </P>
<P align=justify>Lucy Lippard commented that the most effective social/political
work being done today consists of words and images. William Short, an American
veteran, artist and curator agreed. He showed six of the photographic portraits
accompanied by the text of an interview, from his <EM>Memories of the American
War-Stories from the Other Side </EM>(2009).</P>
<P align=justify>Terry Eichler was conscripted into the Australia Army and in
1968–69 served in Vietnam as an interpreter mainly with 9RAR. Eichler created a
subtle photographic work, <EM>Meditation on 2,063,500 Deaths</EM> (2009), as a
memorial to the more than two million Vietnamese and approximately 63,500 people
from other nations killed during the Vietnam War. Eichler’s photograph of a
group of children in front of old charcoal kilns in the village of Suoi Nghe,
taken while on patrol, was overlaid with transparent pages of old Vietnamese
notepapers, on which he drew an intricate symbol system. Each symbol stands for
50 deaths. </P>
<P align=justify>Le Tri Dung, from Hanoi also used words and images in his
painting, <EM>The Same Pain for Both Sides</EM> (2009). In the painting, a
deformed foetus is shown at the tip of a banana leaf which divides the
composition. On either side, the hats of two soldiers from opposing sides are
depicted. Le Tri Dung crosses the boundary of winners and losers and shows the
losses for both sides, including from the effects of Agent Orange. </P>
<P align=justify>Dinh Quang Le, an American Vietnamese artist, interrogated
politics, memory, and history’s hidden aspects such as the treatment of
prisoners in <EM>The Penal Colony: A Mapping of the Mind </EM>(2008). His work
was a built installation in which visitors experienced a sensory void, and a
detachment from reality similar to a cell. His installation videos showed
abandoned prison cells in the infamous Con Dao prison, established by the French
in 1862 on an island off the coast of South Vietnam to break those who opposed
colonialism. </P>
<P align=justify>The prison passed to the South Vietnamese Government in 1954,
to house nationalists and communists who opposed the regime in the south. After
1975 it was used by the communist government to hold failed escapees some of
whom subsequently came to Australia. The four-video installation tracked
constantly across the prison cell conveying the psychic experience of the
prisoner.</P>
<P align=justify>Liza Nguyen, a French Vietnamese artist presented <EM>Mos
Maiorum: A Family Album </EM>2008, a series of ten digitally altered French
colonial postcards. <EM>Les Putes de la Republique</EM>, The Whores of the
Republic presented five Tonkinese women in exotic costumes. Their faces are
painted with the red, white and blue of the Tricolour French flag, with the
Moulin Rouge in the background. Nguyen’s critique of the French colonial past in
Vietnam in the series of works implies the inevitability of loss of identity,
prostitution and exploitation in war and conquest. </P>
<P align=justify>Soon-Mi Yoo, a Korean artist, examined the role of Korean
soldiers who fought for the United States in Vietnam in <EM>Ssitkim: Talking to
the Dead</EM> (2004). She used archival and contemporary film footage of
interviews to offer an alternative narrative of traditional history. Her film
examined the legacy of mass killings of civilians in central Vietnam by Korean
forces through documentation and interviews. Her work reveals hidden connections
between the suppression of these incidents in Korea and in the global community.
</P>
<P align=justify>My Le Thi <EM>Encounters and Journeys</EM> (2009) was a video
in five parts: Land, Life, Love, Loss and Living. Her work always deals with her
personal identity as both Vietnamese and Australian. As a member of the Ede
minority who live in Tay Nguyen, the Central Highlands of Vietnam, she was
exposed to the fiercest conflicts of the war in her youth. </P>
<P align=justify>In this haunting work she records the Ching Kram bamboo gongs,
the music of Buon Kor Sier, and the singing performances that are so central to
the culture of the region. The performances in song and gong music are used to
communicate with the spirits of the land and the dead, and at least one other
Vietnamese artist Nguyen Thanh Son, has shown his recognition of the cultural
similarity between the minorities of Tay Nguyen and some Australian Aboriginal
cultural rituals. My Le Thi’s work conveys the celebration and recognition of a
cultural heritage which she and other refugees strive to remember. </P>
<P align=justify>It is fitting to close this brief review of some of the
artworks in <EM>Nam Bang</EM> with the work of Le Thua Tien, who completed his
masters of fine art at the college of fine arts, University of New South Wales
in 2008. </P>
<P align=justify>Le Thua Tien is an artist who lives and works in Hue in Central
Vietnam, and he too experienced the war’s fiercest fighting as a child, losing
his mother and newborn infant sister. His work, Hands (2008) was a monumental
sculpture of three pairs of hands in the Buddhist prayer position. </P>
<P align=justify><EM>Hands</EM> was fabricated in raku ceramic inspired by the
architecture and materials of the Hue citadel and the tombs and pagodas along
the Song Huong. The three pairs of hands also represent the three regions of
Vietnam—north, central and south—which were depicted in traditional imagery as
three maidens. The three figures in a row speak of reunification and
reconciliation, and the Buddhist triad, past, present and future, recognising,
says Le Thua Tien, ‘what has been, what we have experienced and how we can
change the future’.</P>
<P align=justify><A
href="http://arts.monash.edu.au/mai/staff/avandenbosch.php"><EM>Dr Van den
Bosch</EM></A><EM> is an Adjunct Research Fellow at Monash Asia Institute. Her
article 'Professional Artists in Vietnam: Intellectual Property and economic and
cultural sustainability' was published in the Journal of Arts Management, Law
and Society 2009, vol. 39, issue 3, pp.221–236. </EM></P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=9>Student of the Month</A></H1>
<H2><A name=9a></A>NEW REALITIES IN AN IMAGINARY COMMUNITY </H2>
<P><STRONG>Delmus Salim</STRONG> has come a long way in 10 years, from lecturing
in Islamic Studies at Manado in North Sulawesi to doing his PhD at the
University of Sydney, where he is examining his home territory of West Sumatra
with fresh eyes.</P>
<DIV align=justify>Along the way, Delmus has studied sociology at Flinders
University and anthropology at the University of Aberdeen to improve his
understanding of Islamic scripture and the traditions of the Prophet, which he
lectured in at Manado. </DIV>
<P align=justify>His study of sociology taught him that Muslims’ interpretations
of their religious duties are influenced by their cultures, whereas his studies
in anthropology reminded him that all Muslims necessarily differ from one
another, since each perceives Islam in different ways. </P>
<P align=justify>These educational experiences encouraged him to look at Islam
from another perspective, namely politics, and for his PhD program he is now
looking at the relationship between transnational Islam and state structure in
West Sumatra.</P>
<P align=justify>Although the Islamic term for the focus of this study is ummah,
an imaginary Islamic community, current studies have used the term
‘transnational Islam’ to try to capture Islamic networks that cross national
boundaries. Scholarship to date has focused mainly on Muslim migrants in Western
countries. This is unsurprising since a significant number of the many Muslims
who have migrated to Western countries in the past 50 years have maintained
their Islamic cultures in their new environments.</P>
<P align=justify>Delmus’ research, however, shows that transnational Islam is
not restricted to the movement of ideas and people across Islamic communities,
but also to the movement of finance and to responses to particular events
related to Muslims across borders. In Indonesia’s case, students throughout the
archipelago have studied Arabic and Islam free of charge from a Saudi
Arabian-funded college in Jakarta. </P>
<P align=justify>The <A href="http://www.oic-oci.org/">Organisation of Islamic
Conference</A> has helped the Indonesian government to apply for Islamic trade
financing on imported oil so that it can pay its bills in six to 12 months,
rather than the one month available to them outside the Islamic financial
system. In 1999, the <A href="http://www.isdb.org/irj/portal/anonymous">The
Islamic Development Bank</A> bought shares of the Muamalat Bank of Indonesia to
avoid bankruptcy during the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997–98, and hundreds of
mosques have been funded by the International Islamic Relief Organisation
(IIRO). </P>
<P align=justify>Meanwhile, many Indonesians have shared an increased feeling of
difference with the West since the 9/11 attacks on the United States. As in
other parts of the Islamic world, the negative use of Islamic symbols, such as
the infamous Danish cartoon and the film ‘Fitna’, have deepened Indonesian
Muslims’ antipathy to Western countries, while wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have
strengthened feelings of solidarity with other Muslims.</P>
<P align=justify>Unlike many scholars who focus on the influence of
transnational Islam as the primary force in developing cross-border Muslim
structures and communities, Delmus positions himself with those who examine the
interplay between transnational Islam and state structures. It is clear at both
the national and sub-national level, he says, that state officials have sought
to mobilise—and to a significant extent, co-opt and control—aspects of Islamic
practice that have traditionally fallen outside the reach of the state.</P>
<DIV align=justify>
<P>Indonesia is not an Islamic state, but at the national level it now regulates
Islamic banking alongside more traditionally regulated Islamic religious and
cultural practices such as the Hajj and the setting of dates for religious
holidays. Successive Indonesian governments have added their voices to
condemnations of perceived slights to the global ummah, and have resisted
pressure to send Indonesian troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. With
decentralisation, local and provincial governments in Muslim-dominated areas of
Indonesia have also engaged much more actively with Islamic networks and
practices. </P></DIV>
<P align=justify>Recognising the potential benefits of proximity to other Muslim
communities in the region— including the many Malaysians who have come to study
and for holidays in West Sumatra—and the potential for Islamic investment from
the Middle East, local officials have sought to facilitate economic flows
through Muslim-friendly financial and investment networks. For example, the <A
href="http://www.wief.org.my/">World Islamic Economic Forum</A> funded regional
projects in agriculture and tourism in 2009, while investors from the United
Arab Emirates came to Padang to arrange their investments in the same year.</P>
<P align=justify>In response, the regional government has facilitated the
establishment of Islamic banks and Islamic units in conventional banks in the
region as students and tourists from other Islamic countries wish to use Islamic
financial systems. </P>
<P align=justify>Ritual and social practices have also become the focus of
increased regulation, as is evident in local laws that assume responsibility for
collecting and distributing the religious tax zakat, designed to channel money
either from local or overseas Islamic communities into poverty-related projects.
Perceptions of increased religiosity in the community have led to the mandating
of Islamic dress and Islamic education in public schools by local officials.
</P>
<P align=justify>Delmus grew up in a small village in West Sumatra, but his PhD
project has required him to spend extended periods in the field, examining his
home territory with fresh eyes. In 2008, he spent five months observing changes
in local practice, collecting documents detailing the influence of transnational
Islam in the province, and talking to state officials, politicians and Islamic
leaders about the regional state’s endorsement of Islamic structures and laws.
He is planning to go back there in 2010 for another field trip to supplement the
data he gathered during his previous visit.</P>
<P align=justify>In the meantime, Delmus is enjoying Australian academic life
and doing his PhD. His supervisor, <A
href="http://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/indonesian/staff/profiles/ford.shtml">Dr
Michele Ford</A>, gave him an opportunity to tutor in a language class this year
and encouraged him to join the organising committee of the Indonesia Council
Open Conference, where he also had the opportunity to present a paper and chair
a panel session. He has learnt a lot that he can take back to his research and
teaching in Indonesia from these experiences.</P>
<P align=justify><A href="mailto:salim_dp@yahoo.com"><EM>Delmus Salim
</EM></A><EM>is doing PhD at the University of Sydney.</EM> </P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=10></A>ASAA News</H1>
<H2><A name=10a></A>STUDY OF 'CHINA'S JERUSALEM' WINS ASAA PRESIDENT'S PRIZE
</H2>
<P align=justify>A research assistant professor at University of Hong Kong has
won the <A href="http://asaa.asn.au/prizes.php">2009 Asian Studies Association
of Australia’s (ASAA) President’s Prize</A> for his PhD thesis on Christian
resurgence in the city of Wenzhou in coastal southeast China.</P>
<P align=justify>The annual prize of $1,000 is 'to encourage and reward
excellence in scholarship on Asia at the doctoral level, to publicise the best
young Australian scholarship on Asia, and to encourage its publication in
Australia’.</P>
<P align=justify>Assistant Professor Nanlai Cao, from the Hong Kong Institute
for the Humanities and Social Sciences, received a PhD in anthropology from The
Australian National University in 2008 for his thesis entitled ‘Constructing
China’s Jerusalem: Christians, Power and Place in Contemporary Wenzhou’. The
thesis provides ethnography of the massive Christian resurgence in Wenzhou,
which has become the largest urban Christian centre in China, popularly known as
‘China’s Jerusalem’.</P>
<P align=justify>‘Wenzhou has also been a regional center of global capitalism
since the 1990s,’ said Nanlai. ‘The Christian revival there has taken place
under the conditions of a modernising state, lax local governance, an emerging
capitalist consumer economy, and greater spatial mobility among individuals.
</P>
<P align=justify>‘In the post-Mao era, Wenzhou Christianity constitutes a
popular participatory domain in which a great diversity of people articulate
their subjectivities and interests and interact with one another through belief,
he said. </P>
<P align=justify>Through the lens of Wenzhou Christianity, Nanlai explores the
nature of religious participation in the political economic context of post-Mao
reforms, reforms that emphasise a rationalised modernity and in which economic
growth dominates all spheres of social life.</P>
<P align=justify>Departing from a dichotomous view of state domination and
church resistance, he shifts the focus from a narrowly conceived institutional
narrative of Christian revival to an analysis of the larger cultural processes
</P>
<DIV align=justify>
<P>and social (re)configurations in which Chinese Christians of various
backgrounds are situated and differentially related to morality, power and
prestige. </P>
<P>Rather than assume monolithic attitudes on the part of any Chinese Christian
group, he explores the diverse ways people in different social positions,
individually and collectively, construct their religious and social identities.
In particular, he shows how the vitality and complexity of Wenzhou Christianity
is inextricably intertwined with class positions and dispositions, gender
differentiation, and place distinction in the practices of everyday life
embedded in the regional capitalist context. </P></DIV>
<P align=justify>‘While the church offers a site for the formation of new social
experiences and cultural identities among local groups of varying backgrounds,
the core of Wenzhou Christianity is a movement of an upwardly mobile class of
private entrepreneurs that has emerged alongside the rapid urbanisation and
industrialisation of the region,’ he said. </P>
<P align=justify>‘The Wenzhou story demonstrates that the presence of an
organised business community at the grassroots level can not only negotiate
changes in church-state relations but also move Christianity from the margin to
the mainstream of Chinese society in everyday manoeuvres.’</P>
<P align=justify>By examining multiple subjective positions involved in local
Christian revivalism, Nanlai argues that Wenzhou Christianity, far from being a
coherent symbolic universe, is a historically complex regional construct framed
by a moral discourse of modernity in which emerging socioeconomic groups
struggle to negotiate their social statuses and to refashion and legitimate
their identities. </P>
<P align=justify>‘It is in the context of a homogenised vision of modernity that
the story of Wenzhou Christianity finds its wide resonance in contemporary
Chinese society,’ he said. </P>
<P align=justify>Nanlai Cao’s articles have appeared in Sociology of Religion: A
Quarterly Review, The China Journal, and China Perspectives.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>*</STRONG>Since 2004, the President’s Prize has been
augmented by the DK Award, presented by the global book distributor, <A
href="http://www.dkagencies.com/?ref=googadvt&gclid=CKq_3abihp4CFdEvpAodPUMAog">DK
Agencies</A> of New Delhi, to highlight its dealings with Australian academics
and academic libraries since 1968.</P>
<P align=justify><A href="mailto:ncao@hku.hk"><EM>Nanlai Cao’s</EM></A><EM>
research was funded by the Australian National University, the Society for the
Scientific Study of Religion, the Religious Research Association and the
Association for the Sociology of Religion. He wishes to express his deep
gratitude to his dissertation committee—Andrew Kipnis, Philip Taylor and Nick
Tapp—and ANU's Athropology Dpartment (RSPAS) for intellectual guidance and
nurturance.</EM></P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<A name=10b></A>
<H2>ASAA PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN ASIAN STUDIES </H2>
<P align=justify>The ASAA is calling for submissions for the ASAA Prize for
Excellence in Asian Studies, awarded biennially to a mid-career researcher or
researchers for research on an Asian subject, as represented in a book or a
portfolio of articles and/or book chapters.</P>
<P align=justify>Individual or joint candidates may nominate, or be nominated,
and must be ASAA members employed at an Australian University below associate
professor level at the time of application. They must also have completed their
PhD at least five years before lodging the application.</P>
<P align=justify>Applicants are required to submit a scholarly book not based on
a thesis, or 10 chapters or journal articles published in the five years before
the application is submitted. If joint candidates submit a portfolio of articles
and/or book chapters, at least six must be co-authored and 50 per cent of the
remaining articles and/or chapters must be single-authored by each
candidate.<BR>If an individual candidate submits articles or chapters, a maximum
of three can be co-authored. In this case the co-author does not have to meet
the application criteria.</P>
<P align=justify>Submissions for the 2009-10 round must reach the <A
href="mailto:michele.ford@usyd.edu.au">ASAA Secretary</A> by 10 December 2009
and be in hard copy, accompanied by a cover letter that outlines the
applicant’s/nominee’s claims to eligibility.</P><A name=10c></A>
<H2>ASAA 2010 UPPDATE</H2>
<DIV align=justify>Planning for the 2010 Asian Studies Association of Australia
18th Biennial Conference is well underway and will be held from 5–8 July at the
University of Adelaide, in the heart of the Adelaide’s shopping and dining
district. </DIV>
<P align=justify>Proposals for panels and individual papers are welcome, and 14
panels have already been announced on the <A
href="http://www.adelaide.edu.au/asaa2010">conference website</A>.</P>
<P align=justify>Some of the confirmed conference speakers include:</P>
<DIV align=justify>
<UL>
<LI>Professor Wang Hui, Tsinghua University, Beijing <BR>
<LI>2010 Flinders University Asia Centre Annual Lecture—Associate Professor
Goh Beng Lan (Head of the Southeast Asian Program, National University of
Singapore<BR>
<LI>Women’s Forum Lecture—Dr Maznah Mohamad, Asia Research Institute,
Singapore. </LI></UL></DIV>
<P align=justify>Registration will open in early December and further details
will be announced on the website. <A
href="mailto:asaa2010@adelaide.edu.au">Further information</A>. </P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=11></A>Recent Interesting Books on Asia</H1>
<P align=justify><A name=11a></A><STRONG><A
href="http://www.asiabookroom.com/">Asia Bookroom</A> </STRONG></P>
<P align=justify>Contributed by <A href="mailto:books@asiabookroom.com">Sally
Burdon</A></P>
<P align=justify>Christmas giving provides the ideal opportunity to the spread
understanding about Asia. This month we feature a small selection of books, from
a huge range of possibilities, that would make great gifts.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>The Food of Korea. 63 Simple and Delicious Recipes from
the Land of the Morning Calm</STRONG> </P>
<P align=justify><EM>Chun Injoo</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Colour photographic illustrations, 112 pages, index, paperback,
Periplus, Singapore, 2004. ISBN 9780794605032. $19.99</P>
<P align=justify>Recipes for raw Korean beef tartare salad, chilled summer
noodles, classic kimchi stew, grilled eel, fried kimchi rice and other signature
dishes of Korea can be found in this fabulous cookbook. With tempting colour
photographs and easy-to-follow instructions, cooks everywhere can master these
recipes in no time. Essays about the culture and history of food in Korea and a
glossary of typical ingredients used in local cooking help the reader to
understand the culinary traditions of Korea.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Asian Theatre Puppets Creativity, Culture and
Craftsmanship: From the Collection of Paul Lin</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Robin Ruizendaal, Hanshun, Wang, Lin, Paul.</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Over 300 pages, profusely illustrated in colour, quarto,
dustjacket, Thames & Hudson, UK, 2009, ISBN 9780500514900. $95 </P>
<P align=justify>This stunningly illustrated book introduces for the first time
the beauty of theatre puppets from all major Asian traditions, taking the reader
on an inspiring journey through hundreds of years of craftsmanship and
creativity in nearly 350 glorious photographs. Asian Theatre Puppets will have
immense appeal both to audiences with an interest in the Asian arts, as well as
to the general reader, as it opens up a realm of artistic expression that has
hitherto largely unknown in the West. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Art of Osamu Tezuka. God of Manga</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Helen McCarthy and Otomo</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Katsuhiro colour and black and white photographic
illustrations, 272 pages, index, bibliography, notes, hardback in protective
plastive cover, plus dvd, Ilex, UK, 2009, ISBN 9781905814664. $65</P>
<P align=justify>Osamu Tezuka has often been called the Walt Disney of Japan,
but he was far more than that. Tezuka was Disney, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Tim
Burton and Carl Sagan, all rolled into one incredibly prolific package, and he
changed the face of Japanese culture forever. This book reveals what makes him
one of the key figures of 20th century pop culture. Packed with stunning images,
many never before seen outside Japan, it pays tribute to the work of an artist,
writer, animator, doctor, entrepreneur and traveller whose insatiably curious
mind created two companies, dozens of animated films and series, and over
150,000 pages of comic art in one astonishingly creative lifetime. This is an
amazing adventure for the manga and anime neophyte, an essential reference for
the confirmed fans and a visual treat for anyone who loves art. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Brixton Beach </STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Roma Tearne</EM></P>
<P align=justify>409pp, paperback. Harper Press. London, 2009, ISBN
9780007301553. $27.99</P>
<P align=justify>A gripping and moving novel set against the background of the
conflict in Sri Lanka. It deals with the feelings of loss and displacement
caused by immigration when forced to leave and live a new life in alien London.
Recommended. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>On Friendship One Hundred Maxims for a Chinese
Prince</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Matteo Ricci </EM></P>
<P align=justify>xi + 173pp, bilingual text English and Chinese, dustjacket,
Columbia University Press, New York, 2009, ISBN 9780231149242. $48.95</P>
<P align=justify>Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) is best known as the Italian Jesuit
missionary who brought Christianity to China. Lesser known is his landmark text
on friendship—the first book written in Chinese by a European, which instantly
became the equivalent of a late-Ming bestseller. On Friendship distilled the
best ideas about friendship from Renaissance Latin texts into 100 pure and
provocative Chinese maxims written in a masterful classical style, establishing
Ricci's sage-like reputation among China's educated elite. The sentiments still
ring true: ‘My friend is not an other, but half of myself, and thus a second me.
I must therefore regard my friend as myself.’ ‘Before making friends, we should
scrutinize. After making friends, we should trust.’ Available for the first time
in English, On Friendship includes a carefully edited Chinese text and a
facing-page English translation, as well as notes on sources and a substantial
introduction providing the biographical, historical, and cultural backgrounds.
It is still admired in China for its sophisticated style and inspirational
wisdom. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Manga Kamishibai The Art of Japanese Paper Theater
</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Eric Peter Nash and Frederik L Schodt</EM></P>
<P align=justify>Illustrated in colour throughout, 303pp, hardback in
dustjacket, Harry N Abrams Inc, United States, 2009, ISBN 9780810953031.
$59.95</P>
<P align=justify>This is the first book of its kind to examine the origin of the
modern manga phenomenon. Kamishibai (paper theatre) is a fascinating and nearly
vanished Japanese art form that paved the way for modern-day comic books and is
central to the phenomenon of manga. During the height of kamishibai in the
1930s, the gaito kamishibaya (street-corner storyteller) acted as an entertainer
and reporter, gathering residents of local towns for the much-anticipated
picture show—which was economically backed by selling candy, roasted chestnuts,
and sweet potatoes to the children. The stories that were depicted ranged from
action-packed westerns, period pieces, traditional folk tales, and melodramas,
to nightly news reporting on World War II. A good storyteller would act out the
parts of each character with different voices and facial expressions. As
television was introduced to Japan, the art of kamishibai died out. Its
influence, however, can still be seen in modern pop culture. The author
conducted years of extensive research, and was granted unprecedented access to
little-known archives of kamishibai in Tokyo. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Us and Them: Muslim–Christian Relations and Cultural
Harmony in Australia</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><EM>Abe Ata</EM></P>
<P align=justify>168pp, softcover, Australian Academic Press, 2009, ISBN:
9781921513190. $29.95 </P>
<P align=justify>Research suggests that Australian Muslims have surpassed Asians
as one of the Australia’s most marginalised religious and ethnic groups. In 12
essays by Abe W Ata, Senior Associate Fellow, Australian Catholic University,
<EM>Us and Them</EM> offers truths about interfaith relations as they are
believed and expressed by Muslim and non-Muslim Australians. The essays are
interdisciplinary and varied in topic, and seek to challenge the images of Islam
held by both xenophobic Westerners and extremist Muslims. The essays are drawn
from a variety of research projects over past years, including results from a
national survey on attitudes towards Islam and Muslims among Australian
secondary students. This book is essential reading for all students—secondary
through to tertiary and postgraduate—requiring an introduction to Christian
Muslim relations and attitudes in Australia. </P>
<P align=justify>The book is available at a special pre-publication price of $28
from <A href="mailto:abe.ata@acu.edu.au">Abe Ata</A>, the <A
href="http://www.australianacademicpress.com.au/Publications/Books/4-921513190.html">Australian
Academic Press</A>, <A
href="http://www.coop-bookshop.com.au/bookshop/html/store_information.html">La
Trobe University Bookshop (Bundoora Campus)</A> or <A
href="http://www.dialogueaustralasia.org/">Dialogue Australasia </A>or <A
href="http://www.bookshop.unimelb.edu.au/bookshop/p?AU.ata//all">Melbourne
University bookshop</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" align=absBottom
border=0></A></P>
<P align=justify><STRONG><A name=11b></A>NEW BOOKS FROM THE ASAA
SERIES</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/books_southeast_asia.php"><STRONG>Southeast
Asia Series</STRONG></A> </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Thailand and T’ai Lands: Modern Tai
Community</STRONG><BR><EM>Andrew Walker (ed.)</EM> <BR>Paperback, 256pp, NUS
Press, 2009, ISBN 9789971694715. US$28, S$38</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Kampung, Islam and State in Urban
Java</STRONG><BR><EM>Patrick Guinness</EM> <BR>Paperback, 272pp, NUS Press,
2009, ISBN 9789971694708, US$28, S$38</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Workers and Intellectuals: NGOs, Trade Unions and the
Indonesian Labour Movement</STRONG><BR><EM>Michele Ford</EM><BR>272pp,
paperback, National University of Singapore, 2009, ISBN 9789971694883. $49.95
</P>
<P><STRONG><A href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/books_women_asia.php">Women
in Asia Series</A></STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>Gender Islam and Democracy in Indonesia</STRONG> <BR><EM>Kathryn
Robinson</EM><BR>Hardback, 230pp, Routledge, 2009, ISBN 9780415415835. $160</P>
<P><STRONG>Gender and Labour in Korea and Japan: Sexing
Class</STRONG><BR><EM>Ruth Barraclough and Elyssa Faison</EM><BR>Hardback,
160pp, Routledge, 2009, ISBN 9780415776639. $125</P>
<P><STRONG>Feminist Movements in Contemporary Japan</STRONG><BR><EM>Laura
Dales</EM><BR>Hardback, 176pp, Routledge, 2009. ISBN 9780415459419. $125</P>
<P><STRONG>Sex, Love and Feminism in the Asia Pacific</STRONG><BR><EM>Chilla
Bulbeck</EM><BR>Hardback, 288pp, Routledge, 2009, ISBN 9780415470063.
$150.00</P>
<P><STRONG>Young Women in Japan: Transitions to Adulthood</STRONG><BR><EM>Kaori
Okano</EM><BR>Hardback, 320pp, Routledge, 2009, ISBN 9780415469418. $150</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Gender, State and Social Power in
Indonesia</STRONG><BR><EM>Kate O’Shaughnessy</EM><BR>Hardback, 304pp, Routledge,
2009, ISBN: 9780415476508. $150</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>Women, Islam and Everyday Life: Renegotiating Polygamy
in Indonesia</STRONG><BR><EM>Nina Nurmila</EM><BR>Hardback, 216pp, Routledge,
2009, ISBN 9780415468022. $130 </P>
<P align=justify>Books can be ordered through <A
href="mailto:books@AsiaBookroom.com">Asia Bookroom</A>.</P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A> </P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=12></A>Awards and grants </H1>
<P align=justify><STRONG>A ‘COLOMBO PLAN’ FOR THE 21ST CENTURY</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify>Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced two initiatives to fund
educational links between Australia and Asia, at a speech at the University of
Singapore, on 13 November. </P>
<P align=justify>The Australia Asia Awards (AAA) will commence in 2010, the
first round being achievement awards available to high-performing individuals
from all over Asia. There will be $8 million for this phase.</P>
<P align=justify>The second group of awards will be development awards, to
provide 170 additional scholarships for developing countries in Asia at a cost
of $10 million. </P>
<P align=justify>Announcing the awards, the Prime Minster invoked the Colombo
Plan that was established in the phase of post-World War 2 development in Asia,
noting the many significant Asian leaders who were Colombo Plan alumnae, and the
important political, economic and cultural links established through the scheme.
</P>
<P align=justify>The AAA’s are designed as a new equally recognisable brand for
Australian educational links to the region, but suited to for the 21st
century—the Asian century.</P>
<P align=justify>The Prime Minister said education was a significant part of the
co-operation between Australia and Asia: it was critical to economic resilience
and to tolerance and harmony in countries in Asia. He emphasised the need for
‘using the tool of education to lift the aspirations of our peoples.’</P>
<P align=justify>The awards will help ‘nurture the next generation of Asian
leaders’ and Australia’s goal is to establish strong alumnae relations
throughout the region In this vein, of establishing networks, some of the funds
will be used to provide people from Asia to work with Australian industry, and
for young Australians to study abroad.</P>
<P align=justify>The Prime Minister linked the initiative to his government’s
goal for Australia to become the most Asia-literate country in the West. Apart
from the new funding, he indicated the scheme would bring existing awards
(currently around 5,000 scholarships) ‘under one roof’, to create a scheme that
was a recognisable ‘brand’, as was the Colombo Plan.</P>
<P align=justify>The initiative will have a high-profile board that will include
Asian alumnae of Australian universities, in order to properly target the
scholarships and associated support and alumnae activities.</P>
<P align=justify><BR><STRONG>INDONESIAN ADDED TO FULBRIGHT LIST</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify>Fulbright has added Indonesian to the list of eligible
languages for Critical Language Enhancement Award funding. Students interested
in proposing study or research in Indonesia, including music, dance and theatre,
have an excellent chance of receiving extra funding. Go to the <A
href="http://www.aminef.or.id/fulbright.php">Fulbright website</A> (in both the
Critical Language Enhancement Award Program information and the individual
Participating Country Summary for Indonesia) for more information.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>AWARDS AND GRANTS FOR THE STUDY OF JAPAN</STRONG> </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>NLA JAPAN FELLOWSHIP</STRONG><BR><BR>The National
Library of Australia’s annual Japan Fellowship is open to established Australian
and international researchers in Japanese studies to undertake extended research
based on the NLA collections. Fellowships are not provided to assist with the
completion of degree studies, and applications from currently enrolled students
will not be considered. The fellowship funds travel to and living costs in
Canberra for a 3–6 month period. <BR><BR><A
href="http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/japan/jpinfo.html">Applications</A> for the
2011 calendar year will be accepted from February 2010 until 30 April 2010. For
further information on the Japan Study Grants program, contact <A
href="mailto:amckenzie@nla.gov.au">Amelia McKenzie</A>, Director, Overseas
Collections Management, 02 6262 1519. For enquiries about the Japanese
Collection, contact <A href="mailto:mshinoza@nla.gov.au">Mayumi Shinozaki</A>,
Librarian, Japanese Unit, Asian Collections, 02 62621615.</P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A> </P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=13></A>Courses</H1>
<P align=justify><STRONG><A name=13a></A>EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST CALLED FOR
JAPANESE READING COURSE </STRONG></P>
<P align=justify>A course is being planned in reading materials written in older
forms of Japanese—from the 1930s back to the 18th century.</P>
<P align=justify>With the support of the Japanese Studies Association of
Australia, the organisers are applying for external funding for the week-long
course for those who need to use such written materials for their research.</P>
<P align=justify>The course will run in late June–early July 2010 near Adelaide,
immediately before the Asian Studies Association of Australia conference, which
is to be held at the University of Adelaide. </P>
<P align=justify>The proposed dates for the course are 28 June—4 July. The
organisers expect there will be space for up to 16 students, who will be
instructed by active researchers from relevant scholarly fields, and are
inviting expressions of interest from researchers from any field, at any level,
from Honours through to established academics.</P>
<P align=justify>Participants will pay their own way to Adelaide, but the
organisers hope to cover all participants’ costs after that, depending on the
success of funding applications. Participants will be asked for a modest
contribution, if necessary—but Honours and postgraduate students will be
exempted, or asked for a reduced contribution.</P>
<P align=justify>Expressions of interest are now invited, with participants
being required to demonstrate that: </P>
<DIV align=justify>
<UL>
<LI>they are active researchers (relative to opportunity) in Japanese Studies.
<LI>they have a demonstrated need to use printed materials produced in
Japanese at some point between the 18th century and the 1930s
<LI>they have a good knowledge of contemporary Japanese, as demonstrated by
their academic qualifications and/or their research record. </LI></UL></DIV>
<P align=justify>Applicants must also commit to attending all course sessions.
</P>
<P align=justify>If you are interested in participating, please send the
following materials to <A href="mailto:S.Wilson@murdoch.edu.au">Sandra
Wilson</A> by25 November 2009:<BR></P>
<DIV align=justify>
<UL>
<LI>a resume indicating research field and research activity
<LI>in the case of Honours and postgraduate students, a brief letter of
recommendation from a supervisor
<LI>a one-page copy from two different sources, as examples of the kinds of
materials you would like to study (the course excludes handwritten materials,
which may be the subject of a later course).The course organisers or teachers
will have no obligation to use submitted materials, which are intended only as
a guide to indicate the participants’ range of needs and interests.
</LI></UL></DIV>
<P align=justify>For further enquiries, contact <A
href="mailto:S.Wilson@murdoch.edu.au">Sandra Wilson</A> or <A
href="mailto:Beatrice.Trefalt@arts.monash.edu.au">Beatrice Trefalt</A>. </P>
<H1 class=headline><A name=14></A>Positions vacant</H1>
<P align=justify><STRONG>JOB WEBSITES</STRONG></P>
<P align=justify>These sites offer career prospects for graduates and
postgraduate in Asian Studies. If you know of other useful sites advertising
jobs for postgrads in Asian Studies, please send them to <A
href="mailto:allan.sharp@homemail.com.au">allan.sharp@homemail.com.au</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><A href="http://www.jobs.ac.uk/">http://www.jobs.ac.uk</A> and
<A
href="http://www.acu.ac.uk/adverts/jobs/">http://www.acu.ac.uk/adverts/jobs/</A>
advertise worldwide academic posts.</P>
<P align=justify><A
href="http://isanet.ccit.arizona.edu/employment.html">http://isanet.ccit.arizona.edu/employment.html</A>
is a free-to-access website run by The International Studies Association.</P>
<P align=justify><A
href="http://www.reliefweb.int/">http://www.reliefweb.int</A> is a free service
run by the United Nations to recruit for NGO jobs.</P>
<P align=justify><A
href="http://www.aboutus.org/DevelopmentEx.com">http://www.aboutus.org/DevelopmentEx.com</A>
has a paid subscription service providing access to jobs worldwide in the
international development industry.</P>
<P align=justify><A href="http://h-net.org/jobs">http://h-net.org/jobs</A> is a
US-based site with a worldwide scope. Asia-related jobs (mostly academic) come
up most weeks.</P>
<P align=justify><A href="http://www.aasianst.org/">http://www.aasianst.org/</A>
is the website of the Association for Asian Studies. New job listings are posted
on the first and third Monday of each month. You must be a current AAS member to
view job listings.</P>
<P align=justify><A
href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/">http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/</A>.
<EM>The Times Higher Education Supplement.</EM></P>
<P align=justify><A href="http://www.comminit.com/">http://www.comminit.com/</A>
is the site of The Communication Initiative Network. The site includes listings
of jobs, consultants, requests for proposals, events, trainings, and books,
journals, and videos for sale related to all development issues and strategies.
You can view all posts on these pages without registering, but will need to
register to post your items.</P>
<P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A> </P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=15></A>Diary dates </H1>
<P align=justify><STRONG>JAPAN: DESCENDING ASIAN GIANT? workshop, Adelaide,
23–24 November 2009,</STRONG> organised by the Japan–Korea node of the Asia
Pacific Futures Research Network. Professor JAA Stockwin, University of Oxford,
will chair and facilitate the workshop for postgraduates and early career
researchers at the University of Adelaide. Ten to 15 speakers from Australia,
Asia, Europe and the United States will discuss aspects of contemporary Japanese
economy, politics, society, demography and international relations.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>MEETING THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS: OLD PROBLEMS,
NEW CHALLENGES, conference, Melbourne, 30 November–1 December 2009.</STRONG>
Organised by the Australian Council for International Development and Institute
for Human Security, La Trobe University, the conference will critically engage
the Millennium Development Goals and the processes or rather possibilities for
change. A key aim is to bring together development practitioners, academics,
policy makers and the business community. For more information, see the <A
href="http://www.acfid.asn.au/meeting-mdgs-call-for-papers">conference
website</A>. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>GENDER AND OCCUPATIONS AND INTERVENTIONS IN THE ASIA
PACIFIC, 1945–2009, workshop, Wollongong, 10–11 December 2009.</STRONG>
Sponsored by the Asia Pacific Futures Research Network, CAPSTRANS and the
Faculty of Arts at the University of Wollongong, this small workshop, at the
University of Wollongong, will bring together for the first time established
scholars, ECRs, postgraduates and community members and activists to discuss
issues related to gender, occupation and intervention. A few competitive places
for sponsored positions (travel within Australia only and accommodation for two
nights) for postgraduates and ECRs are available. See the <A
href="http://www.capstrans.edu.au/resources/conferences/2009/gender-occupation-workshop.html">workshop
website</A> for more information or contact the organisers: <A
href="mailto:roward@uow.edu.au">Dr Rowena Ward</A> or <A
href="mailto:cdm@uow.edu.au">Dr Christine de Matos</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>ANNUAL ASIA–PACIFIC WEEK CONFERENCE AND SUMMER SCHOOL,
Canberra, 8–11 February 2010.</STRONG> This annual event at the Australian
National University brings together hundreds of PhD candidates from Australia
and overseas to workshop projects, to benefit from master classes and to form
networks committed to understanding the world's most dynamic region. <A
href="http://asiapacificweek.anu.edu.au/">Further information</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>INTERSECTIONS OF AREA, CULTURAL AND MEDIA STUDIES,
workshop, Canberra, 25–26 March 2010.</STRONG> Hosted by the Southeast Asian
Centre of the Faculty of Asian Studies, the Australian National University, the
workshop represents collaboration between the Southeast Asia Centre and the
Australian National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). The workshop coincides with
the screening of a selection of new cinematic works from Southeast Asia by the
NFSA. <A href="http://users.tpg.com.au/arielh2/workshop-info.pdf">Further
details</A> or contact: <A href="mailto:Kirrilee.Hughes@anu.edu.au">Kirrilee
Hughes</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>CONTEXTUALISING GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACHES TO STUDYING
GENDER IN ASIA, University of Delhi, 3–5 March 2010.</STRONG> An international
seminar organised by the Department of Geography, University of Delhi, and the
College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU, with the support of the International
Geographical Union. Contact <A href="mailto:anindita.dse@gmail.com">Anindita
Datta</A> or <A href="mailto:kuntala.lahiri-dutt@anu.edu.au">Kuntala
Lahiri-Dutt</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>IN THE IMAGE OF ASIA: MOVING ACROSS AND BETWEEN
LOCATIONS conference, Canberra, 13–15 April 2010.</STRONG> This
interdisciplinary conference explores how ‘Asia’ has been imagined, imaged,
represented and transferred visually across linguistic, geopolitical and
cultural boundaries. It aims to challenge established assumptions (and
consumptions) of cultural products of ‘Asia’, from arts, artefacts and film to
performance. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>READING DUTCH FOR HISTORICAL RESEARCH intensive
residential course, Kangaroo Island, 14 June-3 July 2010.</STRONG> Open to
academics, professionals and current and intending postgraduate students.
Participants in the course will receive instruction in reading Dutch historical
tests, especially from the period 1850–1950. There will be some attention to
correct pronunciation, but no formal teaching of conversational Dutch.
Completing participants should be able to read complex academic and bureaucratic
Dutch texts with the aid of a dictionary. Call for applications close 31 January
2010. Contact <A href="mailto:helen.mcmartin@anu.edu.au">Helen McMartin</A> for
more info.</P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>ASAA BIENNIAL CONFERENCE, Adelaide, 6–8 July
2010.</STRONG> The 18th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of
Australia will be held at the University of Adelaide. Its theme is ‘Asia: Crisis
and Opportunity’. See the <A
href="http://www.adelaide.edu.au/asaa2010/">conference website</A> for further
details and call for papers and panels. </P>
<P align=justify><STRONG>DISPLACEMENT, DIVISION AND RENEWAL conference, Sarawak,
Malaysia, 8–9 July 2010. </STRONG>The Curtin University Research Unit for the
Study of Societies in Change (RUSSIC), in conjunction with Curtin University in
Sarawak, is calling for panel proposals for its conference, which will be held
at Miri, Sarawak, as a sequel to the conference ‘Crossing Borders’, held in
Sarawak in 2007. Call for papers opened on 1 October 2009. A conference website
with further registration and location details will open soon. Enquiries and
expressions of interest to <A href="mailto:A.Hoath@curtin.edu.au">Dr Aileen
Hoath</A>.</P>
<DIV class=content><EM>You are welcome to advertise Asia-related events in this
space. Send details to <A href="mailto:allan.sharp@homemail.com.au">Allan
Sharp</A>.</EM>
<P><EM><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A></EM></P>
<HR>
<H1 class=headline><A name=16></A>Contributing to Asian Currents</H1>
<P align=justify>Contributions, commentary and responses on any area of Asian
Studies are welcome and should be emailed to the <A
href="mailto:allan.sharp@homemail.com.au">editor</A>. Contributions should
generally be between 800–1000 words, and include a photograph of the author and,
where possible, a photograph(s) relating to the subject. As Asian Currents is
intended both for scholars and general readers, please avoid technical language
and keep references and notes to a minimum. <BR></P>
<H1 class=headline><A name=17></A>Feedback</H1>
<P align=justify>What would be useful for you? Human interest stories, profiles
of successful graduates of Asian studies, more news about what's on, moderated
discussions on topical issues? Send your ideas to <A
href="mailto:allan.sharp@homemail.com.au">Allan Sharp</A>. </P><A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/asian-currents-09-11.htm#top"><IMG
src="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/ac/nav-top.bmp" border=0></A> <!-- ================================ Item ends =============================== --><!-- ================================ Item begins ============================= -->
<H1 class=headline><A name=18></A>About the ASAA</H1>
<P align=justify>The Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) promotes the
study of Asian languages, societies, cultures, and politics in Australia,
supports teaching and research in Asian studies and works towards an
understanding of Asia in the community at large. It publishes the <A
href="http://asaa.asn.au/publications/asr.php">Asian Studies Review</A> journal
and holds a biennial conference.</P>
<P align=justify>The ASAA believes there is an urgent need to develop a strategy
to preserve, renew and extend Australian expertise about Asia. It has called on
the government to show national leadership in the promotion of Australia’s Asia
knowledge and skills. See <A
href="http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/ASAA/asia-knowledge-book-v70.pdf">Maximizing
Australia's Asia Knowledge Repositioning and Renewal of a National
Asset</A>.</P>
<P align=justify><SPAN class=ac><STRONG><FONT color=#cc3300>Asian
Currents</FONT></STRONG></SPAN> is published by the ASAA and edited by Allan
Sharp. The editorial board consists of Kathryn Robinson, ASAA President; Michele
Ford, ASAA Secretary; Mina Roces, ASAA Publications officer; and Lenore Lyons,
ASAA Council member.</P></DIV>
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