Advances in Southeast Asian Studies

ASEAS 19(2) features a diverse collection of research articles and book reviews. As a region challenged by issues such as new forms of authoritarianism, climate change, or identity politics, Southeast Asia contributes to our understanding of these global challenges. Georg Bauer examines how hereditary rulers in late colonial Burma became important actors in the development of a national identity by stressing the distinctiveness of their Shan identity. In their article, Karl Patrick R. Mendoza et al. investigate how people in the Philippines continually judge the government through their everyday encounters with officials, services, infrastructure, and communication, and demonstrate how political legitimacy works in these social contexts. Bendegúz Papp investigates the 2013 Typhoon Hainan as a missed diplomatic opportunity: while ASEAN officially presented its disaster diplomacy as a success, the practical relief and recovery efforts were relatively ineffective. Civil society in the Philippines under Duterte, the article by Kevin Nilsen Agojo and Ador R. Torneo demonstrates, developed alternative forms of resistance, including community pantries, digital legal services, electoral activism, and new governance-focused organizations. Nurul Jannah Kosor and Paul J. Carnegie examine how halal industry cooperation between Brunei and Thailand, arguing for a framework that analyzes halal governance as a form of regulatory power and economic diplomacy. Shedding light on the perceived reading crisis in Thailand, Pinkaew Laungaramsria shows how a lack of reader interest originates from structural imbalances in the institutions that support reading culture. This issue also features four book reviews that concern political issues in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

Managing Editors
Timo Duile & Claudia Dolezal

Cover Photo
Dayana Lengauer