DRAFT

      When Dr Sunait asked me to coordinate a seminar on The Role of the Military and other Elites in South East Asian Politics I was both interested and somewhat daunted. While we all talk of elites of playing a major role in national politics, whether in developed or developing countries, little has been written directly on them. Thus designing and teaching a course on elites in SE Asia was a fascinating and at times, difficult exercise. The initial problem was to look at the various South East Asian countries to see who were the prominent elites - military, political, university, business, and perhaps technocrats- and see how they interacted in the various political systems. The next step was the selection of a representative cross stratum of SE Asian countries that provided both compatibility and interesting examples of elite interplay. This led to a final selection of five countries – Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines- to focus on. Then there was the need to see what sources were available. This was in fact no easy matter .Few books focus entirely on elites as such and certainty not in any comparative way. Thus there are classic books say on the Military in Indonesia or business and politics in Thailand but nothing comprehensive covering the whole spectrum. However a search of library resources, including the Centers growing excellent library, and the large amount of information available on the internet in the end provided adequate sources. Good guest lecturers also helped with those from Thailand covering the military and politics, from Singapore the bureaucracy, and from Indonesia local political elites and business. The result was an interesting course that hopefully met two important criteria of any course in the program, that of good academic standards well as being interesting and offering a topical look at important features of contemporary SE Asian society.

      Abstracts from term papers

                                                                 POLITICAL ELITES IN VIETNAM
                                                        ANDTHE DILEMMA OF THE 1986’s REFORM

      Vietnam is the first country in Southeast Asia that adopted Communism and its adherence to the doctrine is persistent throughout the revolutionary period and reunification. However, in the of the 1980s’ reform, especially since the shift from central planned to market-oriented economy, the country leading elite, the Vietnamese Communist Party or more specific the politburo, seems to lose way between Communists and reformed Confucians.This paper examines that period of transition and the roles played within the ruling elite.

                                                                     The Role of Local Elites
                                                             in Thailand’s Southern Provinces

    The recent surge of violence in Southern Thailand may be analyzed by a variety of causes. Historical, political, cultural, economic, social, and security reasons all have a hand in the continuing unrest. This paper argues that historical changes in the constitution, role and influence of local elites are yet another factor in understanding the conflict in Thailand’s South. The old elites have lost influence and new ones have come into being. However, these new – sometimes criminal - elites are not in touch with the local community and are unable to force a local political project, thus creating an “elite-vacuum.”

Johan
To come