Realities of Revolutionary Violence in Southeast Asia: Challenges and Responses.

摘要

The subregion of East Asia known as Southeast Asia, sometimes labeled the 'Balkans' of East Asia, is a collection of linguistic, sociocultural, and political entities. Vast differences exist between the 10 countries in Southeast Asia, and the area has no single cultural or political legacy comparable to the Chinese (or 'Sinic') legacy in Northeast Asia. China's culture and social structure penetrated both Vietnam (thoroughly) and Thailand (to some extent), but the rest of Southeast Asia-which saw an intermingling of local, Indian, Moslem, Christian, and European influences was never dominated by a single tradition or society. Consequently, numerous minorities and other groups in these countries have tended to remain outside the mainstream of social, political, and economic life. Furthermore, secession movements and political violence have been used as means of rectifying grievances. In the current terminology of the United States government, the more recent episodes of these revolutionary, violent patterns are called low-intensity conflicts. Revolutionary political violence has recently occurred, or is occurring, in eight Southeast Asian countries; Singapore and Brunei are the exceptions. These conflicts have exhibited a wide range of ethnic, political, ideological, and socioeconomic dynamics as well as complex patterns of external involvement. Keywords: Southeast Asia; Translations; Military publications; Reports. (eg)