South East Asia: today and tomorrow

In this completely rewritten and enlarged edition of his widely praised book, Richard Butwell re-examines the political development of South east Asia in the post-World War II era and looks at its prospects for stability in the 1970's, as the Vietnam war subsides.

The history of Southeast Asia before the European era and during the colonial period is the background against which Professor But well portrays the complex interplay of internal and external forces in contemporary Southeast Asia. During the 1950's, the political trend in the region was toward authoritarianism and away from democracy. In the 1960's, the ousting of Indonesia's Sukarno and the holding of Thailand's first parliamentary elections in ten years were signs of a reversal of this trend. The 1960's witnessed the dramatic increase of US involvement in Southeast and a growing awareness among some of the area's leaders of the need for regional cooperation. These movements toward democracy and regional cooperation were in response to the two primary problems of Southeast Asia: national survival and the development of responsive, stable political systems that can promote social and economic progress. Professor Butwell examines these problems in relation to each of the countries of the region and shows the different solutions they have tried. In his view, Vietnam epitomizes these problems. The violence it has undergone is not unique; it is an extreme example of the pressures weighing upon the region as a whole.