Donald K. Emmerson
Capsule Review
Nov/Dec
2009
The contributors to this volume address tensions in ASEAN's new charter between the classic ASEAN principles of consensus and nonintervention and newer principles such as democracy, good governance, and human rights.
Essay
May/Jun
2000
Did East Timor's departure start the dominoes tumbling? Will this vast, multiethnic archipelago fall apart? Not likely. A hard look at Indonesia's main candidates for secession reveals that they have little in common with East Timor and even less with each other. The provinces remain Jakarta's to lose. If the capital plays its cards right, curbs the army's abuses, and accommodates legitimate local goals, the center will indeed hold.
Essay
May/Jun
1998
Many observers of the Asian financial crisis have been tempted to declare the victory of American-style capitalism. Just as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 vindicated America's political model -- liberal democracy -- so the collapse of Asia's markets in 1997 proved the wisdom of America's economic model -- free-market capitalism. But it is presumptuous to think that the crisis foretells Asian acceptance of American ways. The facts are far more complex. The Asian economies best able to withstand the present crisis may be those with more political freedom, but the real key may be competent government. East Asia is changing, but it is not Americanizing.
Essay
Winter
1987
Reviews events in Indonesia since independence in 1945, noting the political cohesion of the archipelago and the economic down-turn, which led to devaluation and foreign debt. Despite this, the ruling GOLKAR won 73% of the vote in 1987, partly because of the authoritarian nature of the regime and partly because there was no satisfactory alternative. The test for GOLKAR will come when President Suharto leaves office. "The country's size and resources will in the long run guarantee greater awareness" of it among Americans.
