http://www.rsis.edu.sg/ RSIS Publications en Copyright 2008, RSIS http://www.rsis.edu.sg/images/rsis_logo_small.jpg http://www.rsis.edu.sg/ http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP231.pdf The Partai Keadilan Sejahtera PKS is one of the younger parties in Indonesia today, yet it has established itself as a national party with branch offices all over the Indonesian archipelago and representation in government at all levels. When it first came onto the scene of Indonesian politics it was criticized by Indonesian liberal intellectuals as a ‘Trojan horse’ for further Islamisation of Indonesia. However some of Indonesia’s more radical and militant Islamist groups have in turn criticized the PKS for ‘selling out’ by joining the democratic political process. Farish A. Noor Wed, 30 November 08:00:00 +0800 Working Papers http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP230.pdf Shrines, squares and soccer stadiums have provided the settings for anti-government protests and people power in Southeast Asia and the Middle East in recent decades. At times used for mass detentions and torture of regime opponents by the security forces in the Middle East and North Africa, soccer stadiums became battlefields of resistance by soccer fans against autocratic rulers as the fans became politicized, clashing with security forces and increasingly using matches to shout anti-government slogans. The authors project those spaces as venues of political entitlement. They enabled protestors to overcome fear in confronting the regime in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, Benghazi and elsewhere. They also generated a sense of entitlement and demands for far-reaching reforms in post-revolution Egypt and other North African and Middle Eastern countries. Teresita Cruz-del Rosario and James M. Dorsey Tue, 8 November 08:00:00 +0800 Working Papers http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP229.pdf Pyongyang's adventurism during 2010 such as the Yeonyeong shelling has further complicated the already strained Sino-DPRK relations, despite closer interaction between the two countries. The biggest challenge to Beijing was to shake the foundation of China's DPRK policy, defined as maintaining the status quo by crisis aversion, with the emphasis on ad hoc guidance for immediate crisis management. Chinese analysts criticised Beijing's lack of an effective overarching strategy toward Pyongyang. Clearly its current approach of accommodation vis-a-vis Kim Jong-Il may not be sustainable. This principle not only symbolises Beijing's buffer zone mentality concerning the North's regime survival but also its difficulty in finding any feasible substitute. Beijing does see the high cost of continued support for an unpredictable neighbour. You Ji Fri, 3 June 08:00:00 +0800 Working Papers http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP228.pdf Recently, the ASEAN+3 countries have taken a number of measures to bolster monetary integration. These include the establishment of the ASEAN+3 Economic Review and Policy Dialogue and the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM). More recently, the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) was also established as an independent surveillance unit. Besides, business cycles in the region are starting to become more synchronized. Policymakers have, however, not heeded calls for introducing a regional monetary unit (RMU) to strengthen regional surveillance and to promote greater exchange rate coordination. Why and what are the practical issues and constraints in introducing the RMU? What actions could be taken in the short and the longer term to promote exchange rate coordination? This paper assesses the views of ASEAN+3 opinion leaders through a perception survey. The opinion leaders feel that RMU, CMIM, and AMRO could go a long way in deepening monetary integration in the region. Pradumna Bickram Rana, Wai-Mun Chia & Yothin Jinjarak Fri, 3 June 08:00:00 +0800 Working Papers http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/WorkingPapers/WP227.pdf The Indonesian military remains one of the most crucial institutions in a democratising Indonesia and continues to be a key factor in any discussion regarding the future of the country. Forced to withdraw from formal politics at the end of the New Order regime, the military leadership has been embarking on a series of reforms to "professionalise" the armed forces, while maintaining their standing within Indonesian society. This paper attempts to provide an assessment of the military reform process during the last 12 years in Indonesia. To this end, it will provide an overview regarding the role of the Indonesian military during the Suharto era; analyse to what extent the process of democratisation has shaped the role and mission of the military; explore the perceptions and motivations of the actors involved in the reform process; review what has been achieved; and highlight the outstanding issues that remain unaddressed. With regard to the final point, this paper discerns three major strategic gaps that undermine the processes of military reform in Indonesia, namely: the "regulation loophole", the "defence-economic gap" and the "shortcomings of democratic civilian control". Considering these problems, this paper concludes that while the military officers' interest in day-to-day politics will gradually diminish, the military professionalism will ebb and flow depending more on the behaviour of political elites and their attempts to address the major strategic gaps in the next stage of the country's military reform. Leonard C. Sebastian and Iisgindarsah Wed, 6 April 08:00:00 +0800 Working Papers http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/newsletter/RSISnews-0703.pdf News from the S. Rajaratname School of international Studies Oct 07 RSIS Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:00:00 +0800 Think Tank http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/conference_reports/Unproblematic%20Multiculturalism.pdf In his opening remarks, Kumar Ramakrishna, Head, Centre of Excellence for National Security, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, noted that in recent times, fears of social fragmentation along ethno-religious lines have compelled governments of multicultural societies to devise policies and strategies to ensure their nations' ability to cope with attacks on their social fabric. Drawing from the examples of Singapore, Australia and the U.K., as well as the works of scholars alike, “social resilience” has been touted as the key to keep these societies together in times of stress. Hence, the aim of the workshop is to generate discussions to operationalize the concept of social resilience in such multicultural societies. RSIS Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:00:00 +0800 Conference Report http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/conference_reports/Implications_for_RMA.pdf The Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) is a sweeping, if often ambiguous, term used to describe an ambitious effort—a “paradigm shift”, if you will—to revamp the manner in which militaries will conduct warfare in the future. The RMA is seen as a process of discontinuous, disruptive and revolutionary change. RSIS Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:00:00 +0800 Conference Report http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/conference_reports/Globalization%20and%20Economic%20Success.pdf This is the final event in what was designed as a three-part conference and research programme to identify best practices for emerging economies engaging with globalization. RSIS Wed, 26 Dec 2007 08:00:00 +0800 Conference Report http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/monographs.html Launched a thousand years ago, the Crusades live on in Muslim memory. Extremists like Al Qaeda's chief Osama bin Laden say that the West is waging a consciousness today. But the Arab historians of that era considered it a marginal event. Exploring the paradox, this unique study shows how the modern Islamist narrative of the Crusades, wrapped around contemporary events in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine, has gained ground in the battle for hearts and memories in the Muslim world. Edited by Umej Bhatia Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:00:00 +0800 Report http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/monographs.html Is an ideal Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) being built? An ideal model of ASEAN is constituted by a combination of what can be regarded as a "People's ASEAN" and a "governments' ASEAN". The former is an association designed to serve the interests of people, while the latter aims to serve the interests of the ASEAN member states. Edited by Hiro Katsumata and Tan See Seng Mon, 3 Dec 2007 08:00:00 +0800 Report http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/reports/RSIS%20Social%20resilience%20report.pdf This survey addressed the following questions: Did Singaporeans prefer to interact along racial and religious lines? If so, did it necessarily constitute a threat to the social fabric of the nation? Yolanda Chin and Norman Vasu Fri, 2 Nov 2007 08:00:00 +0800 Report