Study ASEAN in its Villages, Not in Internet Cafes

The Straits Times

05 September 2015

Farish A. Noor

As we get closer to the goal of creating the Asean Economic Community, it is heartening to see that on the ground level, awareness of Asean and appreciation of Asean’s achievements have both grown, notably among the younger generation. This was at least one of the findings of a survey released by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute) last month.

But while appreciation of Asean may have increased among the younger generation – some of whom now identify themselves as “South-east Asian citizens”, notwithstanding the fact that such a category does not exist – one wonders to what extent the peoples of South-east Asia actually know each other, at least to the point of being able to make claims of knowledge that are founded on real first-hand experience.

For scholars working on South-east Asia and other parts of the world, the difficulties they face today are compounded by developments worldwide.

… The writer is an associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.

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