New Books at ISEAS Library – Jun 2023

Southeast Asia in China: historical entanglements and contemporary engagements / Ying-kit Chan and Chang-Yau Hoon.  Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2023.

Call no: DS525.9 C5C451

“As part of “China’s south,” Southeast Asia has historically assumed a peripheral position when juxtaposed against the power of the Chinese state. In the existing scholarly literature, the power asymmetry is reflected in the ostensible bias where most studies are about China’s presence in or engagement with Southeast Asia rather than the reverse; studies on the presence or influence of Southeast Asia in China have been a marginal enterprise. The present volume aims to fill this void by exploring the historical entanglements and contemporary engagements of Southeast Asia(ns) in China through a Southeast Asian perspective. As China seeks to understand Southeast Asia’s presence in the country on its own terms, it is also engaged in a process of self-discovery and defining where and how it should stand in relation to the region.” – Publisher.

Waves of upheaval: political transitions and gendered transformations in Myanmar / edited by Jenny Hedström, Elisabeth Olivius.  Copenhagen: NIAS Press, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, 2023.

HQ1236.5 B9W35

“This is the first comprehensive account of the multifaceted processes of gendered transformation that took place in Myanmar between 2011 and 2021, and which continues to shape events today. The period began with the end of direct military rule and the transition to a hybrid, semi-democratic regime, precipitating far-reaching political, economic and social changes across Myanmar. To date, the gendered dynamics and effects of this transition have not yet received sustained scholarly attention. Remedying this gap, this book provides a much-needed historical corrective through a careful, nuanced analysis of the gendered dynamics of transitional politics, institutions and policymaking; feminist resistance, mobilization, and movement building; and their effects on labor, land, and everyday lives.” – Publisher.