Buddhism, Modernity and the State in Asia: Forms of Engagement

Buddhism, Modernity, and the State in Asia explores the relationships between Buddhism and various nations in South, Southeast, and East Asia. Rather than promulgating a “Buddhist exceptionalism” in which Buddhist actors and institutions transcend politics, Pattana Kitiarsa and John Whalen-Bridge have assembled a collection of essays that closely examine the ways in which Buddhism and …

Buddhism, Modernity and the State in Asia: Forms of Engagement Read More »

Cell Phone Nation

Cell Phone Nation: How Mobile Phones Have Revolutionized Business, Politics and Ordinary Life In India conveys to readers how mobile phones have permeated every strata and sphere of society and is both a blessing and a curse. It gives an account of how this device rose to become a necessary means of communication in current …

Cell Phone Nation Read More »

China Dreams- 20 Visions of the Future

After celebrating their country’s three decades of fantastic economic success, many Chinese are now asking, “What comes next?” How can China convert its growing economic power into political and cultural influence around the globe? William A. Callahan’s China Dreams gives voice to China’s many different futures by exploring the grand aspirations and deep anxieties of …

China Dreams- 20 Visions of the Future Read More »

WPS 197 The Saemaul Undong: South Korea’s Rural Development Miracle in Historical Perspective

Celebrated as one of the great success stories in rural development in the modern world, the Korean Saemaul Undong (SMU – New Village Movement) began in the 1970s as a community-based village modernization program that, when combined with a green revolution strategy, substantially increased rural incomes and quality of living. Although by the 1980s it …

WPS 197 The Saemaul Undong: South Korea’s Rural Development Miracle in Historical Perspective Read More »

Journal of Family Issues: Asian Fatherhood (Vol. 34 No. 2)

Profound demographic and socioeconomic transformations in Asia in the second half of the 20th century have significantly affected Asian families (Quah, 2009). Despite significant variation across Asian countries in the nature and intensity of these changes, major trends can be identified to include an increase of nuclear families, a decline in fertility and mortality rates, …

Journal of Family Issues: Asian Fatherhood (Vol. 34 No. 2) Read More »

Ancient Harbours in Southeast Asia: The Archaeology of Early Habours and Evidence of Inter-Regional Trade

This book compiles some of the first research by Southeast Asian archaeologists on this significant but neglected subject.  It contains much new information on the roles of Southeast Asians in ancient commerce and industry, and on the nature of cultural interaction which has taken place in these sites for over 2,000 years. The bulk of …

Ancient Harbours in Southeast Asia: The Archaeology of Early Habours and Evidence of Inter-Regional Trade Read More »

Asian Cities in an Era of Decentralisation

This book critically engages with the idea of decentralization as empowering cities and their residents to act innovatively and creatively. The contributions thus highlight how the term ‘empowerment’ in the context of decentralization regimes masks a competing array of intentions and agendas. Who and what are ‘empowered’, given a ‘voice’ and allowed to ‘participate’ via …

Asian Cities in an Era of Decentralisation Read More »

Beyond Swat: History, Society and Economy Along the Afghanistan-Pakistan Frontier

Beyond Swat addresses Fredrik Barth’s seminal work, Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans and its reception in relation to contemporary developments in Swat and the larger Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Swat is a Pakistani district located near the Afghan-Pakistan border. This volume explores the relevance of Barth’s work and the debates it has generated in scholarship on the …

Beyond Swat: History, Society and Economy Along the Afghanistan-Pakistan Frontier Read More »