The Chinese Diaspora in the Pacific/ The Pacific World: Lands, Peoples and History of the Pacific, 1500-1900; Vol. 16

The essays reprinted here trace the history of Chinese emigration into the Pacific region, first as individuals, traders or exiles, moving into the ‘Nanyang’ (Southeast Asia), then as a mass migration across the ocean after the mid-19th century. The papers include discussions of what it meant to be Chinese, the position of the migrants vis-à-vis …

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The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World

Analysis and pundits from across the American political spectrum describe Islamic fundamentalism as one of the greatest threats to modern, Western-style democracy. Yet very few non-Muslim would be able to venture an accurate definition of political Islam. Mohammed Ayoob’s The Many Faces of Political Islam thoroughly describes the myriad manifestations of this rising ideology and …

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The New Blackwell Companion to Social Theory

This New Companion brings together leading scholars to provide a comprehensive guide to the principal traditions of social theory – including classical sociology, the philosophy of the social sciences, functionalism, structuralism, ethnomethodology, rational choice theory, pragmatism and social interactionism, phenomenology, and conversation analysis. In addition it explores recent trends such as actor network theory, social …

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Ultra-low Fertility in Pacific Asia: Trends, Causes and Policy Issues

Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong SAR are among the very lowest-fertility countries in the whole world, and even China has reached fertility levels lower than those in many European countries. If these levels continue over long periods East Asia will soon face accelerating population decline in addition the changes in age distributions …

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Understanding Muslim Identity, Rethinking Fundamentalism

In this timely book, Marranci critically surveys the available theories on Islamic fundamentalism and extremism. Rejecting essentialism and cultural reductionism, the book suggests that identity and emotion play an essential role in the phenomenon that has been called fundamentalism.  

Tearing Apart the Land: Islam and Legitimacy in Southern Thailand

Since January 2004, a violent separatist insurgency has raged in southern Thailand, resulting in more than three thousand deaths. Though largely unnoticed outside Southeast Asia, the rebellion in Pattani and neighboring provinces and the Thai government’s harsh crackdown have resulted in a full-scale crisis. Tearing Apart the Land by Duncan McCargo, one of the world’s …

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WPS 109 Islam and Family Legal Contests in Malaysia: Hegemonizing Ethnic over Gender and Civil Rights

The family narrative is a rich site where feminist, ethnic and nationalist politics can be projected and advocated. In the Malaysian case, the discourse of feminism, cultural relativism and liberalism, vis-à-vis family litigation has been  used to assert and bargain for specific political interests. The politicization of litigation involving Muslim-non-Muslim family cases has proved to …

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