Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia

by Michael Vatikiotis

Overview

Why are Southeast Asia's richest countries such as Malaysia riddled with corruption? Why do Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines harbour unresolved violent insurgencies? How do deepening religious divisions in Indonesia and Malaysia, and China's growing influence, affect the region and the rest of the world?

Thought-provoking and eye-opening, Blood and Silk is an accessible, personal look at modern Southeast Asia, written by one of the region's most experienced outside observers. This is a first-hand account of what it's like to sit at the table with deadly Thai Muslim insurgents, mediate between warring clans in the Southern Philippines and console the victims of political violence in Indonesia - all in an effort to negotiate peace, and understand the reasons behind endemic violence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474602020
Publisher:	Orion
Publication date:	06/08/2017
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Michael Vatikiotis is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and gained his doctorate from the University of Oxford. He is a member of the Asia Society's International Council and has a decade of experience working as a private diplomat and conflict mediator for the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. Prior to that he worked as a journalist in Asia for thirty years, living in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong. He is the author of two previous books on the politics of Southeast Asia and is based in Singapore.

@jagowriter

Table of Contents

Map of Southeast Asia xii

Introduction 1

Part I Power 13

1 Journey into the Heart of Southeast Asia 15

2 Land Below the Winds 35

3 Divine Kings and Dark Princes 55

4 Elephants and Long Grass 83

5 Bygones Be Gone 106

6 Orderly opening 116

7 Delusions of Democracy 147

8 Greed, Graft and Gore 174

Part II Conflict 195

9 Small Wars and Contested Identities 197

10 Clashing Beliefs and the New Jihad 225

11 The Dragon Apparent 253

12 The Road Ahead 283

Acknowledgements 305

Select Bibliography 307

Index 320

Editorial Reviews

Books on the rise of Asia tend to concentrate on China and India. Vatikiotis fills a gap by providing a lively and learned guide to the politics, personalities and conflicts that are shaping a dynamic group of countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Burma—Gideon Rachman, FINANCIAL TIMES Summer Reads

Blood and Silk is not a dry socio-political analysis. Vatikiotis has an eye for quirky detail, whether it be the Thai crown prince's pet poodle commissioned as an air force officer and dressed in uniform, or the self-important Muslim separatist from southern Thailand who prayed with Osama bin Laden in Khartoum but found the terrorist mastermind uninspiring and unimpressive. In the end, though, the outlook is menacing. Indonesia risks "the kind of ethnic and religious sectarian strife we see in the Middle East today". Malaysians are dismayed by "the slow disintegration of the multiracial compact". In Thailand, there is "little prospect of the military willingly giving up power". The Philippines remains "a prisoner of oligarchy". Even Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar has disappointed her liberal supporters. We can hope that Vatikiotis is wrong, but I fear he is not—VICTOR MALLET, FINANCIAL TIMES

Vatikiotis's arguments are fluent and convincing, and his writing is suffused with a deep knowledge of and affection for Southeast Asia and its peoples—Richard Cockett, LITERARY REVIEW

[An] ambitious and timely book—THE ECONOMIST

A fascinating and many-layered portrait of Southeast Asia, brimming with colourful characters, insights and anecdotes, Blood and Silk is a rich palimpsest as can only be written by a longstanding student and scholar of the region like Michael Vatikiotis—Thant Myint-U, author of THE RIVER OF LOST FOOTSTEPS

Vatikiotis offers a lucid portrait of this fascinating region by bringing together a student's sense of wonder and curiosity, a journalist's scepticism and diligence in making sense of reality, and a peacemaker's compassion for the vulnerable—Salil Tripathi, SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

From the Publisher