Local cultures and the "new Asia" : the state, culture, and capitalism in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, until the Asian economic crisis of 1997-2000, was a high economic growth area. However, despite the neo-liberal and globalizing logic of capitalism, local conditions and cultures determine that capitalism will spread in ways not entirely consonant with its Western origins. Capitalism is not a free-floating entity -- it is a socially embodied phenomenon that needs to function in various cultural contexts. Consequently, the tension between the universal status that some claim capitalism now occupies in the post{u2013}Cold War world and the particularities of the local cultures it enters should be of great concern

From China to Facebookistan, the Internet has transformed global commerce. A cyber-law expert argues that we must free Internet trade while simultaneously protecting consumers.

On the ancient Silk Road, treasure-laden caravans made their arduous way through deserts and mountain passes, establishing trade between Asia and the civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean. Today’s electronic Silk Roads ferry information across continents, enabling individuals and corporations anywhere to provide or receive services without obtaining a visa. But the legal infrastructure for such trade is yet rudimentary and uncertain. If an event in cyberspace occurs at once everywhere and nowhere, what law applies? How can consumers be protected when engaging with companies across the world?

In this accessible book, cyber-law expert Anupam Chander provides the first thorough discussion of the law that relates to global Internet commerce. Addressing up-to-the-minute examples, such as Google’s struggles with China, the Pirate Bay’s skirmishes with Hollywood, and the outsourcing of services to India, the author insightfully analyzes the difficulties of regulating Internet trade. Chander then lays out a framework for future policies, showing how countries can dismantle barriers while still protecting consumer interests.

CONTENTS Acknowledgements Contributors Introduction: Local Cultures, Economic Development, and Southeast Asia SECTION I: THE STATE 1. Development Enabler or Disabler? The Role of the State in Southeast Asia 2. Muddling Through: Development under a “Weak” State SECTION II: THE CULTURAL LINEAGES OF “ASIAN” CAPITALISM 3. Battering Down the Chinese Walls: The Antinomies of Anglo-American Liberalism and the History of East Asian Capitalism in the Shadow of the Cold War 4. Religion, Values, and Capitalism in Asia SECTION III: THE STATE AND LOCAL CULTURES 5. From Universal to Local Culture: The State, Ethnic Identity, and Capitalism in Singapore 6. Telephony at the Limits of State Control: “Discourse Networks” in Indonesia 7. Rethinking Modernity: State, Ethnicity, and Class in the Forging of a Modern Urban Malaysia 8. Thai Middle-Class Practice and Consumption of Traditional Dance: “Thai-ness” and High Art Index "This book's central question, therefore, is this: How is Western capitalism embedded (as anthropologist Robert Hefner [1998], following sociologist Mark Granovetter [1985], puts it) in newer Asian contexts? The studies in this book assume that how Western capitalism embeds itself is not separate from but indeed dependent upon first, socio-political relationships, and second, cultural meaning. That is, even though the logic of capitalism - especially since the 1980s in its 'neo-liberal' incarnation - can be outlined, local conditions will dictate that capitalism will spread in ways that will proceed but not be entirely consonant with its various Western origins."--Introduction