POLI 369 Midterm Key Words

The way the Chinese labeled South East Asia as a unit, otherwise considered the “south seas below China.”

The term the Japanese use to describe Southeast Asia.

To the Japanese and Chinese this means “South Seas” which designates the territory South of them known today as SEA. This shows that the process of delineation of the SEA region was historically developed. SEA as one unit came from Chinese merchants (Nanyang = what lies below China). The political delineation came from WWII. Japan had taken over the entire region so Britain coined the name SEA to identify the region where the enemy was. In 1967 the name was more formalized under ASEAN. The organization created closer social and economic ties between SEA countries. The main reason for this was to stop the countries from going to war with each other and to keep Western intervention out of the region. Also after WWII at the onset of the CW the the US delineates the region as an area that needs to be stopped from falling to communism. It is also important to know that modern borders of SEA nation states were created by colonial powers.

Mainland encompasses five countries (Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam), with a key theme of Buddhism running throughout them. Also it has a socialist history that ties the countries together except for Thailand. Maritime encompasses 6 countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei, East Timor, and Singapore), with a the language base of Malay. Maritime = Christian (Philippines, East Timor) and Muslim (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia). However, religions and especially ethnicities are very diverse with in countries for example: Bali = Hindu in Indonesia.

A body set up in 1943 with HQ in Sri Lanka as the overall charge of Allied operations in SEA during WWII. First time SEA was consciously a political unit.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations; An geo-political and economic organization of SE Asian countries formed in 1967, that is based on cooperation to deal with internal security problems; most connections between states are informal and personal; if there is conflict they compartmentalize it so each area is separate; no interference in domestic affairs voluntary participation thus non-binding.. Its establishment marked the beginning of SE Asia defining itself in political terms. Aimed to protect regional peace and stability, as well as accelerating economic growth and cultural development. Includes all countries except East Timor.

"The mandala is a model for describing the patterns of diffuse political power in early Southeast Asian history. In this system, power was diffused instead of concentrated. Certain dominant states would require weaker or vassal states to respect hierarchy through tributes such as Bunga Mas. Although similar to the European feudalism, there were many differences, most importantly states dominated by others were much more independent. Thus relations between SE Asian countries were not based on exclusive relations but on overlords and tributary states. By paying tribute, a weaker or vassal state assured itself protection from its overlord. 3 key points can be noted:
A. The system was not based on legal boundaries: the center had power only to the extent that populations of regions payed tribute (Bunga Mas = symbolic acceptance that one should be subordinate to a central state). Analogy of light radiated like a cone: the farther from the center, the more the light (or power) is diffuse.
B.It is not based on an exclusive relation between overlord and tributary state. For example Cambodia payed tribute to Siam and Vietnam in exchange for help.
C. Parental hierarchy: even if you are a vassal state you can be the overlord of another state, city, etc. China was the overlord of many SEA kingdoms from which it expected tribute and in some cases this happened."

Very similar to the Mandala polity, this model focuses more on the mainland Buddhist nations which tried to foster Buddhist enlightenment throughout the kingdom.

The Bunga mas was a tribute sent every three years to the king of Siam from its vassal states in the Malay Peninsula, it consisted of two small trees made of gold as well as weapons/goods/slaves. It was a symbol of subordination from one state to another.

This is a concept that Geertz uses to describe the monarchy in 19thC Bali. Geertz argues that the monarchy in Bali and Southeast Asia existed for ritual spectacles and not for strengthening of power. The monarchy existed to provide cosmic order in the universe and to propagate the spectacle. Propagated Hinduism as opposed to surrounding Buddhism.

Kingdoms were largely situated in these areas which were best for agriculture. Rice fed the people of the kingdoms but when the valleys were no longer enough to feed everyone, some groups went to the hills to carve them out and make “rice terraces” using resources to the fullest extent.

Also known as hill tribes; wanted to escape domination by kingdoms by going up into the mountains. They are not citizens of any state and include the Mong, Miao, Acha ethnic groups. They use a slash and burn agriculture technique.

On the edges of the coasts or islands, characterized by these houses built on stilts in the water, many of them were traders, but also pirates and mercenaries and thus roamed the seas and threatened the coasts, became deeply threatening to many people

Involves cutting and burning forests to create fields for subsistence agriculture, typically using little technology or tools. Without trees the soil quality quickly diminishes and you must move to a new plot.

Dutch colonialist empire, arrived in SEA in Indonesia in 1596, they were interested in extracting resources for trade and granted a 21-year monopoly over colonial activities in Asia.. Had no political or religious component in its colonialist behavior. They first took over Malacca from the Portuguese, and then went to the archipelago of contemporary Indonesia, and then all of Indonesia.