For observers outside of Southeast Asia this book opens up a world of conflicts rivalries and reconciliations that is terra incognita It is easy to assume that all is well under the consensual Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN umbrella These expert authors detail the sometimes stormy and often tense bilateral relationships in the region In doing so they delineate the profound contribution that ASEAN has made to regional security and cooperation but at the same time they show the limits of multilateralism as a mode of conflict resolution Etel Solingen s introductory essay provides an extensive analytical vocabulary for regional politics and the other authors have fascinating stories to tell about the interrelationships of Southeast Asia s states since 1975 Brantly Womack Hugh S Winifred B Cumming Memorial Professor of International Affairs University of Virginia The international relations of Southeast Asia has been so dominated by academic studies focusing on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that everyday interstate politics has been eclipsed This volume by N Ganesan and Ramses Amer redresses this neglect International Relations in Southeast Asia Between Bilateralism and Multilateralism includes nine empirically rich case studies focused on the management of persistent bilateral tensions involving eight of the region s states This collection will appeal to a wide audience of students academics and regional security specialists due to the diversity and expertise of its contributors and its up to date analysis Carlyle A Thayer Professor The University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy Canberra The volume edited by Ganesan and Amer is a welcome departure from the academic theoretical focus on the regionalist enterprise of ASEAN As the aspirational goal of an ASEAN community becomes increasingly elusive if not illusory this book explains in real policy terms the challenge to the political efficacy of ASEAN s multilateral fora constrained as they are by consensus non interference and fiercely defended state sovereignty In detailed and sharply etched studies of the key bilateral interests and issues at the state level the authors demonstrate that rather than recourse to the multilateral diplomatic platform represented by ASEAN the preferred national mechanisms for the critical areas of cooperation and conflict will continue to be bilateral and the practies of traditional statecraft Donald E Weatherbee Russell Distinguished Professor Emeritus University of South Carolina

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