Suchergebnisse

This article deals with probably the most important subject in policy-making in Singapore: political and executive leadership. It focuses upon two Singapore prime ministers who differ somewhat in their approaches to leadership and governance, while operating within a largely comparable yet changing environment. The central questions that this paper addresses are: What kinds of influence does the prime minister provide in policy-making? While obviously prime ministerial leadership makes a difference, in what areas does it exhibit the most significance? What are the differences and similarities in the executive and policy-making style of Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong? What are the distinctive features of their policy outputs and their implications of political life in Singapore? (Asian J Polit Sci/DÜI)

Abstract: The Malaysian conceptions of security are influenced by the country's political and social variables. Its conceptions of security have been dominated by political and policy elite who were mostly of the dominant United Malays National Organization (UMNO). The historical development and social configuration of the country have made Malay-dominance an inescapable theme in political life. While economic development and growth in the last decade, coupled with more liberal policies embodied in Prime Minister Mahathir's Vision 2020, have replaced the once all-prevailing focus of ethnic conflicts, the latter nevertheless has great influence over the ways competing groups view security matters. In general, Malaysia's conception of security combines the uniqueness of the country's physical configurations, its historical and colonial experiences, the ethnic and cultural make-up of its population, and its pragmatic policies dealing with contemporary changes in the regional and international environments. No doubt military and political security has been a constant concern and rightly so, but the interests of Malaysia cannot be defined exclusively in terms of military and political security. The contributions by the Malaysian political elite are their holistic, expansive and comprehensive views of what constitute contemporary security concerns. From the standpoint of Malaysian leaders, it is the preoccupation with and ultimately the reconstruction of self-resilience and regional economic linkages that will, for a long time to come, continue to direct the country's attitude towards security.

The paper examines the agenda setting process in Singapore and shows how the Singapore government defines problems, initiates proposals and manages policy agenda. Three cases have been chosen for investigation: the Vehicle Quota System (VQS), the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) project, and the policies introduced to address the issue of rising costs in the city-state. The paper observes that, firstly, issue specifications are often context-specific, but nevertheless political. Second, the actual implementation of policies is often very much dependent on public acceptance and support. Thirdly, there is more beneath-the-surface political activity in Singapore than the standard model of bureaucratic polity leads us to expect. Fourthly, the influence that non-governmental groups exert on problem definition and issue expansion is often indirect and minimal. Overall, problem perception and issues are propelled to the public consciousness by politicians and policy elites. (AJPS/DÜI)

Having delineated the changing patterns of Taiwan's investments and trade in the Southeast Asian region over the past five years, the paper traces some of the changes that have occured in Taiwan-Southeast Asian bilateral relations and examines the political implications of these bilateral relations on Chinese-Taiwanese-Southeast Asian triangular relations. (DÜI-Sen)

Connecting and "distancing" have been two prominent themes permeating the writings on the historical and contemporary developments of the relationship between Southeast Asia and China. As neighbours, the nation-states in Southeast Asia and the giant political entity in the north communicated with each other through a variety of diplomatic overtures, political agitations, and cultural nuances. In the last two decades with the rise of China as an economic powerhouse in the region, Southeast Asia's need to connect with China has become more urgent and necessary as it attempts to reap the benefit from the successful economic modernization in China. At the same time, however, there were feelings of ambivalence, hesitation and even suspicions on the part of the Southeast Asian states vis-a-vis the rise of a political power which is so less understood or misunderstood. The contributors of this volume are authors of various disciplinary backgrounds: history, political science, economics and sociology. They provide a spectrum of perspectives by which the readers can view Sino-Southeast Asia relations