New Mandala

Asia Times Online is carrying a long article that overviews the construction of roads, and particularly the refurbishment of the Stilwell Road, linking India to China across the mountains of northern Burma.  Little in this article will surprise New Mandala readers who closely follow developments in that part of the world.   
The report notes that:
Of the three countries through which the [...]

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(Image from Asia Sentinel.) 
One of the key themes of social science research and activist commentary in mainland southeast Asia is the relationship between tradition and modernity. For many commentators traditional culture provides local people with a symbolic and institutional framework to resist the disruptive intrusions of rationalising bureaucracy and rampant commercialisation.
But it is important to [...]

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