New Mandala

Victor Lieberman, Strange Parallels: Southeast Asia in Global Context, c. 800-1830. Volume 1, Integration on the Mainland (Studies in Comparative World History). New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. pp. xxiii, 484
This hugely ambitious project, marked by the publication of this, the first of two volumes, aims at nothing less than the repositioning of mainland [...]

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In early April there was a brief period of aggression after a Thai incursion onto Cambodian territory at the Preah Vihear complex. There were conflicting reports as to the number of causalities, but possibly four Thai soldiers were killed and ten were taken hostage. More recently, Phnom Penh is demanding a little over US$ 2 million [...]

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The Irrawaddy published an article yesterday on a new website, entitled 64 for Aung San Suu Kyi, which was created this Wednesday. The aim of the website is to gather messages of support for Burmese opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose 64th birthday is coming up on 19 June.
According to The Irrawaddy, “[t]he organizers of [...]

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On 24 May 2009, I attended the first of two days of the “People’s Alliance for Democracy Assembly” at Rangsit University. Its main purpose was to assess the political situation and prepare a decision about whether to turn the social movement, at least partially, into a political party or not.
With my registration, I received a [...]

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Thomas Bell from The Telegraph has an informative report updating us on what motivated John Yettaw to swim across Inya Lake to Aung San Suu Kyi’s compound.  If you haven’t been following the news you might not know that as a consequence she is now on trial for breaching the terms of her house arrest.  [...]

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On 25 May 2009 the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) lavishly celebrated the decision to found their political party in the sports stadium in Thammasat’s Rangsit campus. There were marches by the various PAD chapters of the different provinces in folkish costumes, and a large show re-enacting the sanitised history of their protests of last year, [...]

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Today New Mandala is launching a series of book reviews by Craig Reynolds.  All of the details on the series are available here.  The aim of this series is to introduce New Mandala readers to important, interesting books, particularly in history and religion, in an accessible format. New reviews will be posted intermittently.  The first [...]

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Han ten Brummelhuis, King of the Waters: Homan van der Heide and the Origin of Modern Irrigation in Siam, Leiden, KITLV Press, 2005. pp. xvi, 409
This important work of scholarship breaks new ground in the history of Siam’s political economy and the transfer of technology that took place in Southeast Asia during the colonial [...]

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The “hair bridges” story about women in Sagaing Division selling their hair to raise money to rebuild bridges reminded me of another article published in The Myanmar Times, by journalist Cherry Thein.
The bridges the women are hoping to rebuild are on a section of the road between the Sagaing Division capital Monywa and Alaungdaw Kathapa [...]

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Burma analyst Andrew Selth has a very useful essay on Aung San Suu Kyi’s current predicament and the John Yettaw aquatic intrusion.  He makes the point that, in Burma, “given the choice between conspiracy and cock-up, it is usually safer to opt for the cock-up”.  His insights are well worth reading in full.  And Selth [...]

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