ASIAN REVIEW

Introduction

Thanachate WISAIJORN — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The notion of local governance in Asia is the focus of this issue of Asian Review by The Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University. With the increasing influence and impact of international connectivity nowadays, it is difficult to deny that political actors at a local level are not completely separated from those at the regional and international level.

Documenting Factors Contributing to the Emergence of Migrant Learning Centers in Thailand

Amanda MOWRY — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

This research aims to examine social and economic factors that led to the establishment, proliferation, and development of Migrant Learning Centers (MLCs) in Thailand. With the migration of millions of Myanmar people to Thailand over the past 30 years, Thailand’s economy has positively benefited from their contribution to the labor sector but has also experienced unexpected challenges in realizing migrant children and youth’s right to education. With approximately 200,000 non-Thai children out-of-school, an education chasm threatens the safety and opportunity of migrant children and has necessitated alternative forms of learning via MLCs.

The establishment of Migrant Learning Centers was a result of three key factors including: 1) large numbers of Myanmar migrants residing in Thailand; 2) high numbers of out-of-school Myanmar migrant children; and 3) collective efforts by members within the Myanmar migrant community to provide education for their children. The vital factors that influenced the proliferation of MLCs in Thailand include investment by the Thai State in migrant education via ministerial regulations and international human rights commitments, as well as economic investment by the international donor community, which was a major impetus for MLCs to grow. Over the past 30 years, MLCs have gone through major developments in the ways they operate, coordinate, and advocate. What began as mostly siloed education has now largely become a network of schools that cooperate for increased standardization, recognition, accreditation, and parallel learning pathways.

Lao Local Government

Sutida TONLERD; Vethang MASONG — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Before the promulgation of the first constitution of the Lao state in 1991, Laos was perceived by a number of Thai scholars as barbaric and lawless. The information about Lao politics during the Cold War was very limited to the outside world. The objective of this article is to reflect on the political system from Lao perspectives by using the analysis of local government in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR). From 2 December 1975 onwards, historiography and document analysis suggest that Lao local government has been one mechanism in the structure of the state that moves towards socialism. It argues that this local government is controlled under the system of the people’s democratic republic with a single party. The People’s Revolutionary Party thus dictates the political system of the country in all aspects

Democratization, Conflict and ‘Act East’ Policy:

Athikho KAISII — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Non-state actor in Northeast India is a pre-independence phenomenon, and with the exception of Assam, the seed of institutionalizing violence was sown prior to the formation of the states. In course of time non-state actor has turned into non-state armed actor. Experience has proved that the formation of states as the process of democratization is yet to soothe the conflict in the region. With this salient reality, “Act East” seen as a path-breaking policy with a multi-prong strategy aiming to overhaul the image of the Northeast through rebuilding India’s historical ties with Southeast Asia, needs to embed a viable action-oriented democratic mechanism to mitigate the conflict. This paper aims to address how an ambitious approach to “Act East” is crafting a conducive milieu to alleviate the issue of the non-state armed actors in the region.

From Government-centric to People-centered Government:

Orachorn SAECHANG — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The government plays a critical role in providing public services and serving the interests of the public. However, the traditional government-centric mentality tends to prioritize what the government can do rather than considering the needs of the public. This article aims to explore the transformation of the Chinese government from a government-centric approach to a people-centric approach and evaluates the reform efforts. Based on a content analysis of both Chinese and English literature, this study reveals that the Zhejiang government has been engaged in a continuous administrative reform process since 1992, consisting of five distinct phases, leading to a gradual transformation into a citizen-centric government. The recent administrative service reform, known as the "Visit Once at Most”, initiated by the Zhejiang government and implemented nationwide, can most demonstrate the people-centered approach adopted by the government. The reform places significant emphasis on meeting the public's needs, enhancing satisfaction, and ensuring a sense of gain as fundamental principles for delivering efficient services. The study also finds that administrative decentralization and the establishment of performance legitimacy within the Chinese political and governance system have played crucial roles in facilitating such a transformation. The study concludes with a discussion of the success factors and challenges associated with the ongoing reform efforts.

The Development of The Cities: The Kazakh Case.

Dinara UMAROVA — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

The article is devoted to the development of Kazakh capital city Astana. The methodology of the research provides literature review on issues of urbanization and economic growth, comparative study, use of empirical and descriptive methods, and based on official statistics and statistical methods. The research confirms that status of the city and capital status of Astana ensure its competitiveness at the national level and in comparison with some leading regional Kazakh cities such as Almaty, Shymkent and Aktobe. The main indicators of the socio-economic situation in Astana are comparatively better. In particular, the capital city has relatively low rates of poverty and unemployment. Moreover, in Astana indicators of average life expectancy, average monthly wages and gross regional product per capita are higher. Also, considering dynamic growth of the population the article emphasizes the need to develop rural areas of the Astana agglomeration in order to provide the capital city with the basic foodstuff and construction materials.

Consociational Democracy in Post-War Lebanon:

Kasidech SOMBOONKITTICHAI — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0700

Is consociational democracy the only viable solution for maintaining direct negative peace and stability in contemporary Lebanon? This paper argues in favour of consociational democracy as the most effective approach to preserving direct negative peace and stability in post-war Lebanon. The rationale behind this claim stems from the impracticality and unsuitability of alternative solutions, particularly transformative liberal approaches, within Lebanon's specific context. Implementing such alternatives would jeopardise cooperation among elites representing different sectarian groups, leading to a perilous power vacuum and the potential for civil war reoccurrence. To contribute to the academic discourse, this paper systematically examines Lebanon's post-war regime and sectarian cleavages, identifying it as a consociational democracy through primary resources like the Lebanese constitution and the Taif Accord. Additionally, it critically analyses pertinent literature encompassing both qualitative and quantitative research, enriching the scholarly debate on this topic.