Comparative Politics in Southeast Asia – Ethnic & Religious Identity Issues

A study by Lars-Erik Cederman, Andreas Wimmer and Brian Min opined that: “conflict with the government is more likely to erupt (1) the more representatives of an ethnic group are excluded from state power, especially if they have experienced a loss of power in the recent past; (2) the higher their mobilizational capacity is; and (3) the more they have experienced conflict in the past.”

Applying theories and approaches of Comparative Politics covered in this course, respond to the following questions:

With reference to the statement above, evaluate the view that ethnic and religious identity issues are among the most significant challenges being faced by Southeast Asian countries. You should clearly state how far you agree with the view and why. Show at least two reasons why these have not turned into interstate conflicts.
Using information from the Minorities at Risk Report (http://www.mar.umd.edu/assessments.asp?regionId=3 as well as the Ethnic Power Relations (EPA) data and report on Myanmar and Thailand compare and contrast the nature of ethnic and religious identity issues and their impact on identity, security and politics in both countries.

Expert Answers on Above Questions on Comparative Politics

Are ethnic and religious identity issues major challenges in Southeast Asia

With respect to the above question, the ethnic and religious identity issues become major challenges to a certain extent in south east asia because of political exclusion, historical grievances and strong group identity. The political exclusion is evident from the fact that the groups that are excluded from state power are more likely to mobilise and rebel. In addition to this, historical grievances in the form of long standing tensions also increases the risk of conflict. Finally the role of ethnic and religious identities is crucial in shaping political loyalty and mobilization. However they are not the only challenge because economic inequality, and governance issues also contribute towards instability.

Why these conflicts rarely become inter state Wars

The two reasons for this is conflicts are internal as most of the ethnic conflicts take place within National borders, and secondly because of ASEAN norms and regional stability. The association of southeast Asian nations promotes non interference and diplomatic conflict resolution. As a result, the conflicts rarely become interstate wars.

Myanmar versus Thailand

The nature of conflict in case of Myanmar is long term armed conflict whereas in respect to Thailand, it is localised ethno religious tensions. The groups that were affected in Myanmar are rohingya and other minorities whereas it is Malay Muslim minority in case of Thailand. The Identity impact as a result in the case of Myanmar is strong marginalisation and statelessness whereas the security impact is ongoing violence, and the political impact is military dominance. In respect to Thailand, the identity impact is cultural and religious tensions while the security impact is periodic insurgency and political impact is stable state institutions.
The key differences between Myanmar and Thailand is the intensity level which is high in case of Myanmar whereas low in case of Thailand whereas the similarity is the ethnic exclusion and identity politics influence conflict and governance.

This model answer is reviewed by Lynn Tan, having expertise in close relationships analysis task.
Disclaimer: This answer is a model for study and reference purposes only. Please do not submit it as your own work.

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