This book is the fruit of 40 years study of Sumatran history, from the 16th century to the present. While seeking patterns of coherence in the vast island frontier, this book focuses on Aceh, which has both the most illustrious state history and the most troubled present.

The Peoples of Southeast Asia Today offers an anthropological treatment of the ethnography and ethnology of Southeast Asia, covering both the mainland and the insular regions. Based on the proposition that Southeast Asia is a true culture area, the book offers background information on geography, languages, prehistory and history, with a particular emphasis on the role of colonialism and the development of ethnic pluralism. It then turns to classic anthropological topics of interest including modes of adaptation, ways of life, and religion, all illustrated with relevant, current case studies. Students will find well-supported discussions of subjects ranging from the development of agriculture and language dispersals, to fantasy and reality in hunter-gatherer studies, to disputed interpretations of Thai Buddhism and Javanese Islam, to ongoing government efforts to manage religion, create proper citizens, resettle and assimilate indigenous populations, end shifting cultivation and promote modernization.

The sustainable forestry challenge. The failure of implementation of forestry laws in Brazil. Enforcement of forestry laws in Finland. Analysis and recommendations.

The theme of this volume, state formation and mercantile evolution in Indonesia, has been the subject of historiographical debate for quite some time. In recent decades the focus of this debate has shifted from the external challenge posed by westerners towards the indigenous response to that challenge and towards local and regional situations, adding to the knowledge of state and state formation. Nine case studies on state formation in the Indonesian archipelago illustrate this approach. They deal with widely differing states, in different periods and regions, ranging from the twelfth-century Javanese state of Kadiri to the twentieth-century Netherlands Indies colonial state, and from Riau and West Borneo to Buton and the Seram Sea. Most of the studies concern states that came under the influence of the Dutch East Indies Company or its successor, the Dutch colonial state. The contributors to this volume are from Indonesia—Muhammad Gade Ismail, R.Z. Leirissa, Edi Sedyawati and Suhartono—and from the Netherlands—F. van Baardewijk, V.J.H. Houben, L.W. Nagtegaal, J.W. Schoorl and R. Vos. Based on in-depth bibliographical and archival research, these studies shed new light on historical situations and processes, thus contributing significantly to the knowledge of Indonesia's past and its historiography.

By the end of the 1960s the process of decolonization had practically run its course in Southeast Asia. One exception, however, was tiny Portuguese Timor, where notions of self-determination and independence had yet to be generated. In 1974, the Carnation Revolution in Portugal brought about the end of fifty years of dictatorship, and halfway around the world, presented a new opportunity to a small, ambitious proportion of the Timorese population, eager to shape the future of their country. This book presents a compelling and original perspective on the critical period of 1974-1975 in the history of East Timor. It describes how the language of politics helped to shape the events that brought about the decolonization of Portuguese Timor, its brief independence as The Democratic Republic of East Timor, and its recolonization by an Asian neighbour. Further, it challenges the idea that this period of history was infused by the spirit of nationalism in which the majority Timorese partook, and which contended with other competing western –isms, including colonialism, communism, neo-colonialism, and fascism. In contrast, the book argues that the Timorese majority had little understanding of any of these alien political abstractions and that the period can be most effectively explained and understood in terms of the contrast between the political culture of Dili, the capital, and the political culture of the rest of the country. In turn, David Hicks highlights how the period of 1974-1975 can offer lessons to government and international policy-makers alike who are trying to bring about a transformation in governance from the traditional to the legal and convert individuals from peasants to citizens. The result of extensive fieldwork and interviews, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Southeast Asian studies, international relations, post-conflict studies and post-colonial studies.