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Examines the dynamics involved in implementing Islamic law in Southeast Asia, and how this issue has become a source of conflict in Kelantan, Malaysia and Aceh, Indonesia. Using textual and fieldwork methodology, this study compares and contrasts the collective experience of trying to apply Islamic law in these two locations.

The Shan are the largest of the many national ethnic groups residing in the Union of Myanmar. This work traces the cultural and political history of the Shan people from their origins, to Myanmar independence, and up to the constitutional crisis of 1962. It highlights particularly the political affairs of the Shan state from 1946 to 1962.

In Indonesia, since the coming of Islam, zakat has been a means of worship, and its collection has been voluntary and decentralized. This work argues that in the post-New Order regime zakat practice changed structurally and institutionally through the enactment of a law on zakat management, followed by the establishment of a national zakat agency.

Introduces readers to the worshippers and the cult of Tran Hung Dao, the legendary fourteenth-century hero and saviour of Vietnam who has evolved as a key symbol of the nation as well as an efficacious deity in its spiritual pantheon.

The English translation of Zhou Daguan's work on Angkor, this work covers description of the royal palace, sacred buildings, women, traders, slaves, hill people, animals, landscapes, and everyday life.

Gijsbert Heeck (1619-1669) was a medicinal specialist with the Dutch East India Company (VOC). His journal is based on the daily notes he made during his third trip to the East. This volume carries the selections from his journal that deal with Siam, accompanied by the original Dutch text.

Explores the development of Mongolia's state religion, from its formation in the thirteenth century around the time of Chinggis Qaan (Genghis Khan) until its demise in the twentieth century under the Soviet Union.

Analyzes the systematic construction of the image of the Other (that is, non-Muslims) by two radical Islamic Groups. This book documents discourse patterns in the groups' publications and speeches stereotyping non-Muslims as hostile towards Islam and imagining Islam's imminent victory after an inevitable clash with all other civilizations.

Presents analysis of Thai national identity. This title includes a chapter reflecting on the way older concepts of Thai identity were transformed by the economic boom and subsequent financial crisis in 1997.

Presents a selection of Lao folktales that have entertained the Lao people for generations. This book features the legendary trickster Xieng Mieng, a quick-witted toad that terrifies tigers, a turtle that flies, a cadre of snails that race a rabbit, and a mynah bird that speaks five languages. It reflects a Buddhist culture in a Marxist state.

Presents a collection of what a curious visitor might want to know about Thai customs and beliefs, explained by a long-time English resident of Thailand. This book, compiled from a series of articles published in a weekly column in the 1970s, intends to demystify constructs like the system of royal ranks and the Thai musical scale, and more.

Examines the Cambodian revolution before and after Pol Pot and attempts to explain the reasons for its ultimate failure.

Concerns the French intervention in Siam, 1685-1688, particularly the last year, during which Phetracha, the usurper and future king, held the ailing King Narai prisoner. Marcel Le Blanc was one of fourteen Jesuits who arrived in Siam to promote the study of mathematics and astrology, but he became inextricably involved in the events.

Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (1906-1993) is widely regarded as Thailand's most influential Buddhist philosopher. His thought had a profound impact in Thailand in the second half of the 20th century. This book examines Buddhadasa's life work and thought, in the context of the political, economic, and intellectual changes that transformed Thailand.

Gambling, prostitution, drugs, arms trading, oil smuggling, and trafficking in people -- these six illegal businesses are large and getting larger. They distort the economy and victimize people. They are increasingly linked together through networks of protection and organized crime. They help to fund Thailand's corrosive 'money politics' and to sustain corruption in the police. In this sequel to Corruption and Democracy in Thailand, the authors argue that control of the illegal economy, especially through reform of the police, is vital for the development of a modern economy and functioning democracy.

This account of Kosa Pan's journal describes in great detail the arrival in Brest in 1686 of the first full Siamese embassy to reach France. This fragment is apparently all that survives of a massive report of the activities of the embassy written for King Narai.