Richard Cockett
Ditching Democracy
Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia
By Michael Vatikiotis
Weidenfeld & Nicolson 336pp £20 order from our bookshop
The sprawling, archipelagic region of Southeast Asia usually receives more attention from tourists and beach bums than political scientists and commentators. Despite the fact that it is the most economically dynamic area in the world, is home to about 630 million people and contains the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia, it is often overlooked in favour of its outsized neighbours, China and India. Even South Korea prompts more interest, if only because it is always on the verge of being eviscerated by North Korea.
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