Richard Cockett

Ditching Democracy

Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in Modern Southeast Asia

By

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.

Sign Up to our newsletter

Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.

Follow Literary Review on Twitter

  • Last Tweets

    • 'The physical courage he demonstrated as a young man [...] gave way to intellectual power; radical thought, gifted… ,
    • 'While Jane Austen didn’t perhaps achieve the full recognition that she deserved in her lifetime, even then she out… ,
    • 'All I have is a voice To undo the folded lie, The romantic lie in the brain Of the sensual man-in-the-street And t… ,
    • 'You are interested in a particular subject; basic research hardens this interest into an obsession, after which th… ,
    • 'Keynes predicted that future generations would enjoy such an improved standard of living that they might work just… ,
    • 'Various dislocations ... emerge, iceberg-like, out of a troubled sea of unconscious motivation and confront Eisenb… ,
    • Today is the first today of the – they've got some excellent events coming up over the next two weeks.… ,
    Follow Us