Critical security in the Asia-Pacific

This book offers an accessible account of often-neglected realities of marginalisation and vulnerability in the region, and a powerful argument for the empowerment and security of the most vulnerable. It Considers issues such as tension on the Korean peninsula, environmental change, Indonesian conflict, the war on terror and the plight of refugees.

In the wake of 9/11, the Asian crisis and the 2004 tsunami, traditional analytical frameworks are increasingly unable to explain how individuals and communities are rendered insecure, or advance individual, global or environmental security. In the Asia-Pacific, the accepted wisdom of realism has meant that analyses rarely move beyond the statist, militarist and exclusionary assumptions that underpin traditional realpolitik. This innovative new book challenges these limitations and addresses the missing problems, people and vulnerabilities of the Asia-Pacific region. It also turns a critical eye on traditional interstate strategic dynamics.Critical security in the Asia-Pacific applies both a critical theoretical approach that interrogates the deeper assumptions underpinning security discourses, and a human-centred policy approach that focuses on the security, welfare and emancipation of individuals and communities. Leading Asia-Pacific researchers combine to apply these frameworks to the most pressing issues in the region, from the Korean peninsula to environmental change, Indonesian conflict, the ‘war on terror’ and the plight of refugees. The result is a sophisticated and accessible account of often-neglected realities of marginalization in the region, and a compelling argument for the empowerment and security of the most vulnerable.

Introduction: Asia-Pacific security legacies and futures - Matt McDonald & Anthony BurkePART I: AGENTS1. Regionalism and security in East Asia - Julie Gilson2. Emancipation and force: the role(s) of the military in Southeast Asia - Alex J. Bellamy and Bryn Hughes3. The political economy of security: geopolitics and capitalist development in the Asia-Pacific - Mark Beeson4. Deconstructing the discourse of epistemic agency: a Singaporean tale of two ‘Essentialisms’ - See Seng TanPART II: STRATEGIES AND CONTEXTS5. Constructing separatist threats: security and insecurity in Indonesian Aceh and Papua - Edward Aspinal and Richard Chauvel6. Freedom from fear: conflict, displacement and human security in Burma (Myanmar) - Hazel Lang7. Australia paranoid: security politics and identity policy - Anthony Burke8. Harm and emancipation: making environmental security ‘critical’ in the Asia-Pacific - Lorraine Elliott9. Seeking security for refugees - Sara Davies10. Discourses of security in China: towards a critical turn? - Yongjin Zhang11. Nuclear weapons in the Asia-Pacific: a critical security appraisal - Marianne Hanson12. US hegemony, the war on terror and security in the Asia-Pacific - Matt McDonaldPART III: FUTURES13. Dealing with North Korea: conventional and alternative security scenarios - Roland Bleiker14. Security as enslavement, security as emancipation: gendered legacies and feminist futures in the Asia-Pacific - Katrina Lee KooConclusion: emancipating security in the Asia-Pacific? - Simon Dalby