Asian countries are undergoing rapid political, economic and social transformations; meanwhile, there is a growing demand for knowing more about Asia. This Major Reference Set is designed to help general readers as well as specialists to have a good grasp of the latest developments in Asia in the key areas of economic growth, trade, energy, environment, foreign policy and security.With 4 volumes, this set covers all major dimensions of Asia's political economy. Contributors include both scholars and practitioners who provide first-hand description and analysis of fundamental issues in Asia.Peace and political stability are of ultimate importance, with Asia at the forefront of wealth creation in the global economy. Volume 1 unpacks and examines the foreign policy strategies of key states and the role of regional institutions in responding to the security demands of an Asian century.Volume 2 studies the strong economic integration through trade and cross-border investment that has been essential to Asia. The region's future prosperity depends on it being able to remain open and outward-looking. As Asia grows larger and richer, more concerted efforts are required to surmount regional rivalry and to further strengthen the regional architecture of economic cooperation.Volume 3 looks at the emerging economies' thirst for energy that creates huge competition, around which domestic, regional, and international political economy unfolds. Climate change and aspiration for sustainable development further complicate the challenge.Volume 4 offers a comprehensive coverage of subjects on environment and sustainable development in Asia with case studies of selected and representative countries that are at different stages of economic development and facing different environment-related problems and challenges in the twenty-first century.This interdisciplinary set is a fine example of international cooperation, with contributors hailing from different parts of Asia as well as North America and Europe. It is a must-have for anyone keen on understanding Asia's dynamic and changing scene.

Shifting cultivation supports around 200 million people in the Asia-Pacific region alone. It is often regarded as a primitive and inefficient form of agriculture that destroys forests, causes soil erosion and robs lowland areas of water. These misconceptions and their policy implications need to be challenged. Swidden farming could support carbon sequestration and conservation of land, biodiversity and cultural heritage. This comprehensive analysis of past and present policy highlights successes and failures and emphasizes the importance of getting it right for the future. This book is enhanced with supplementary resources. The addendum chapters can be found at: www.cabi.org/openresources/91797

This title was first published in 2003. This three-volume set examines the relationship between government and civil society in their efforts to define and pursue security. Including the results of an extensive research program, each volume is organized around one of the three principal themes - environment, people and globalization, supplying compelling evidence of the tension between economic change and human well-being. Challenging the conventional wisdom about the beneficial results of economically induced change, this first volume suggests that too often the mismanagement of development jeopardizes the security of individuals, families, communities, and possibly the state, by harming the very environment which is required to sustain both people and their economic existence. Bringing together an international group of scholars from a variety of disciplines, this volume is particularly relevant for academic and general research communities in the areas of social, economic, political and security matters of Southeast Asia.

Globalization and Development is a "cross-national study" on the "interstate dispersion" of the impacts (on growth, inequality and poverty) that international economic integration provides to the economies of the developing countries. In order to present the "Leading Issues in Development with Globalization" in a balanced manner, to identify differences and commonalities among "Country Experiences" in development with globalization, and to introduce diversified development paradigms with forward-looking discussions "In Search of a New Development Paradigm" for the post-MDGs era, this publication consists of three volumes and four main parts. Volume III (Part IV) presents the diversified development paradigms such as the GNH (Bhutan), the sufficiency economy (Thailand), the reform and opening up paradigm (China), the African and Latin American paradigms, and the Islamic development paradigm. The Concluding Chapter presents the evolution of development paradigms in the global development cooperation community after World War II, and then offers a glimpse into new development paradigms for the post-MDG era. This book intends to serve as a unique and comprehensive guide for those in the international development community on the subjects of diversified development paradigms/paths under globalization and other challenges in the post-MDG era.

This edited volume brings together a number of well-known scholars and activists from various parts of the world to present critical perspectives on recent and long term trends in the economic, socio-cultural and political life of the people of Asia and examines the policies and constraints faced by the nation-states of the region. It contributes to and enriches the current debates on globalization, the prospects for democracy, and sustainable human development. The book offers an incisive assessment of the role of civil society in creating a democratic political culture in Asia.

1. The book is the result of a well-coordinated four-year international joint research that had studied 7 countries such as Bhutan, China, Ghana etc.and looks at the diversified development paradigms and paths under globalization and challenges 2. This book will be a single repository on the evolution of globalization and development paradigms with a balanced stock of diversified concepts, ideologies and rigorous empirics

There has long been considerable debate about the nature of non-Western IR theory. Most attempts to understand such a phenomenon begin by taking a top-down approach on a country by country basis. Instead, this book takes a bottom-up approach, involving specialists from a range of Thai universities, revealing the contours of the Thai IR community. It examines the state of various sub-fields under the IR rubric in Thailand such as foreign policy analysis, security studies, international political economy and area studies, and how Thai thinkers in these fields have contributed to IR as a discipline and IR theory development in Thailand. In doing so, it identifies factors unique to Thai academia which have hindered the development of an indigenous-sourced theory as well as exploring the similarities shared with other non-Western contexts that have posed an obstacle to the creation of a more general non-Western IR theory. Providing both an in-depth insight into the specific phenomena of Thai IR theory, and a broader perspective on the challenges of formulating non-Western IR theory, this book aims to push the debate on non-Western IR theory forward. It will be of particular interest to readers looking for a better understanding of IR theory in Thailand, but also for those more generally looking to formulate and characterise non-Western approaches to the discipline.

This volume calls upon over a dozen Indus observers to imagine a scenario for the Indus basin in which transboundary cooperation over water resources overcomes the insecurity arising from water dependence and scarcity. From diverse perspectives, its essays examine the potential benefits to be gained from revisiting the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, as well as from mounting joint efforts to increase water supply, to combat climate change, to develop hydroelectric power, and to improve water management. The Indus basin is shared by four countries (Afghanistan, China, India, and Pakistan). The basin’s significance stems in part simply from the importance of these countries, three of them among the planet’s most populous states, one of them boasting the world’s second largest economy, and three of them members of the exclusive nuclear weapons club. However, the basin’s significance stems also from the great importance of the Indus waters themselves – due especially to the region’s massive dependence on irrigated agriculture as well as to the menace of climate change and advancing water scarcity. The “Industan” this volume imagines is a definite departure from business as usual responses to the Indus basin’s emerging fresh water crisis. The objective is to kindle serious discussion of the cooperation needed to confront what many water experts believe is developing into one of the planet’s most gravely threatened river basins. It is thus both assessment of the current state of play in regard to water security in the Indus basin and recommendation about where to go from here.

Peace Studies, Public Policy and Global Security is a component of Encyclopedia of Social Sciences and Humanities in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Peace Studies, Public Policy and Global Security provides the essential aspects and a myriad of issues of great relevance to our world such as: Processes of Peace and Security; International Security, Peace, Development, and Environment; Security Threats, Challenges, Vulnerability and Risks; Sustainable Food and Water Security; World Economic Order. This 11-volume set contains several chapters, each of size 5000-30000 words, with perspectives, issues on Peace studies, Public Policy and Global security. These volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

Peace Studies, Public Policy and Global Security is a component of Encyclopedia of Social Sciences and Humanities in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. The Theme on Peace Studies, Public Policy and Global Security provides the essential aspects and a myriad of issues of great relevance to our world such as: Processes of Peace and Security; International Security, Peace, Development, and Environment; Security Threats, Challenges, Vulnerability and Risks; Sustainable Food and Water Security; World Economic Order. This 11-volume set contains several chapters, each of size 5000-30000 words, with perspectives, issues on Peace studies, Public Policy and Global security. These volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.