Innovations in Strengthening Local Economic Governance in Asia
-
SPEAKERS
V. Bruce J. Tolentino - Chief Economist/ Director of Economic Reform and Development Programs at The Asia Foundation
Véronique Salze-Lozac'h - Regional Director of Economic Reform and Development Programs at The Asia Foundation
Nina V. Merchant - Assistant Director of Economic Reform and Development Programs at The Asia Foundation
Meet Asia Foundation economics experts as they share their experiences working with on-the-ground partners to enhance economic growth throughout Asia. The Foundation is recognized internationally for its innovative work on economic governance and a political economy approach to reform, including programs in regulatory reform, strengthening local economic governance, private sector development, anticorruption, trade liberalization, and promotion of private investment. The Foundation has developed one-of-a-kind economic reform and development strategies, projects, interventions, and activities designed to enhance and sustain economic growth, with particular attention to effective local economic governance.
Complimentary copies of Innovations in Strengthening Local Economic Governance in Asia will be available during the presentation. We hope you can join us for what promises to be a lively conversation about the future of Asia’s economy.
Co-sponsored by the Asia Foundation
Philippines Conference Room
Seminars
Does Democratization Imply Islamization? Lessons from Democratic Indonesia, the World’s Largest Majority-Muslim Country
-
Indonesia has undergone democratization since 1998. Islamic political parties have re-emerged, but they have failed to gain significant support. National politics in Indonesia today are mainly secular. Yet religious values are held in high regard, and religious sentiments are expressed in books, films, fashions, and television programs, among other media. Why has this enthusiasm for religion not yielded a dominant role for Islamism as a political force? The popularity of Islamic political parties has actually declined. Why? What factors have enabled non-religious parties to maintain political prominence while, at the same time, society has become more pious?
Anies Baswedan, currently president of Paramadina University in Jakarta, is a leading intellectual figure in Indonesia. In 2008, the editors of Foreign Policy named him one of the world’s top 100 public intellectuals. As an advisor to the Indonesian government, he is a leading proponent of democracy and transparency in Indonesia, a creative thinker about Islam and democracy, as well as a charismatic leader in the educational field. Anies Baswedan will be on campus in May 2011 through the International Visitors Program sponsored by the Stanford Humanities Center and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. He was nominated by the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies.
Co-sponsored by the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, the Southeast Asia Forum, and the Stanford Humanities Center
Daniel and Nancy Okimoto Conference Room
Anies Baswedan
President
Speaker
Paramadina University in Jakarta, Indonesia
Seminars
The Domestic Politics of Foreign Policy: Thailand vs. Cambodia at the Temple of Preah Vihear
-
In February 2011, Thai and Cambodian troops again clashed on their common border over the status of the ancient Temple of Preah Vihear. Both sides suffered casualties, including deaths. Since it began in 2008, the dispute has envenomed Thai-Cambodian relations. In Thailand a key factor behind the conflict has been the nationalist claim by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) that the temple belongs to Thailand. PAD’s campaign over the issue must be seen in the context of its successful mobilization of mass opposition to the government in power at that time. Prof. Puangthong R. Pawakapan will explain how the dispute arose, how it was aggravated by political rivalry inside Thailand, and what its future outcome and implications could be.
Puangthong R. Pawakapan is an assistant professor in the Department of International Relations at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Topics of her publications include Thai foreign policy and the Cambodia genocide. Her 1995 University of Wollongong PhD dissertation covered Thai-Cambodian relations in the 19th century. She has been a visiting scholar at Yale University, and has worked as a journalist and been active in non-governmental organizations in Thailand.
Daniel and Nancy Okimoto Conference Room
Puangthong Pawakapan
0
Shorenstein APARC / Asia Foundation Fellow
Puangthong Pawakapan is the Shorenstein APARC / Asia Foundation research fellow for 2010-2011. She has a PhD in History from the University of Wollongong in Australia and a BA in Political Science from Thammasat University, Thailand. She is an Assistant Professor in International Relations Department, Chulalongkorn University. Prior to joining Shrorenstein APARC, Pawakapan was a deputy director of the Master Program in International Development Studies at the same university for four years. Between 1999-1999, she was a research affiliate at the Cambodian Genocide Program, Yale University, where she researched on “Thailand’s response to the Cambodian Genocide” in Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda: New Perspectives (2004 and 2006).
Pawakapan’s academic expertise is in the field of Southeast Asian Studies with special interest on the political relationship between Thailand and Cambodia. Political violence is also part of her interest. Most of her previous research focus on the modern and contemporary history of Thai-Cambodian relations. During her fellowship at the Shrorenstein APARC, her research will focus on the current conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, stemming from the Preah Vihear Temple issue.
Hide publication sections
Off
Seminars
Donald K. Emmerson contemplates recent events in Egypt and Tunisia
News Type
Commentary
Date
Paragraphs
In light of the recent ousting of the presidents of Egypt and Tunisia, Donald K. Emmerson, director of the Southeast Asia Forum, steps back from the continually evolving regional turbulence to consider what it may say about the future. In a February 22 Asia Times op-ed, while noting that each country's situation is unique, Emmerson argues that social networking as an aspect of globalization could trigger further transnational spread effects in years to come. Nevertheless, he warns, authoritarians will try to adapt the technology to their own purposes. Finally, noting the basically secular character of the demonstrations, he argues that the power and promise of political Islam should not be overdrawn.
Hero Image
A young demonstrator in Egypt displays the now-popular "game over" slogan.
Monasosh/Mona
All News button
1
Leadership Lessons for Constantly Changing Contexts: A View From Indonesia
-
It takes guts to lead. Technical skill requirements vary across the private, public, and social sectors, but the essentials of good leadership needed to move any organization forward are the same. In all three sectors, Gita Wirjawan has exercised leadership and achieved results. Based on his knowledge and experience, he will offer advice on how to survive and be effective in one, two, or all three of these dynamic environments--how to succeed wherever your passion takes you.
Gita Wirjawan has been closely and causally linked to Indonesia's rising profile as a dynamic emerging-market economy. As head of his country's Investment Coordinating Board since 2009, he has traveled the world stimulating capital inflows. At home he has worked to improve the policy climate for productive investment. His efforts have contributed to boosting Indonesia's ratings as a place to invest and its current six-percent annual rate of economic growth. His own career in business has included founding and managing a successful private equity fund, Ancora Capital, and serving as a former lead executive in the Indonesian affiliates of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs. In the social sector he has championed education through his Ancora Foundation, whose grants have enabled talented young Indonesians to study at the world's leading universities. A graduate of Harvard's JFK School of Government, he is a classically trained pianist and a jazz buff proficient on several instruments. Another company he founded, Omega Pacific, has produced more than a dozen albums by young Indonesian musicians.
This event is co-sponsored with the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Center for Global Business and the Economy
Philippines Conference Room
Gita Wirjawan
Chairman
Speaker
Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board
Seminars
Republic of Indonesia Ambassador Djalal addresses the future
News Type
News
Date
Paragraphs
In 1998, in the twilight of the 20th century, the resignation of Indonesia's autocratic president Suharto ushered in a new political era. Corresponding changes occurred in Indonesia's economic, social, and cultural landscape. That transformation challenged and transformed the thinking of many Indonesians. One of them was Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, who recently became his country's ambassador to the United States. "I entered the twenty-first century with a new mindset," said Djalal to an overflow audience at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) on November 18, 2010.
As the son of a renowned Indonesian diplomat, Djalal spent much of his youth and early adulthood abroad. He attended high school in the United States and college in Canada, and went on to earn his doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Djalal's diverse professional talents and experience encompass writing, politics, and film production. Passionate about inspiring and empowering young Indonesians, Djalal founded Modernisator, a youth leadership movement in Indonesia. Before becoming ambassador to the United States in September 2010, he served on the staff of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as a spokesperson and special adviser on foreign affairs.
Djalal's speech at Shorenstein APARC featured his top eight personal beliefs about the 21st century. His remarks were a mixture of optimism and wonder tempered by caution. This new century in Djalal's eyes promises great progress and opportunity, in contrast to the 20th century, which he called "probably the bloodiest century ever in human history." Looking forward, he spoke of an "explosion of creativity," the growth of emerging and developing economies, and major advances in technology. The power to eradicate poverty and to achieve world harmony is within our grasp, he argued, provided countries are willing to be open to new ideas and to embrace progress and change.
The last century, Djalal noted, saw the fall and fragmentation of empires and the birth of many new states. Looking ahead, he did not foresee great changes in the world's geopolitical map. He hoped that world leaders would not promote a further proliferation of new countries, which would increase rivalry and instability. Instead the goal should be unification, as in the case of the Korean Peninsula. He spoke optimistically of the trend whereby existing countries such as Indonesia manage to "proliferise," or acquire new and greater global relevance, and advocated a "geopolitics of cooperation" among larger and smaller countries, as in the Group of 20.
Djalal stressed the need for rapid innovation and ongoing social, economic, and educational change. A nation that wants to succeed in the 21st century must be open and adaptable. Analysts once thought that major changes could only unfold over several generations, but now, Djalal argued, dramatic change can occur in the span of a single generation. In addition to developing open and progressive political thinking, said Djalal, good governance is essential if the world is to enjoy stability and prosperity in this century. Having a democratic government does not automatically ensure good governance, he argued. Political leaders must strive to build strong, accountable institutions that emphasize positive outcomes in key sectors such as health, education, and entrepreneurship.
Addressing the younger generation, Djalal said, "skill is your best currency" in the present century. Individuals, empowered by education and technology, are now free to make their way in the world based on their own talents. He recalled that in an earlier era in Indonesia, as in many other parts of the world, access to information was limited by social status, wealth, and gender. More than any other factor, according to Djalal, technology is the "most important driver of change." It is the small, innovative technologies such as cell phones and online banking that will most change the world, provided we learn "how to adopt it without destroying the human soul."
Globalization is here to stay, Djalal argued, so it
is crucial to "embrace it intelligently." Indonesia is a large
country. But rather than rely on superior physical size, Indonesia and other
large countries must climb the global ranks on less tangible dimensions such as
education, including the skill sets needed to develop their economies. While
being open to engaging with the rest of the world, he added, countries must
also cultivate a strong sense of national identity.
Djalal closed on a high and provocative note, suggesting that the free, innovative, and global nature of the current
century provides the means for young people today to become "potentially the best
generation of all previous generations." How then should we proceed, as
individuals and as countries, to realize that bright future? Djalal left that
question hanging in the air for his audience to consider and to answer.
Hero Image
Dr. Dino Patti Djalal, Republic of Indonesia Ambassador to the United States, with Donald K. Emmerson, director of the Southeast Asia Forum, at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center on November 18, 2010.
Debbie Warren
All News button
1