It is a cliché now to talk about a globalized world or that globalization is changing the way we live. It is a cliché because it is an everyday reality which we cannot escape. If globalization is an inescapable reality, then its consequences and side-effects are long-term problems that the academic and policy-making communities have to think our way out of.

For it is no longer enough to accept the fact that globalization has stitched the world closer together or that it has forced different creeds and religions to jostle for the same shrinking space. The conflict and contradictions that are part and parcel of the prosperity and progress that globalization bring must demand the attention of our best minds.

It is in this context that this volume is presented. A diverse group of scholars on Southeast Asia has been assembled to offer a multi-dimensional perspective and critique of globalization as it entrenched itself deeper into the region. The insightful and original offerings of these scholars will be useful to students of Southeast Asia, globalization and various social science disciplines in the years to come.

ISEAS takes pride in presenting this volume. It thanks the Swedish School of Advanced Asia-Pacific Studies for its contribution and the thoroughly enjoyable collaborative experience.