Resisting Hegemony: The Sources and Limits of Anti-Americanism in Southeast Asia

The United States and closely allied institutions like the IMF and the World Bank have played an active part in promoting neoliberal reform in Southeast Asia. This paper examines resistance to such reform in the region, particularly at the 'grass roots' or non-elite level, and considers the possible implications such forces may have for wider, inter-regional relations. I argue that the promotion of neoliberalism in particular, and America's regional role more generally, were always contentious issues, even when such debates were confined to a narrowly defined economic sphere. In the aftermath of September 11th, however, when Southeast Asia has again become part of wider geo-political contestation, the complex and potentially divisive nature of America's engagement with Southeast Asia may create new tensions within the region as it struggles to accommodate the strategic and political-economic dimensions of American hegemony