International Relations in Southeast Asia: The Struggle for Autonomy

This is a very comprehensive book covering almost every significant aspect of international relations in Southeast Asia. It discusses not just "hard" issues such as security, but also human rights, environment, and even counter-narcotics. It works very well as an introductory textbook for international relations in the region. At times I felt the book was unbalanced with some minor issues (such as trafficking) receiving far more attention than they deserved, while energy and natural resource diplomacy received almost none. The latter is crucial for understanding the region today, especially Myanmar. Historically, much of Southeast Asian trade has been in natural resources (such as natural gas from Malaysia), but the chapter on the economy barely mentions this. The book and writing style are somewhat dry. This has its benefits as Weatherbee does not push any agenda or IR theory. However, for those looking for more opinions on ASEAN (as well as coverage of more recent events) see Donald Emmerson's "Hard Choices."

This book is exactly what I was looking for. I am a Peace Corps volunteer living in Thailand for the next two years. I wanted a book that was up to dat and would give me the political background of the region. This book does exactly that. It explains ASEAN and other treaty organizations roles in the area. It also shows the roles that outside Players like China and the USA play in the area. Best of all the book seemed very balanced. I did not get any sense that the author was pushing any certain side when presenting the material. Although it was quite dry at times overall it was interesting and helped me to understand the region much better.