Nations and States in Southeast Asia

by Nicholas Tarling

This reflective and provocative book outlines the emergence of the nation-states of modern Southeast Asia. It considers various ways of looking at Southeast Asian history, combining narrative, analysis and discussion. The book's three sections give a broad historical overview of individual nation-states, reflect on significant problems in understanding Southeast Asia, and explore the current state of writing Southeast Asian history. This book reflects a lifetime's scholarship and will become a major interpretive synthesis of modern Southeast Asia.

148 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 1998

About the author

Nicholas Tarling was Professor of History at the University of Auckland from 1968 until 1997 and a Fellow of its New Zealand Asia Institute. He was the editor of The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia and wrote nearly 50 books and a large number of articles on the region.

Reviews

[Syafiqah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tarling keeps it simple and easy to understand in this one, without compromising on quality. Though I felt that it acts better as an accompaniment to his Cambridge History of SEA series.

[Michael Gerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started well, but was soon full of allusions and references to historical figures and events, some of which I don't know.