1. Look at conflict as a phenomenon- a social phenomenon perhaps?

Conflict- do you think of nations and countries engaged in wars as the default? Or individuals, families,
clans, tribes and their conflicts? Or communities based on ethinicity/religion etc?

Potential armed conflicts- territorial disputes(South China Sea) ethnic warfare(genocides)

System of conflict(Haack’s readings)

Positions, assumptions, bias on ‘conflict’ and ‘peace’.

Do you believe that peace is the natural state of afffairs, and conflict is a breakdown of this natural order?

Or

Do you believe that confict is the natural state, and peace is something that cannot be taken for granted?
Peace is ‘un-natural’?

Structures of conflicts…

What do you need for conflicts to take place?

Some logical prerequisites for conflict are:

1. Parties involved in the conflict. Belligerent- nation or person engaged in war or conflict(people
who actually fight) (Proxy warfare and the superpowers who use them) Direct and indirect

Reasons to fight

2. Conflict of interest might result from Scarcity of resources

3. Differences of ideology (conflict of perspective/interest)

What motivates parties to fight (commitment to fight)

4. Commitment to conflict.. People’s willingness to fight? Trigger events

Discuss some conflicts which took place, or are taking place in SEA…

(3 guiding questions)

Who were/ are the parties involved in the conflict? What is/was their degree of their involvement?

When did these conflicts take place? Were or are they part of any larger conflicts or events happening at
the same time?

Are these conflicts still happening ? If yes? Why? If no? Why?

The War on Drugs in the Philippines

Conflict between law enforcement, criminals, and other members of the civilian population

Backdrop: long history of problems with

In SEA there is this obsession with ‘strongmen’ with powerful authoritarian figures who ‘get shit done’ in
‘tough ways’. ‘death squads’.

Cambodian genocide

Khmer Rogue(Red Khmers, communist party of Cambodia)

Versus

Ethinic minorities, gender minorities, priests and religious types and people who disagreed with them,
civilians.. older people who remember differently , so we kill you to monopolize historical discourse… etc

Who put an end to the Khmer Rogue regime? Vietnamese- communists took out the Khmer Rogue

South Thailand Insurgency

Religion: Islamic fighters vs thai Buddhists state

Started as a separatist movement, to break parts of South Thaliand…. Became transnational

movement…linked to ISIS, and global movements of terrorists and religiously motivated soldiers

Local movement became international

Proxy war- war by proxy… USA backing South Vietnam vs Soviets backing North… Cold war was cold
because many direct conflicts were avoided … MAD – mutually assured destruction
Proxy war – you get most of the benefits of war, with someone else backing the cost in blood.

Domino Theory- armed intervention to prevent/contain spread/threat of communism.. think a bit about
other societies in SEA… they’re looking at the Vietnam War, and what are they learning from this?

Reading and researching first then make your points from there

More depth and focus in reading

Make a précis/ summary of the article

Go on to discover your main topic/main thesis statement

Jstor Nus database

Thailand’s Mr Clean.
Water issue between Singapore and Malaysia

Source of dispute for the two countries

Resolved