Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

246Specificities of globalizationTRANSFORMATIONS IN AGRARIAN LIVELIHOOD ANDTHE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE MOVEMENT UNDERGLOBALIZATIONSupa YaimuangTrade liberalization has forced countries to open their territories to trade and competition. It has impacted theagricultural sector in terms of food self-sufficiency and caused changes to the agri-food systems in both developedcountries like Japan and developing countries like Indonesia. Small farmers have to confront huge changes;meanwhile, they are not allowed to participate in decisionmaking on national and international policies. However,there are concrete examples of farmers’ adaptation to the new situation based on their culture and through thedevelopment of community innovations such as the so-called” sustainable agriculture.” Sustainable agriculture,with its promise of self-sufficiency and freedom for small farmers, has been challenged by trade liberalization andconsumerism. However, the role of civil society has grown and is moving towards the sustainable developmentparadigm in creating a balance within global society. The movement has gone forward with people’s participationand cooperation within the nation and beyond national boundaries.ACTIONS OF NON-STATE GROUPS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: ORIGINS,DRIVING FORCES AND NETWORKSI Ketut GunawanThis paper discusses non-state groups’ actions related to terrorism or terror attacks in Southeast Asia with casestudies from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. It highlights the groups’ origins, driving forces and networks.First, it shows that while the origins of such actions in the Philippine and Thai cases are traceable to disputedterritorial claims and have a strong link with insurgency, in the Indonesian case, terror actions have originatedfrom a strong passion to establish a perceived ideal state and are inspired by the goals and struggles of the insurgentgroup in the past. Second, greed and grievance approaches are not sufficient to explain such non-state groups’actions. The findings reveal that the ideology of violence contributes considerably to these groups’ actions in thesecountries. Third, the paper points out that groups have built their networks to sustain their movements and furthertheir goals. A stronger link is found between the groups in Indonesia and the Philippines, while in the Thai case,the group is seemingly still in its “formative years” of establishing links with organizations abroad, particularly thosein Indonesia. The evidence also shows that, besides utilizing its actual network, the Indonesian group in particularmobilizes a virtual network to sustain its movement. The virtual network is more resilient than the actual oneand, therefore, the threat of terrorism is still imminent. In dealing with the current problems and future threats,the use of a multi-dimensional approach is necessary, particularly through investments in education, economicempowerment and the promotion of religious tolerance.GLOBALIZATION, INFLUENCE AND RESISTANCE: CINEMATICREPRESENTATIONS AND EXPERIENCE IN JAPAN AND THAILANDKrisnadi Yuliawan SaptadiThe growing ties between the Asian and American film industries can be viewed as an indicator of globalization.While Hollywood has an increasing domination of Asian film markets, a growing Asianization of films is alsohappening. This study examines the complex relationship of cultural influence and resistance as shown in Japaneseand Thai cinematic creations and concludes that globalization of cinema is no longer only about Hollywood.THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION AND CONSUMPTION:SPIRITUALITY IN JAPAN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A THAISing SuwannakijI expand my topic to cover spirituality in general, instead of only Buddhism as in the pre-research proposal.This was due to my ‘misunderstanding’ that Japan is primarily a Buddhist country; soon after arriving in thecountry, I realized that the reality is much more complex. Buddhism is only one part of a plethora of Japanesespirituality. Delving into this complexity, and trying to understand it, is one point, but I chose to focus more on this‘misunderstanding,’ which was born out of the representation of Japanese religion outside of the country. I came tolearn later that much of what I knew about Japanese spirituality, especially Zen Buddhism, is represented throughAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows