Cfp südostasien 1/2018

Topic: Wealth

Kontakt:

Unequal wealth distribution creates poverty for some and wealth for others. A glance at the gini coefficient shows that inequality is on the rise in the global capitalist system. None of the ASEAN countries qualify as being equitable.

One example: in Indonesia, the four richest people own as many assets as the 100 million poorest. Across Southeast Asia, an average of 15% of the population has to survive on less than two dollars a day. Politicians and the mass media scandalize this and are officially part of the supposed war on poverty. They usually neglect to mention those that profit from inequality. For this reason, wealth or the rich will be the focus of the first online edition of Südostasien.

Research on wealth in Germany has shown that the super rich are usually male, come from wealthy families and that they have good connections to influential people and to the corridors of political power. Is this also true for Southeast Asia? According to the Forbes magazine, there are now 89 dollar billionaires living in the ASEAN whose assets are equal to 10 per cent of the region’s GDP. 21 of them live in Singapore, 20 in both Thailand and Indonesia, 14 in the Philippines, 12 in Malaysia and two in Vietnam. According to Rappler (2017), the richest man of Southeast Asia is the Thai liquor-tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanaabhakdi. Is his story of rags to riches typical for the region? Or are political dynasties such as Indonesian’s dictator Suharto, whose children belong to the richest in the country and whose son Tommy Suharto recently cropped up in the Panama Papers, more representative?

We are interested in the following questions:

  • How is wealth produced (inheritance, companies, real estate etc.)?
  • Which corporate dynasties exist and how do they influence local and global economic, political and social spheres?
  • What lifestyle do the rich pursue? Do they publically flaunt their wealth or do they tend to hide it?
  • What significance is given to wealth in Southeast Asian societies and how is it legitimized? Are discourses dominated by a celebration of a meritocratic elite and an affirmative depiction of their luxury (as in the German yellow press) or is there a more critical debate that connects wealth to exploitation?
  • What scientific debates exist that discuss wealth, political careers, networks and their connection to social background and education?
  • Is wealth connected to social responsibility either legally or morally? Do social entrepreneurs exist?
  • What policies (if any) do governments pursue to enable a redistribution of wealth?

Deadline for submissions is the 2nd of March 2018. This edition will be the first online edition of südostasien. Please include relevant and titled photographs of sufficient quality (300dpi) and make sure the copyright is dealt with beforehand. We are also looking for short reviews of books, films and music about or from Southeast Asia. Contact email: