This book examines ethnic communities, identity, economy, society and state, and the links between them, in a range of countries across Asia, challenging the widely held belief that an authoritarian political system is necessary to ensure communal co-existence in developing countries where ethnic minorities have a considerable economic presence.

Introduction Edmund Terence Gomez 1. Ethnicity Nicholas Tarling 2. Inter-Ethnic Relations, Identity and Business: The Chinese in Britain and Malaysia Edmund Terence Gomez 3. Beyond Reductionism: State, Ethnicity and Public Policy in Plural Societies Yeoh Kok Kheng 4. Ethnic Identity Formation: The Case of Second-Generation Chinese and Vietnamese in the United States Rebecca Kim 5. A World on Fire? Some Notes on Burma Alfred Oehlers 6. Hidden in Plain View: Singapore's Race and Ethnicity Policies Nicole Tarulevicz 7. The State and Public Policies, Civil Society and Identity Formation in Multi-Ethnic Societies: The Case of the Chinese in the Philippines Teresita Ang-See 8. The Politics of Redefining Ethnic Identity in Indonesia: Smothering the Fires in Lombok with Democracy Kendra Clegg 9. Development of China's Ethnic Minority Areas: The State and the Market Xin Chen 10. Public Policies and Ethnic Relations in Sri Lanka S.T. Hettige 11. A Nation Within? Maori People and Autonomy in New Zealand, 1840-2004 Danny Keenan