This essential text fills a glaring gap in the social science of South-East Asia with its comprehensive and integrated treatment of the important sociological and political economy writings on the region. Using case studies from across the region, King examines wider processes of change in relation to theories of modernization, underdevelopment and globalization and covers a wide range of themes including class, ethnicity and gender, and locates local-level issues and processes in the context of more general political, economic and cultural transformations.An essential undergraduate text and a useful postgraduate reference. One of the main problems faced by teachers and students who have a scholarly interest in South-East Asia is the lack of general, user-friendly texts in the social sciences. The absence of an introduction to the sociology of South-East Asia is especially unfortunate. It is the aim of this volume to meet these needs.

This is, then, the first sole-authored introductory sociology text on South-East Asia that focuses on change and development in the region, provides an overview of the important sociological and political economy writings, and considers the key concepts and themes in the field since 1945. Some multi-authored works do exist but these are either outdated or focus on specialized topics. Aimed primarily at undergraduates up to the final year, this will also be a useful reference work for postgraduates and researchers who lack such a general work.