The Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia

KRSEA Beyond the Cold War in Southeast Asia

Editors’ Introduction: Beyond the Cold War in Southeast Asia

The Cold War was a period of intense conflict across Southeast Asia, marked by a bloody mix of interstate conflicts, civil wars, displacement, and genocides. The disastrous tally of human suffering and lives wasted have led many to argue that the term “Cold War” is itself a misnomer in the region. Moreover, coinciding with this period of global tension were more or less protracted national liberation struggles and the consolidation of postcolonial regimes across Southeast Asia, amplifying the impact of the Cold War as its requirements shaped alliances, ideological frames, and state and societal priorities. The Cold War was played out in domestic politics both at the level of the state and within civil society, tying both sectors, too, to the international stage and transnational actors. Western “domino theory” and fear of communism translated into broad repression of popular movements and dissent. The anticommunist “west” sought stable governments who could resist communism, even if through coercion. For its part, the communist bloc likewise supported authoritarian governments, but those with a [...]

The Origins of Singapore’s Communicable Disease Centre: Hanging Fire

by Kah Seng Loh & Li Yang Hsu in Issue 26

Established in 1913, Singapore’s Communicable Disease Centre (CDC, formerly known as Middleton Hospital), was long in the making. Its gestation over two decades highlighted the question of government responsibility – colonial or municipal – for infectious disease control. Socially, the hospital underlined the need to persuade Asian patients to seek treatment, rather than hide and spread their illness. The genesis of CDC was a key moment in colonial Singapore. It contributed to a slew of legislative changes in 1907 that expanded the municipal commission’s responsibility for public health and housing [...]