Paul Rodell | Georgia Southern University (original) (raw)

Papers by Paul Rodell

Southeast Asian Affairs, Apr 1, 2002

In January, President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, who is often referred to by his nickname "Era... more In January, President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, who is often referred to by his nickname "Erap", was overthrown by a massive uprising that quickly became known as "People Power 2", named after the first People Power revolution that toppled Estrada's friend, Ferdinand Marcos, fourteen years earlier. By April, Estrada was arrested on charges of economic plunder, a crime punishable by death, and his enraged supporters among the poor of Metro Manila took to the streets. Their effort to overthrow the new government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was soon dubbed EDSA 31 and a showdown occurred in the early morning hours of 1 May outside Malacanang, the presidential palace, which only narrowly fell short of success. Elections later that month reinforced the new President's regime even if her hold on power continued to be tenuous as her allies gained only a slim majority in the important Philippine Senate. Adding to the political excitement was the investigation of numerous charges against Senator Panfilo Lacson, an Estrada loyalist and the former head of the erstwhile Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force. However, because of poor evidence and unreliable witnesses the charges have remained unproven. The year was also filled with rumours of possible military coups and bomb threats, some supposedly linked to individuals close to Lacson, and ad hoc military groups whose origins can be traced to the last years of the Marcos regime. Meanwhile, the criminal case against Estrada degenerated over questions about the competence and reliability of the judges and after the Supreme Court mandated changes, the proceedings were postponed to early 2002. Even as May's election ballots were still being tallied and disputed, the notorious Abu Sayyaf guerrilla group staged another mass kidnapping. By year's end the crisis was not resolved, but the Abu Sayyaf gang was isolated on Basilan Island by a large and determined military force, despite serious initial

The Journal of Asian Studies, Feb 1, 2004

Oral History Review, Mar 1, 1993

Southeast Asian Studies, Dec 31, 2012

The present volume seeks to understand "political Islam" which the editor, Johan Saravanamuttu, d... more The present volume seeks to understand "political Islam" which the editor, Johan Saravanamuttu, describes as "aspirations to political power and the remolding of state and society in accordance with Islamic teachings" (p. ix) in Southeast Asia. The project originated in 2004 and later adopted the notion of "authoritarian democracy" to serve as the contributors' common frame of analysis. This is a key concept and has been theorized by one of the book's contributors, Chaiwat Satha-Anand, as especially relevant to the study of Islam and governance in Southeast Asia. As presented, authoritarian democracy posits a ruling style that adopts a façade of democracy masking an inherently undemocratic regime that disadvantages the country's minorities. Thus, regime power wielders could be Muslim, Buddhist or Christian while Islam might be either privileged or oppressed. In using this rubric, the contributors aspire to address a number of questions relevant to Islam and the region's current political life.

Southeast Review of Asian Studies, 2007

... Over time, the Muhammadiyah grew to become Indonesia's largest religious organiza-tion, ... more ... Over time, the Muhammadiyah grew to become Indonesia's largest religious organiza-tion, and Islamic modernist ... with Aguinaldo, had just been captured by American forces.22 Although thesewartime attempts failed ... Southeast Asian Nationalism & the Russo-Japanese War 33 ...

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints, Dec 31, 1989

This impressively produced, though seriously flawed, new book and its accompanying three-part doc... more This impressively produced, though seriously flawed, new book and its accompanying three-part documentary film series, that aired in the United States over the Public Broadcasting System, was, perhaps, an inevitable multimedia event. The dramatic 1986 EDSA Revolution focused world attention on the amazing "People Power" phenomenon surrounding its demure and grieving, but .determined and struggling. widow leader who became an instant international celebrity best known as "Cory." In fact, since Corazon Aquino's unprecedented ascension to power there has been a small rush of hastily produced journalistic eyewitness accounts that convey the tension and exhilaration of those fateful days. Sadly, most of these books present little more in the way of analysis than a recounting of the Marcos regime's well known excesses. The contemporary Philippine political scene is, therefore, an internationally significant story waiting to be recounted by a credible area "expert" who could communicate to an American audience a deeper understanding of the forces that comprise the Philippines' historically shaped social-political milieu which ultimately contributed to Ferdinand Marcos' downfall.

Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints, Mar 31, 1982

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Jul 26, 2007

Journal of Global South Studies, 2020

The Journal of Third World Studies, Sep 22, 2015

I came to Georgia Southern University as a new Assistant Professor in the fall of 1992 when Zia H... more I came to Georgia Southern University as a new Assistant Professor in the fall of 1992 when Zia Hashmi was the Association of Third World Studies (ATWS) Executive Director. As I was the Department of History's new Asianist, Zia was anxious to get me involved in the ATWS and, especially, for me to meet the organization's founder, Dr. Harold Isaacs. The two men had worked closely together to take the organization from its origins as the "Third World in Perspective" lecture series on Isaacs' Georgia Southwestern University campus to the level of a professional organization. They, along with Bill Head, wrote the constitution and split duties with Zia becoming the organization's first President and then its first Executive Director and Harold serving as the Editor of the Journal of Third World Studies (JTWS) and ATWS Treasurer. I met Harold for the first time at the 1993 ATWS conference at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He was every bit as gracious as I expected, and he showed a genuine interest in my academic work. He welcomed my participation at that conference and when Zia suggested that I could write and edit a newsletter for the Association, Harold welcomed the idea and invited me to attend the organization's Executive Council meeting. There, he introduced me and the idea of a newsletter and asked if there were any objections to my becoming its editor. It was impressive that such a well-respected man would welcome me so quickly and would take up Zia's suggestion without hesitation. Time and again, Harold Isaacs showed the same openness and encouragement to me and other people who came forward with suggestions and proposals that would benefit the organization. He always supported people who offered to do real work for ATWS. There was qualification to my story, however. In this example, Zia immediately added that the cost of the newsletter would be shouldered by Georgia Southern and would not be a burden to ATWS. Harold was always concerned about the financial stability of the professional organization he founded and nurtured. As Zia Hashmi's three year term as Executive Director was winding down, he approached me about succeeding him. Not fully realizing how big that job might be, I agreed. Once Zia had my commitment, he approached Harold who seconded my appointment. Once more, Harold was open to change--especially when he was reassured that the resources Zia brought to ATWS from Georgia Southern University's Center for International Studies would continue. So, once again, I saw Harold's openness in working with and nurturing a new generation of ATWS members. During my two three-year terms as ATWS Executive Director, I came to know Harold very well. He and I had long phone conversations (there were no short phone conversations with Harry) about the organization and its members, what we were going to do next on a range of issues and, most importantly, what we could do for the poor and disadvantaged of this world. I will give just one example to illustrate this concern. Harold was very interested in seeing ATWS gain observer status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) so that members might have a means to participate directly in decisions that would affect the Third World. He and I, along with Zia who continued his support for the organization, worked hard to see ATWS accepted in an "Observer" status to that UN body. I then recruited Lauren Eastwood of SUNY Plattsburgh to be our representative. While these personal examples were important to me, a far more critical and telling instance came during the 1997 ATWS Executive Council meeting in Hartford, Connecticut. Since this happened quite a while ago, I may be inaccurate about some of the details and others can correct me, but I think that anyone who was present will agree that at close to six hours in length, this was by far the longest meeting of the organization's history. There were some important concerns that made for lively and lengthy discussion about issues that some people felt strongly about including the annual President's Award and the criterion for selection of winners. …

Journal of Global South Studies, 2018

Journal of Global South Studies, 2017

Southeast Asian Affairs, Apr 1, 2004

... 31. Norman Bordadora and Christine O. Avendaño, &amp;quot;Peace Talks Better Option, ... more ... 31. Norman Bordadora and Christine O. Avendaño, &amp;quot;Peace Talks Better Option, Survey Shows, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 23 December 2002, pp. A1 &amp;amp; A18. 32. Delfin Mallari, Jr., and Jhunnex Napallacan, &amp;quot;More Blood to Flow, Says Red Spokesman&amp;quot;, Philippine Daily Inquirer on ...

Journal of Global South Studies, Mar 22, 2016

Rice, Mark. Dean Worcester's Fantasy Islands: Photography, Film, and the Colonial Philippines... more Rice, Mark. Dean Worcester's Fantasy Islands: Photography, Film, and the Colonial Philippines . Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2014. Review by Paul A. Rodell.

... Page 13. Illustrations Map of the Philippines xxiv Puerto Real, or main gate, to the old Span... more ... Page 13. Illustrations Map of the Philippines xxiv Puerto Real, or main gate, to the old Spanish walled city of Manila 10 Contemporary diorama depicting the execution of national hero Jose Rizal 14 Statue of Ninoy Aquino in 1983 being forced off the plane mo-ments before his ...

Peace & Change, Oct 1, 2016

The Journal of Third World Studies, Mar 22, 2013

Hamilton-Hart, Natasha. Hard Interests, Soft Illusion: Southeast Asia and American Power. Ithaca,... more Hamilton-Hart, Natasha. Hard Interests, Soft Illusion: Southeast Asia and American Power. Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 2012. 243 pp. In her revealing study, Natasha Hamilton-Hart details the impact of America's "soft" power on the foreign policy decision-makers of the developing or Third World states. She does so by using six states in Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam) as a convenient laboratory. Specifically, she applies the evidentiary weight of psychological studies of small group decision-making, value formation and maintenance, and cognitive processes to trace the assumptions, perceptions and beliefs of Southeast Asian foreign policy elites in the six countries. In her examination, she is interested in how policy-makers have come to the positive perceptions about the United States that they do with very few exceptions. Despite the study's emphasis on the beliefs of foreign professionals, Hamilton-Hart does not ignore the hard realities that concern traditional international relations specialists who focus on issues of national interest. She notes, for example, that when national interests of Southeast Asian states are endangered by American policy, regional actors will be critical of the United States. As examples, she specifically cites Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir's criticisms of the US dominated International Monetary Fund during the 1997 Asian financial crisis and Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew Singapore who promoted Asian Values in response to American human rights criticisms. As well, in chapter three the author presents a well-argued summary of Southeast Asia's post-World War II national histories to illustrate how the region's current political leadership, with the notable exception of Vietnam, have directly benefited from their close ties to America and its international political, military, and economic policies during the cold War down to the post-2011 present. In chapter four Hamilton-Hart presents an insightful analysis of the accepted historiographical theses of the five non-communist states--official accounts, textbooks, and others that have received "political blessing." She posits that the histories present clear bias in favor of the ruling elite and also cast the United States in a favorable light by positive narratives of commission, omission, and implication. She then describes three aspects of these national histories that pertain in some way to the United States; the specter of communism in the national past, the US role of protector against external threat, and by downplaying the human cost of past conflicts. While Thailand and the Philippines are noted for having traditions of alternative historical interpretation, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia are characterized as having high levels of elite dominance in their historical interpretations. It is only Vietnam that offers an alternative to the non-communist dominant narrative, but even here recent Vietnamese historiography is not as biased against the United States as might be expected. …