ABSTRACT
The end of World War Two heralded the solidification of power in many newly independent Southeast Asian states as they became recognized internationally. In turn, numerous modern state borders were formalized with little concern for the spatial distribution of the area’s ethnic, racial, linguistic and religious groups. While economic growth in parts of the region has since benefited some ethnic minorities and indigenous individuals, these groups have more frequently been discriminated against, sometimes violently. This discussion does not focus on every group in the region, which would be a major undertaking (Duncan 2004; Michaud et al. 2016). Instead, it starts with a brief overview of each country’s main ethnic minority linguistic groups, populations and minority terminology, with countries grouped by their broad political ‘stance’ toward ethnic minorities. This is followed by an examination of specific ‘development’ processes that significantly impact minority and indigenous groups in the region. The entry concludes with a call to recognize these groups’ alternative modernities and approaches to development.
