How religion and nationalism fuel conflict in Southeast Asia

In his new book, “Religion and Nationalism in Southeast Asia” (Cambridge University Press, 2016), Joseph Liow explores the complex role of national identity in religious conflict and the influence of religion on competing conceptions of nationhood. Drawing on case studies in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to examine the historical roots of these ongoing disputes, Liow’s latest book provides critical new scholarship on the intersection of these threads across the Asia-Pacific region. The role of religion in national conflicts often remains unexamined or underappreciated by contemporary policymakers and analysts.

On February 24, the Brookings Center for East Asia Policy Studies (CEAP) and Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World hosted Joseph Liow to discuss his book and explored implications for the new administration’s policies toward Islam and Southeast Asia. Brookings Senior Fellow Shadi Hamid provided remarks and moderated the discussion.