scholarly journals “Asian Values” in Different Forms: A Comparative Examination of How Singapore, Indonesia and Myanmar Address Insults to Religion

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-240
Author(s):  
Ivan Ng Yan Chao
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
The State ◽  
Religious Nationalism ◽  
Asian Values ◽  
Cultural Heterogeneity ◽  
The Social ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
Comparative Examination

Abstract Insults to religion have the potential to stoke tensions and result in physical violence. To protect religious sensitivities, speech which insults religion may be criminalised, even in countries where freedom of speech is enshrined as a constitutional right. The purpose of this article is to look at the role played by the state in dealing with speech which insults religion, through an examination of three Southeast Asian case studies. This article attempts to provide a comparison of the constitutional provisions and specific legislation relating to the insulting of religion in the three countries, as well as consider how the laws have worked in practice. It finds that while the ‘law on the books’ across the three countries may have broad similarities in the way they are drafted, they differ vastly in the ways they are applied and enforced, due to differences in the state-religion relationship, religious demographics and the influence of religious nationalism. At the same time, despite the social, political and cultural heterogeneity of the three countries, the prioritisation of communitarian interests in the three countries over the freedom of speech suggests the continued salience of “Asian values” in Southeast Asia.

Local Institutions at the Crossroads of Environmental Regionalism in Southeast Asia: State-Civil Society Interplays and Tensions

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-54
Author(s):  
Antonio P. Contreras
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The State ◽  
Local Institutions ◽  
The Social ◽  
International Interactions ◽  
Civil Societies

This paper inquires into the implications of the different discursive imaginations on civil societies and the state from the perspective of the social sciences, particularly political science and international relations. It focuses on some interfaces and tensions that exist between civil society on one hand, and the state and its bureaucratic instrumentalities on the other, particularly in the domain of environment and natural resources governance in the context of new regionalisms and of alternative concepts of human security. There is now a new context for regionalism in Southeast Asia, not only among state structures, such as the ASEAN and the various Mekong bodies, but also among local civil societies coming from the region. It is in this context that issues confronting local communities are given a new sphere for interaction, as well as a new platform for engaging state structures and processes. This paper illustrates how dynamic are the possibilities for non-state domains for transnational interactions, particularly in the context of the emerging environmental regionalism. This occurs despite the dominance of neo-realist political theorizing, and the state-centric nature of international interactions.

Religious Resurgence in Contemporary Asia: Southeast Asian Perspectives on Capitalism, the State, and the New Piety

2010 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 1031-1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Hefner
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Spiritual Disciplines ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The State ◽  
Insufficient Attention ◽  
Participation Of Women ◽  
The Social ◽  
East And Southeast Asia ◽  
New Varieties ◽  
State Capital

Large portions of East and Southeast Asia are in the throes of a historically unprecedented upsurge in religious observance and association. Many of the new varieties of religiosity are more popular, voluntary, and laity based than the religions of yesteryear. Many are also marked by the heightened participation of women, and an emphasis on inner-worldly well-being as well as otherworldly transcendence. Focusing on Southeast Asia, but with references to developments in China, this article examines the social and moral genealogy of eastern Asia's religious vitalization. Many analysts have emphasized the influence of postcolonial secularisms, neoliberal disciplines, and ascendant civil societies in the religious resurgence. Although these factors have indeed played a role, the macro-narratives of the state, capital, and democratization often give insufficient attention to the micro- and meso-passions of self, family, and neighborhood, all of which have contributed to the popularization and proximatization of once restricted spiritual disciplines.

scholarly journals Editorial: Freedom of Expression and the Online Abyss

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 107-109
Author(s):  
Maria Elliot ◽  
Kristoffer Holt
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
The State ◽  
Thematic Issue ◽  
Communication Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
Democratic Discourse

This introduction to the thematic issue <em>Freedom of Expression, Democratic Discourse and the Social Media</em> discusses the state of the debate surrounding freedom of expression in the field of communication studies and presents four original articles dealing with freedom of speech in contemporary media from different perspectives.

Autonomy and Free Speech

2021 ◽  
pp. 60-81
Author(s):  
Catriona Mackenzie ◽  
Denise Meyerson
Keyword(s):  
Free Speech ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Conditions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Negative Liberty ◽  
The Social ◽  
Positive Duties ◽  
Negative Duty ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter evaluates the relationship between autonomy and freedom of speech, examining a variety of autonomy-based justifications for the importance of speech and especially of freedom of speech. The differences between these justifications relate not only to the different conceptions of autonomy that underpin them, but also to their different responses to the problem of competing autonomy interests. It is plausible to think that the state should respect, protect, and promote the autonomy of everyone—speakers, listeners, thinkers, bystanders, and members of the public at large. Enhancing the autonomy of some might, however, require restricting the speech of others. The liberty-based conceptions of autonomy prioritize the interests of speakers and listeners and hold that the primary obligation of the state is the negative duty not to interfere with the autonomy of individual speakers and listeners. By contrast, the relational conceptions of autonomy hold that the negative liberty interests of individual speakers and hearers should be balanced against the positive duties of the state to promote the social conditions necessary for the development and exercise of autonomy by all citizens.

Doing Bodhisattva’s Work

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-32
Author(s):  
Le Hoang Anh Thu
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
The State ◽  
Ho Chi Minh City ◽  
Class Identity ◽  
The Social

This paper explores the charitable work of Buddhist women who work as petty traders in Hồ Chí Minh City. By focusing on the social interaction between givers and recipients, it examines the traders’ class identity, their perception of social stratification, and their relationship with the state. Charitable work reveals the petty traders’ negotiations with the state and with other social groups to define their moral and social status in Vietnam’s society. These negotiations contribute to their self-identification as a moral social class and to their perception of trade as ethical labor.

The Constitutional Principle of Accountability: A Study of Contemporary South African Case Law

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuks Okpaluba
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Principle ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Law ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Many

‘Accountability’ is one of the democratic values entrenched in the Constitution of South Africa, 1996. It is a value recognised throughout the Constitution and imposed upon the law-making organs of state, the Executive, the Judiciary and all public functionaries. This constitutional imperative is given pride of place among the other founding values: equality before the law, the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution. This study therefore sets out to investigate how the courts have grappled with the interpretation and application of the principle of accountability, the starting point being the relationship between accountability and judicial review. Therefore, in the exercise of its judicial review power, a court may enquire whether the failure of a public functionary to comply with a constitutional duty of accountability renders the decision made illegal, irrational or unreasonable. One of the many facets of the principle of accountability upon which this article dwells is to ascertain how the courts have deployed that expression in making the state and its agencies liable for the delictual wrongs committed against an individual in vindication of a breach of the individual’s constitutional right in the course of performing a public duty. Here, accountability and breach of public duty; the liability of the state for detaining illegal immigrants contrary to the prescripts of the law; the vicarious liability of the state for the criminal acts of the police and other law-enforcement officers (as in police rape cases and misuse of official firearms by police officers), and the liability of the state for delictual conduct in the context of public procurement are discussed. Having carefully analysed the available case law, this article concludes that no public functionary can brush aside the duty of accountability wherever it is imposed without being in breach of a vital constitutional mandate. Further, it is the constitutional duty of the courts, when called upon, to declare such act or conduct an infringement of the Constitution.

SOCIAL INSURANCE IN RUSSIA: STATE, CURRENT CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES TO THEM

2020 ◽  
pp. 75-95
Author(s):  
Lyudmila A. Migranova ◽  
◽  
Valentin D. Roik ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Insurance ◽  
Pension Fund ◽  
The State ◽  
Insurance Fund ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
Social Insurance Fund ◽  
Subsistence Minimum ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mandatory Health Insurance ◽  
Insurance Funds

The article deals with the issues of functioning of the social insurance institution, the organizational-legal and financial forms of which are presented by the state extrabudgetary social funds - Pension Fund of Russia, Mandatory Social Insurance Fund and Mandatory Health Insurance Fund. It considers the main characteristics of social insurance: a) scope of covering the employed population by insurance protection; b) contribution rates as related to wages; c) level of protection of population incomes (pensions and benefits as related to wages and subsistence minimum); d) availability of quality medical assistance and rehabilitation services. There are analyzed the present social risks and problems of the RF insurance system. The main problem is that the amount of financial expenditures on all types of social insurance per beneficiary is about half that of most developed and developing countries. The primary cause is lacking motivation of both employees and employers to participate in the mandatory social insurance and to legalize their earnings. In the conclusion there are formulated a number of proposals for improvement of the institution of social insurance in Russia. It is proposed to expand the range of insurance cases concerning unemployment insurance and care for elderly people, to increase the total amount of compulsory contributions to extrabudgetary insurance funds from 30.2% up to 42.5% from three sources - employees, employers and the state.

FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROTECTING SYSTEMOF PRIVATE PROPERTY IN UZBEKISTAN IN THE YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 61-67
Author(s):  
Bakhtiyor Khalmuratov ◽  
◽  
Madina Bakhriddonova
Keyword(s):  
Private Property ◽  
The State ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
The Social

In the article the process of privatization of state property in Uzbekistan in the first years of independence, mechanisms of carrying out it, the influence of privatization processes on the social,economical life of the population and the activities of the privatized organizations in providing the population with work are analyzed. Also, legal basis of privatizing the state property are focused on

REKONSTRUKSI DAN REAKTUALISASI LITERASI EKOLOGI SOSIAL ISLAM

1970 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Heru Kurniawan
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Social Ecology ◽  
Social Space ◽  
The State ◽  
Ecological Literacy ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Ecological Awareness ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social

Literasi ekologi sosial Islam adalah interaksi manusia dengan lingkungan alam, teknologi, dan sosial yang didasarkan pada prinsip dasar Islam. Rekonstruksi literasi ekologi sosial Islam yang bisa direkonstruksi adalah prinsip dasar Islam yang menegaskan posisi manusia sebagai “pemimpin” yang diberi “amanah” untuk mengelola “bumi” atau “lingkungan alam dan sumber daya alam” sebaik-baiknya. Rekonstruksi literasi ekologis inilah yang kemudian akan diaktualisasikan pada masyarakat. Proses aktualisasi adalah kegiatan aktual dalam menanamkan kesadaran ekologi sosial Islam pada masyarakat yang mana dilakukan dalam ruang sosial keluarga, masyarakat, dan sekolah yang diorganisasi oleh negara melalui kebijakan dan peraturan per undang-undangan. Dengan proses rekonstruksi dan aktualisasi yang terstruktur ini, maka negara akan aktif membangun kesadaran ekologis sosial Islam dengan aktif dan terstruktur dengan baik guna mewujudkan basis kesadaran, ilmu pengetahuan, dan tata nilai ekologi sosial Islam pada masyarakat. Literacy on Islamic social ecology is the human interaction with the natural environment, technology, and social which is based on the basic principles of Islam. Reconstruction of literacy on Islamic social ecology that can be reconstructed is a basic tenet of Islam that affirms the human position as a "leader" by "mandate" to manage "Earth" or "natural environment and natural resources" as well as possible. Reconstruction of ecological literacy is then to be actualized in society. The process of actualization is actual activity in instilling awareness of the social ecology of Islam in the society which is done in the social space of families, communities, and schools organized by the state through policies and regulations. With the process of reconstruction and actualization, then the state will actively build social-ecological awareness of Islam in order to realize a base of awareness, knowledge, and values of Islamic social ecology in society.

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