Horizontal Inequalities and Separatism in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This chapter explores the role of horizontal inequalities in fomenting violent separatism through a comparative investigation of four cases in Southeast Asia. As Weiler (2005: 4) notes, self-determination struggles ‘have been among the most damaging and protracted to have bedevilled states and the international system since 1945’. Asia, Southeast Asia in particular, has been home to many of the longest running conflicts in the post-Second World War period.