POL351 Comparative Politics in Southeast Asia End-of-Course Assessment 2026, Singapore

POL351 End-of-Course Assessment 

Question 1

A study by Lars-Erik Cederman, Andreas Wimmer and Brian Min opined that: “conflict with the government is more likely to erupt (1) the more representatives of an ethnic group are excluded from state power, especially if they have experienced a loss of power in the recent past; (2) the higher their mobilizational capacity is; and (3) the more they have experienced conflict in the past.”

Applying theories and approaches of Comparative Politics covered in this course, respond to the following questions:

1. With reference to the statement above, evaluate the view that ethnic and religious identity issues are among the most significant challenges being faced by Southeast Asian countries. You should clearly state how far you agree with the view and why. Show at least two reasons why these have not turned into interstate conflicts.

2. Using information from the Minorities at Risk Report (http://www.mar.umd.edu/assessments.asp?regionId=3) as well as the Ethnic Power Relations (EPA) data and report on Myanmar and Thailand (https://icr.ethz.ch/data/epr/core/), compare and contrast the nature of ethnic and religious identity issues and their impact on identity, security and politics in both countries.

(100 marks)

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