Does globalization inflame ethic hatred?<\/p>\n
Robert Wyrod
\nContributor
\nJakarta
\n------------------------------------------------
\nWorld on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic
\nHatred and Global Instability
\nBy Amy Chua, 2003, Doubleday
\n340 pp
\n----------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Five years have passed since waves of anti-Chinese riots swept
\nthrough Jakarta, and Indonesia is still grappling with the
\nmeaning of these events.<\/p>\n
Were the riots a momentary orgy of violence in an emerging
\npower vacuum, or were they symptomatic of much deeper tensions
\nthat continue to fester within Indonesian society?<\/p>\n
In World on Fire, Amy Chua claims to have the answers to these
\nquestions. She examines how economic and political change created
\na particularly volatile situation in Indonesia, one that has not
\ndiminished significantly in the last five years.<\/p>\n
But for Chua, the dynamics animating the riots of 1998 are
\nhardly unique to Indonesia. They are tied up with globalization
\nand are at the root of many other recent ethnic conflicts, from
\nanti-Semitism in Russia, to the war in the former Yugoslavia, to
\none of the 20th century's great horrors, the Rwandan genocide.<\/p>\n
Chua argues that globalization is at the heart of these
\ncontemporary ethnic conflicts. She claims that the simultaneous
\nimplementation of free market economic policies and mass
\ndemocratic elections in the developing world has produced an
\nexplosive situation where class differences and ethnic conflict
\nconverge.<\/p>\n
The crux of the issue is how globalization affects
\neconomically successful ethnic groups in developing countries.
\nLike many others before her, Chua notes that many developing
\ncountries have minority ethnic groups that control large
\nparts of national economies. Her examples include the Chinese in
\nSoutheast Asia, Jews in Russia, Lebanese in West Africa, South
\nAsians in East Africa and whites throughout Latin America.<\/p>\n
Chua observes that \"market dominant minorities\" have their
\neconomic power greatly increased by neo-liberal economic
\npolicies. However, these same economic policies often produce
\nsevere economic hardship for the majority of people. The result
\nis greater resentment of these economically empowered
\ngroups, and heightened ethnic tensions.<\/p>\n
What makes World on Fire unique, however, is that Chua
\nexamines more than just the financial fallout of free market
\npolicies. For Chua, the economic impact of globalization is so
\ntroubling in these countries because it often comes bundled with
\nexpanded democracy. Free and fair mass elections are as much a
\npart of current Western development dogma as neo-liberal economic
\npolicies.<\/p>\n
The result is greater political empowerment for the masses,
\nand the emergence of politicians who aim to capitalize on these
\nnewly enfranchised voters.<\/p>\n
Rallying the masses in these situations often involves
\ndemonizing the economic elite, and when the economic elite
\ninclude minority groups, political campaigning can easily become
\nrace baiting.<\/p>\n
Chua's argument is a powerful and provocative one that
\nchallenges the rosy optimism voiced by proponents of neo-liberal
\nglobalization. It is a welcome rebuke to Thomas Friedman and his
\nilk, who champion free market economics with a preacher's
\nfanaticism.<\/p>\n
Indonesia figures prominently in World on Fire and for good
\nreason, because it is one of the best examples of Chua's theory
\nat work. With over 1,200 people dead and nearly 100 women
\nreportedly raped in two days, the riots in Jakarta in 1998 were a
\nhorrific example of ethnic violence. Chua argues that the depth
\nof the anti-Chinese sentiment is related to the rising prosperity
\nof this market dominant minority.<\/p>\n
As the Indonesian economy flourished during the early 1990s,
\ndriven in part by globalization, some Indonesians of Chinese
\ndecent prospered greatly. For a few, like Mohamad \"Bob\" Hasan and
\nSudono Salim, this was due to their long-standing, cozy
\nrelationship with Soeharto. The majority, however, were simply
\nriding a wave of economic growth in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
But while the economic aspects of globalization were working
\nin the favor of this market dominant minority, other factors were
\nworking against them. Growing dissatisfaction with the Soeharto
\ndictatorship, and international pressure to expand democracy in
\nthe country, fueled mass resentment. Price hikes and subsidy cuts
\nmandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were a final
\nblow, leading to the demonstrations that forced Soeharto's
\nresignation.<\/p>\n
However, it was not only Soeharto who was the focus of popular
\nire. Indonesians of Chinese descent were also seen by some as
\nbeneficiaries of a corrupt and unfair system. The result:
\nChinese-Indonesians became the scapegoats for the country's
\neconomic corruption, and blood flowed in the street of Jakarta
\nfor days.<\/p>\n
What is new in World on Fire is an understanding of how neo-
\nliberal, free market ideology and democracy can work together in
\ndisastrous ways. But a central problem with Chua's analysis is
\nthat she glosses over thorny questions of ethnicity.<\/p>\n
While Chua states Chinese-Indonesians represent only 3 percent
\nof the population, and rarely marry outside of their own ethnic
\ngroup, the sources she cites to back up such claims are limited
\nand unconvincing.<\/p>\n
For Chua, it is convenient to treat Chinese-Indonesians as a
\ndistinct and separate ethnic group, even if she cannot marshal
\nthe evidence to prove it.<\/p>\n
She fails to acknowledge ways in which ethnic Chinese were
\nforced to assimilate into Indonesian society, having to take non-
\nChinese names, stop using Chinese languages and curtail Chinese
\ncultural practices. Also, she does not address the issue of
\nsuccessive Chinese migrations over a period of centuries from
\nseveral different regions of China.<\/p>\n
All this begs the question of what exactly does it mean to be
\nethnic Chinese in Indonesia today, a question which Chua
\nassiduously avoids.<\/p>\n
Chua would brush aside such criticism, saying what matters is
\nthat there is a perception that Indonesians of Chinese descent
\nare an insular, disproportionately wealthy group, and that in
\ncertain circumstances these perceptions lead to violence.<\/p>\n
Yet if \"Chinese-Indonesian\" is understood as a rather nebulous
\ncategory, there certainly must be much more than simple economics
\nbehind anti-Chinese sentiment. Indonesian history is filled with
\nexamples of how the ethnic Chinese have been manipulated by those
\nin power to provide a buffer between the elite and the masses,
\nwhether it was the Dutch colonial elite, Japanese colonialists or
\nthe Soeharto dictatorship.<\/p>\n
The recent report on the May riots from the National
\nCommission on Human Rights is another case in point. The report
\nstates that provocateurs helped instigate the riots while the
\npolice and military conveniently looked the other way. Such
\nreports have led many to conclude that pro-Soeharto forces were
\nstirring up anti-Chinese sentiment in order to derail
\nthe movement to overthrow the dictator.<\/p>\n
Clearly, politics are as much a part of the story of the May
\nriots as economics, making the question of ethnic identity more
\ncomplex than Chua would care to admit.<\/p>\n
While the Indonesian case itself is complicated, Indonesia is
\njust one of many examples Chua presents to buttress her argument.
\nJumping from Southeast Asia, to Latin America, to Russia and
\nAfrica, Chua argues that market dominant minorities are the key
\nto understanding conflicts in over a dozen countries. At first
\nsuch comparisons are intriguing, but the superficiality of her
\nanalysis starts to make such globe-trotting tiresome.<\/p>\n
There is also very little firsthand research, or reporting, in
\nany section, which makes Chua's authoritative tone tedious. And
\nin each of these cases, the same troublesome questions about
\nethnicity recur.<\/p>\n
By stretching her argument, Chua diminishes what is a very
\npersuasive and important examination of how globalization can be
\ntied to ethnic conflict. The book might have been stronger, and
\nher analysis deeper, if she would have stayed focused on
\ncountries where her case is most convincing.<\/p>\n
These are countries, like Indonesia, where an ethnic minority
\nhas increasing economic power, but little formal political power,
\nand democracy in the form of mass elections is on the rise. Her
\nchapter on Russia, for example, reveals intriguing, but
\nunfortunately unexplored, similarities between the position of
\nJews in that country to the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
World on Fire closes with Chua's suggestions for dealing with
\nthe problems wrought by globalization. She is rightfully
\nsuspicious of proposals that would prioritize free markets over
\ndemocratization. Instead she sees the need for proactive
\ngovernment policies that could ameliorate glaring economic
\ninequalities.<\/p>\n
On a more symbolic level, she also thinks market-dominant
\nminorities themselves need to be proactive in contributing to the
\nlocal economy through philanthropic activities. Yet the extent of
\nthe anti-Chinese violence of 1998, and the current lack of
\npolitical will to bring any perpetrators to justice, make such
\nsuggestions seem naive at best.<\/p>\n
World on Fire has much to say about the current state of
\naffairs in Indonesia, and gives one much to think about as
\nIndonesia heads into what will be a decisive year in the
\ncountry's history.<\/p>\n
While Indonesia has decided to move away from the IMF's
\ntutelage, its macroeconomic decisions will still be greatly
\ninfluenced by free market policies. This while it will be holding
\nits first direct presidential elections. While ethnicity could
\neasily become a political issue, one hopes Indonesians have
\nlearned enough from 1998 to reject such political demagoguery and
\nmanipulation.<\/p>",
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