Populism, nationalism, and national identity in Asia

Abstract

<p>This chapter investigates the rise of populist politics in light of two variables: populism’s relation to nationalism, and the way populism and nationalism are interacting in the Asia-Pacific region. The chapter shifts the focus to the relatively neglected testing grounds of South and Southeast Asia. In contrast to Europe and Latin America, Southeast Asia exhibits the creation of national identities based on religious culture, where religion is being projected via populist discourse as the core marker of statehood and nationality. Irrespective of the dominant religion, political movements have actively promoted national identity essentially in terms of that religion. Under such an exclusivist prescription of nationhood, there is no place for the multicultural state or secular pluralism, and the prospect of cultural ‘wars’ breaking out beckons.</p>