Defining Modernity in South-East Asia
About this episode
The episode explores the evolving perceptions of modernity and development among young people in South-East Asia, particularly in relation to China post-covid-19.
This week, Mark Leonard is joined by LuHan Gabel , associate director of the Ideas Workshop at the Open Society Foundations; Ooi Kee Beng , political historian and executive director of the Penang Institute; and Chelsea Nguyen , research assistant in the Department of International History at the London School of Economics. LuHan highlights how young people in China are increasingly questioning the meaning of development and modernity beyond material progress. Kee Beng reflects on Malaysia’s complex relationship with China, arguing that their growing engagement is reconnecting South-East Asia to older historical patterns of regional interaction. Chelsea explains how, in Vietnam, attitudes towards China have shifted dramatically since the covid-19 pandemic, with young people becoming more curious about Chinese technology and society. Together, Mark, LuHan, Kee Beng and Chelsea explore whether a post-Western, rather than anti-Western, generation is taking shape across the region. How did the covid-19 pandemic reshape perceptions of China in South-East Asia? Which aspects of Chinese modernity resonate most with younger generations? Is China becoming a new reference point for…
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