The Islamist threat in Southeast Asia : a reassessment

This short monograph addresses the topic of Islamist mobilisation in Southeast Asia, focusing on Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia.  Arguing against alarmist accounts of Islamist resurgence in the region the author suggests instead that Islamist movements have suffered in recent years from decline, demobilisation and defeat.  The author states that narrow actor-centred and ideological explanations for a cohesive Islamist movement in the region are problematic and that a more useful and accurate approach is found through a properly contextualised account which provides a more nuanced and complex explanation of recent violent events. In these cases, violence by Islamic groups should be understood in relation to the decline and disappointment of Islamist hopes in the region.