Book Reviews : Southeast Asia's Political Systems. By LUCIAN W. PYE. (Englewood Cliffs: Pren tice Hall, Inc., 1967. Pp. 98. $4.95, cloth; $1.95, paper.)
| Published date | 01 September 1968 |
| Date | 01 September 1968 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296802100327 |
| Author | Kuo-Wei Lee |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
529
Southeast
Asia’s
Political
Systems.
By
LUCIAN
W.
PYE.
(Englewood
Cliffs:
Pren-
tice
Hall,
Inc.,
1967.
Pp. 98.
$4.95,
cloth;
$1.95,
paper.)
This
book
is
one
of
the
five
volumes
published
recently
in
the
Prentice-Hall
Comparative
Asian
Government
Series.
Much
of
the
material
appeared
originally
in
Modern
Political
Systems:
Asia,
which
was
edited
by
Robert
E.
Ward
and
Roy
C.
Macridis
and
published
in
1963.
New
material
has
been
added
to
these
volumes
to
bring
them
up
to
date.
In
this
book
Pye
attempts
to
apply
three
basic
analytical
categories,
which
are
constructed
by
Ward
and
Macridis,
for
comparative
analysis
of
eight
Southeast
Asia
political
systems.
The
three
categories
are:
the
&dquo;foundations
of
politics&dquo;
which
includes
ecology,
history,
and
social
structure;
the
&dquo;political
dynamics&dquo;
which
deals
with
political
parties,
interest
groups,
and
political
leadership;
and
the
&dquo;formal
decision-making
organs
of
government&dquo;
on
the
input
side
and
the
&dquo;gov-
ernmental
efficiency
and
performance&dquo;
on
the
output
side
of
the
system.
The
nine
chapters
of
the
book
are
organized
precisely
in
this
order.
By
using
system
model
for
the
analysis
of
Southeast
Asia’s
political
systems,
Pye
has
not
attempted
to
analyze
the
feedback
process
of
the
system,
that
is,
how
the
output
of
a
political
system
changes
its
environment,
which
in
turn
may
modify
the
system
itself.
While
he
compares
Indian
and
Chinese
influences,
especially
con-
cepts
of
government,
on
Southeast
Asia,
he
demonstrates
how
Indian
influence
came
largely
through
the
spread
of
Hinduism
and
Buddhism,
but
he
tells
us
noth-
ing
about
what
Chinese
influence
is
and
how
it
affects
the
region.
In
his
study
of
social
structures
he
hardly
compares
them
at
all.
Instead,
he
merely
touches
upon
such
social
forces
as
religions,
ethnic
groups,
and
the
structured
family
systems
in
each
country.
This
can
be
justified
by
the
fact
of
the
&dquo;lack
of
firmly
established
social
structures&dquo;
in
Southeast
Asia.
And
an
analytical
scheme
for
meaningful
comparison
is
not
available
at
this
developing
stage.
Furthermore,,
in
comparing
the
party
systems,
he
points
out
the
weak
points
of
party
ideologies
of
the
region
and
distinguishes
four
types
of
party
systems.
Unfortunately,
he
has
not
carried
these
analyses
one
step
further
by
comparing
their
structure,
function,
and
ideology:
instead,
he
focuses
on
the
development
of
political
parties
in
each
country.
Pye’s
unique
contribution
in
this
book,
as
well
as
in
his
other
political
writings,
is
his
concept
of
&dquo;identity.&dquo;
To
him,
nationalism,
which
was
an
ideological
force
during
the
drives
for
national
independence,
has
lost
its
appeal.
The
basic
prob-
lem
today
in
nation-building
in
Southeast
Asia,
and
underdeveloped
countries
in
general,
is
&dquo;identity.&dquo;
Leaders
of
all
these
countries
have
been
searching
for
the
meaning
of
their
particular
cultures.
They
have
generally
failed
to
find
their
own
identities;
consequently,
they
have
communicated
uncertainty
and
confusion
to
the
entire
people.
They
attempt
to
identify
themselves
with
modem
cultures;
they,
however,
rationalize
their
unwillingness
to
do
so
with
the
excuse
that
they
should
be
closer
to
the
masses
who
are
naturally
bound
by
a
strong
tie
to
traditional
cul-
ture.
Consequently,
the
leaders
are
caught
between
two
cultures,
marginal
to
both,
and
isolated
and
rootless
in
their
own
existence.
The
future
of
Southeast
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