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Ways of studying illegal behaviour are important in the context of Indonesia, a country well known for its failure to deal adequately with the corruption that permeates every level of society. They are perhaps even more salient at the peripheries of the nation-state where government agencies struggle to contain the illegal practices that necessarily emerge where nation-states meet. This article reflects on our experiences conducting a decade-long study of an Indonesian borderlands that, while not initially focused on illegality, came – as a consequence of its ubiquity – to include it as a key construct. This experience led us to grapple not only with methodological questions about how to research illegality but also with assumptions about what illegality is and does. We argue that the only way to recognise and account for the quotidian nature of many kinds of illegal activity in the borderlands is to eschew an ethnography of exception in favour of an ethnography of the mundane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Lien Social et Politiques is the property of Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since the signing of the United Nations Convention against Trans-national Organized Crime, the Straits of Malacca have been identified as a "hot spot" for whole range of maritime security threats, including human trafficking and people smuggling. As a consequence, Indonesia's national and local authorities have been under immense pressure from the international community to develop and implement programmes that address these concerns. Multilateral agencies and other donor organizations have also pumped millions of dollars into counter-trafficking and anti-smuggling programmes in the Riau Islands. Much of the groundwork for both government and international initiatives is done by NGOs, most of which work to identify and assist repatriated migrant workers or victims of trafficking. In one case, however, a Batam-based NGO has gone far beyond this well-trodden path, developing a system to apprehend undocumented labour migrants who use the services of people smugglers to return to Indonesia without passing through immigration. This article examines the case of Gerakan Anti-Trafficking (Anti-Trafficking Movement, GAT) and its implications for our understanding of emerging modes of non-state involvement in border regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates the impact of an anti-trafficking framework on the grassroots level, citing the experience of Terjebak, a non-governmental organization (NGO) working in Indonesia's Riau Islands. Particular focus is given on the implications of policies geared to stop trafficking in women and girls. The potential for anti-trafficking programs to negatively affect the rates of infection of sexually transmitted disease and on the potential of NGO to identify possible victims of trafficking. The need for a radical re-evalution of policy on trafficking in women and girls is highlighted.

Replying to an article by Lenore Lyons in Critical Asian Studies (March 2009), the author of this essay argues that the tendency to treat a critique of rights as a rejection of rights betrays a modernist hesitation that refuses to treat rights and the subject imbued by them as ontologically unstable. Unproblematically, liberal prescriptions of rights and a “strong” civil society assume the presence of sovereign individuals with inherent rights that can be guarded by a politically independent civil society. The case study of Singapore, however, reveals the substantive “emptiness” of rights that is both susceptible to colonization by the state's instrumental interests and amenable to the humane interventions of civil society groups campaigning for the protection of foreign workers. By framing and reframing the rights of female migrant workers as complementary to the economic interests of the host society, the author illustrates how an awareness of the contingent nature of rights by Transient Workers Count Too and the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics allows them to perform their humanitarian work within an illiberal political terrain. By reconciling the seemingly universalistic nature of inherent rights with its situational usefulness for political practice, the strategic maneuvers both groups made also contribute to a greater self-reflexivity about the unproblematic deployment of rights-based instruments in the political projects of our time. The author also argues that in failing to address the formulation of rights as ontologically unstable, Lyons's misplaced criticisms reflect a broader discomfort about the unsettling nature of postmodern critique that disrupts liberalism's moral foundations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last five years, interest among civil society actors in the issues migrant domestic workers face in Singapore has exploded. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), informal networks, and faith-based groups have all formed to address the needs and interests of these workers. Most of these organizations are welfare-oriented, providing support services, training programs, and social networking opportunities. Some engage in advocacy and research activities. This latter group has lobbied successfully for important changes in how female migrant workers are recruited into and deployed within the domestic labor market. To date, their activities have been focused at the local level through their engagements with the Singaporean government, employment agencies, and employers. This orientation, however, has recently begun to change as they seek to develop transnational networks and support regional and international campaigns. This article examines the reasons behind this interest in cross-border organizing through detailed case studies of two advocacy-oriented NGOs, Transient Workers Count Too and the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics. The article explains that although a “transnational imperative” has begun to shape the activities of these two NGOs, they have different motivations for engaging beyond the border. By revealing a diversity of forms and meanings associated with the processes of “scaling up,” this article contributes to the broader scholarly understanding of the complex nature of transnational organizing and challenges earlier studies that assert that transnational activism is a necessary and natural outcome of migrant worker organizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the interrelationship between dominant masculinities and Singaporean men's localized practices in sex tourist space spanning the online and offline worlds. It focuses on Singaporean men who go to the island of Batam, Indonesia. Singaporean's can stay in Bata for 30 days without a visa, and most who come in search of sex are working-class middle-aged men. The "Sammy" Webster has become an instrument for Singaporean men to discuss issues pertaining to sex in Bata. The terms used during Webster interaction are mentioned.

In the Riau Islands of Indonesia significant numbers of women have entered into marriages with men from the nearby countries of Singapore and Malaysia. In many cases, neither spouse migrates after marriage: instead, husband and wife continue to reside in their country of origin. Their close geographical proximity means that the couples can see each other regularly while at the same time taking advantage of the economic opportunities presented by living on different sides of the border. These cross-border marriages challenge the normative model of the nuclear cohabiting couple/family. Our research into the motivations and desires of these cross-border couples living in the Riau borderlands reveals that space and mobility mediate their interactions with the Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian states, thus producing localized accounts of citizenship in which class mobility (rather than physical mobility) becomes the dominant frame through which they view state regulation of marriage and migration. This research challenges the state-centric tendencies in some of the scholarly literature on international and transnational marriage which places overwhelming emphasis on the ability of states to regulate access to citizenship rights. In presenting a view of inconsistent and sometimes incoherent states, we highlight the significant differences between perceptions of state influence and actual state practices in relation to the regulation of international marriages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Lien Social et Politiques is the property of Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the support of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) to foreign domestic workers (FDW) in Singapore. AWARE promotes equal opportunities in employment, education and changes to laws on domestic violence as well as conducts seminars and workshops. Furthermore, TWC2 was established to encourage respect, better treatment and feminization of transnational labor migration through education. Furthermore, TWC2 addresses the standardization and regularization of working hours and tasks, equalization of wages and implementation of domestic workers' rights.

The border studies literature makes a strong case against claims for unfettered transnationalism and ‘borderlessness’ in our ‘globalising world’. However, its focus on movement across borders means that it fails to address bordering practices that occur within the nation-state as a result of transnational activity. In this paper, we extend Cunningham and Heyman’s concepts ‘enclosure’ and ‘mobility’ to confront the different layers of bordering (both physical and non-physical) that have occurred in Indonesia’s Riau Islands since they became part of the Indonesia–Malaysia–Singapore Growth Triangle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reprints the article "Transient Workers Count Too? The Intersection of Citizenship and Gender in Singapore's Civil Society," previously published in the October 2005 issue of the "SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia." History of the formation of The Working Committee 2 (TWC2) to advocate for the rights of foreign domestic workers in Singapore; Transformation of TWC2 into Transient Workers Count Too; Significance of TWC2 in improving the regulatory regime governing the conditions of maid employment.

The article presents a discussion related to the civil society in Singapore. Civil society in Singapore has been the source of considerable scholarly interest. Much of this work has focused on the dominant role played by the ruling elite of the People's Action Party (PAP) in both opening up and closing down spaces for civil society engagement. Numerous writers have documented the authoritarianism of the Singapore state. This has led some commentators to conclude that despite a parliament modeled on Westminster-style democracy, the PAP has effectively restricted the growth of a participatory parliamentary system, and instead fostered a mass society characterized by a lack of political institutions between the state and the people, that is, that Singapore lacks an effective civil society. More recently, social thinker Garry Rodan has argued that Singapore exhibits civil society forces rather than genuine civil society. Many scholars agree, however, that civil society in Singapore is largely a state-sanctioned sphere of engagement that has emerged in response to middle class pressure for greater political liberalization.

For the first time since achieving Independence in 1965, women now make up more than 10 per cent of parliamentary representatives in Singapore. While this figure still lags behind international benchmarks, it is a significant improvement on the last election in which women made up less than 5 per cent of MPs. This article explores the factors that led to the increase in women's parliamentary representation. I examine the attitudes of senior leaders within the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), as well as recent constitutional reforms, including the introduction of the Nominated Members of Parliament (NMPs) scheme and the creation of a Group Representative Constituency (GRC) system. I argue that while these reforms provide improved opportunities for women to participate in politics, it is the PAP that largely determines women's electoral chances. Despite party protestations to the contrary, women do not enter a level playing field, but one in which the terms of engagement are largely PAP defined. It is a political environment in which women are always primarily identified with the family. While both culture and politics are important factors in determining women's political representation, the manipulation of ‘culture’ for political purposes by a male-dominated party elite is more significant. Until the issue of gender inequality is directly addressed, women's opportunities to participate in politics will thus remain limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines restrictions on feminist political activity in Singapore as reflected by the principles and actions of the non-government organization, the Association of Women for Action and Research. Use of a discourse of strategic conservativism and political astuteness; Failure of to address issues of race, class or sexuality; Subversion of the state's key principles of governance, multiracialism and meritocracy.

Evaluates the credibility of the assumptions on Asian feminism. Perceptions on Asian feminism; Examination on the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) in Singapore; Views on the differences between Singaporean and Western feminism.