This book is the first to provide a detailed account of the political influence exerted by both domestic and international media in the Asian Pacific region. The author examines how the media has acted as an agent of either stability, restraint or change in countries across the region, including Japan, China and Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Burma. Combining theoretical perspectives with a broad range of empirical case studies, this book is an excellent introduction to the significant role of the media in the life of the Asia Pacific region.

Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Politics and Media in Pacific Asia 2. Media in Times of Crisis: Media and Democratic Transitions in Southeast Asia 3. Media in Peacetime? Press and Television in Japan 4. Media as an Agent of Stability? Suharto's Indonesia 5. Media in a Time of Transition: Hong Kong 6. International Media and Domestic Politics: Tales from Thailand 7. Conclusion Select Bibliography Index

Duncan McCargo is Professor of Southeast Asian politics at the University of Leeds.