Illusions of Democracy: Malaysian Politics and People offers an up-to-date and broad analysis of the contemporary state of Malaysian politics and society. Transcending disciplinary boundaries, it offers a look at Malaysian politics not only through the lens of political science but also anthropology, cultural studies, international relations, political economy and legal studies touching on both overlooked topics in Malaysian political life as well as the emerging trends which will shape Malaysia’s future. Covering silat martial arts, Malaysia’s constitutional identity, emergency legislation, the South China Sea dilemma, ISIS discourse, zakat payment, the fallout from the 1MDB scandal and Malaysia’s green movement, Illusions of Democracy charts the complex and multi-faceted nature of political life in a semi-authoritarian state, breaking down the illusions which keep it functioning, to uncover the mechanisms which really underlie the paradoxical longevity of Malaysia’s political, economic and social system.

Sophie Lemière is a political anthropologist at the Ash Center for Democracy in the Democracy in Hard Places Program at Harvard University and is currently a visiting fellow at CSEAS, Kyoto University (until December 2019). She has also been awarded visiting fellowships at the Humanities Center at Stanford University and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington DC, in 2020. She holds a PhD and a Masters in Comparative Politics from Sciences-Po (France).

Foreword by Joseph Chinyong LiowAcknowledgmentsIntroduction by Sophie LemièrePart One: The (Mis-)Rules of Ethno-PoliticsChapter 1 Demi Agama, Bangsa dan Negara: Silat Martial Arts and the 'Third Line' in Defence of Religion, Race, and the Malaysian StateLawrence RossChapter 2 The Real World? Fabricating Legitimacy in a Semi-Authoritarian StateSophie LemièreChapter 3 Malaysia's Constitutional Identity: A Chimera?Mohd Nazim Ganti ShaariChapter 4 Rebooting the Emergency: Najib's Law 'Reform' and the Normalisation of CrisisAmanda WhitingChapter 5 Federalism in Serambi Mekah: Management of Islamic Education in KelantanAzmil TayyebPart Two: The Local Scene and the International GameChapter 6 Malaysian Politics and the South China Sea Dilemma Alessandro UrasChapter 7 The Construction of Malaysia's Foreign Policy since 1957: An Emerging Middle Power's Choice to Follow, Challenge or Compromise with the Global OrderDelphine Allès and Louise PerrodinChapter 8 Ummah Revisited: Anti-Shia Hatred in Malaysia since the Outbreak of the Syrian Civil WarDominik M. MüllerChapter 9 The Violent Trajectory of Islamisation in MalaysiaAida Arosoaie and Mohamed Nawab OsmanPart Three: The Voices of the 'Others'Chapter 10 Life in Limbo: Refugees in MalaysiaGerhard Hoffstaedter and Louise PerrodinChapter 11 'Malay Muslim First': The Politics of Bumiputeraism in East MalaysiaJames ChinChapter 12 Troubling Malaysia's Islamic State Identity: The 'Young' Struggle of LGBTQ's Narratives and the Art of Mis-RepresentationAngela M. Kuga ThasPart Four: The (Mis-)Management of ResourcesChapter 13 Economics, Politics and the Law in Malaysia: A Case Study of the 1MDB ScandalKerstin SteinerChapter 14 Collecting, Resisting, and Paying Corporatised Zakat in Contemporary MalaysiaPatricia Sloane-WhiteChapter 15 Malaysia's Green Movement: Old Continuities and New PossibilitiesAzmil Tayeb and Yew Wei LitChapter 16 Responsible Resource Management of the Oil and Gas Sector in Malaysia: Issues, Challenges and OpportunitiesTricia YeohAfterwordList of ContributorsIndex