多族群國家的國族打造──以東南亞國家為例

Nation-Building in Multi-Ethnic Countries: The Case of Southeast Asian Countries

Nation-building is about defining“who we are”or”who we are not,”with the primary goal of fostering internal identity and shaping a sense of community. Successful nation-building can enhance citizens’sense of cohesion and identification with the country and can also bring peace and promote economic development. Religion and language policies are the two main focuses of nation-building. This article takes Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, and East Timor, to explore how each country undertakes nation-building. This study finds that the countries on the Indochina Peninsula all adopt assimilationism, using the language, culture, and religion of the dominant ethnic group as standards, attempting to assimilate minority groups. In contrast, the nation-building strategies in Southeast Asian archipelago countries are more complex due to geographical and historical factors. Although these countries also designate national or official languages to define the nation, there is no obvious assimilationism. Instead, there are cases of ethnic differentiation (Malaysia, Brunei), ethnic co-prosperity (Singapore), seeking unity in diversity (Indonesia), and pragmatism (East Timor). English, though a language of former colonizers in the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, has become a language of instruction or working language due to practical considerations and is an important tool for cross-ethnic communication.