Using some of the few recovered and accessible primary documents written by cadres of the Communist Party of the Philippines, this essay attempts to trace the process by which the Party revived its most dynamic “sector” during the early years of the Marcos dictatorship. It shows how these cadres introduced and implemented the strategy of “legal struggle” to create an array of seemingly apolitical student associations which soon became the backbone of the brief resurgence of radical politics in schools and campuses. The strategy however was not without its problems, the foremost being its coming into conflict with the preference of the CPP leadership for rural-based, armed struggle of which the urban mass movements, including those by the students, were only to play secondary supportive roles.

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Although traditional boats and boatbuilding techniques in Indonesia have drawn scholarly attention, attempts to analyze the technological development in wooden boatbuilding have been rarely made. After the introduction of modern technologies such as engines and western hulls in the 1970s, wooden boats have experienced rapid technological changes in which a combination of traditional and modern techniques can be observed. Based on a new typology of present boats in the Spermonde Archipelago, one of the important maritime regions in Indonesia, this study analyzed the transformation process of wooden boats in the second half of the 20th century, in which modern technology played an important role, in order to understand the technological adaptation of the local people to the changing circumstances. The study was conducted through literature surveys, interviews with local people, and observation and measurements of the boats, and revealed that the modern technologies were effectively adopted and combined into the local people’s existing knowledge system.

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Rice farming remains socially and economically important for the Karen people of Northern Thailand, despite the increase of young people's migration to cities since the 1980s. This paper discusses how Karen residing in one mountain village have managed rice farming and defined its meanings in relation to out-migration and the decrease of labor. I focus on 3 points: 1) the persistence of important norms regarding rice farming; 2) the labor shortage caused by urban migration of youth, in the face of which the Karen have used new farming inputs (e.g., herbicides, fertilizers); and 3) the transition in labor allocation, which has resulted in an increasing role for married women in rice farming activities and the redefinition of their positions in the household.
 Previous studies suggest that the Karen have been slow to enter the market economy due to their preference for farming rice primarily for their own consumption. However, the aforementioned dynamics demonstrate that the Karen maintain rice farming even as they engage in the market economy. Rather than discussing Karen rice farming and involvement with the market as alternatives, we must consider the two activities as dynamically interactive, wherein farmers adopt new inputs in response to urban migration and involvement with the market.

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Southeast Asia has a rich ecosystem of tropical forest that has been rapidly degraded. Malaysian Sarawak, like other areas in Southeast Asia, is the target of international criticism for commercial logging that causes deforestation and destroys native people’s livelihood. In fact, Sarawak still maintains a large portion of forested area and deforestation is not rapid compared to other areas in Southeast Asia. Abuse of minority people, who depend on the forests, through logging and development projects, is also commonly found in Southeast Asia. Therefore, it seems that commercial logging in Sarawak has been among the most criticized in Southeast Asia not only because of its environment impact, but also because of Sarawak’s social and political framework. This article examines the socio-political structure in relation to forest resources in Sarawak and considers recent changes in both NGO and government policy.
 Since the late 1980s, the Penan, a native people in the Upper Baram and Limban river basin, have blockaded logging roads to protest commercial logging. This movement attracted the commitment of foreign environmental activists to the international anti-logging campaign. Domestic NGOs alone were not powerful and easily suppressed by the government. The urban middle class is divided into ethnic clusters. Therefore, environmental degradation and the thread to Penan’s livelihood caused by the commercial logging did not become a public issue in Sarawak, and the Penan had to rely on foreign activists.
 Recently some changes are apparent. In the 1990s, the Sarawak government introduced a “Sustainable Forest Management” policy, including application for MTCC timber certification that actually started in 2002. NGOs and the native people’s movement have shifted from physical methods, such as blockades, to waging legal battles, and more local NGOs are assisting native people. A major issue is still the government policy that does not recognize native customary rights in the natural forests. But it is also necessary to find temporary and practical solutions to improve native livelihood. For that purpose, persistent dialogue among all concerned should be continued.

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