ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the frames of politico-cultural struggles created by Western colonialism in Asia. Colonialism and its enduring impacts have vanished from the international relations (IR) agenda on Asia. Europeans migrated to Asia to alleviate demographic and economic pressures at home. To consolidate colonial control, the colonizers imposed a 'modern' form of education. This is where the thought of Jose Rizal Mercado enlightens. Spanish colonialism had tethered the idea of a progressive Filipino society to the exploitative structures of the colonial state and its ideological handmaiden, the Church. A mestizo of Indio and Chinese parentage, Rizal combined within him 'middle class' privileges compounded by the social tragedy of being born a colonial subject. In his political pamphlets, Rizal underscored Spain's destruction of Filipino traditions, especially poetry, songs, and laws. Spanish colonialism rendered anything 'foreign and incomprehensible' as inherently superior. Nationalism within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states needs to heed Rizal's admonition about straightjacketing education for political purposes.
