ABSTRACT
The combined impact of the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1989-which marked the end of both the Cold War and of the dominant ideological debate of the twentieth century-and of the approaching millennium has predictably launched an array of millennial theories which claim to predict the future of the international order. This foray into macro-level speculation also occurred as the year 1000 approached and a host of dire predictions about the end of the world or of the coming new age abounded. The concern here, however, will be with recently articulated theories that address future socio-political, economic and cultural possibilities. An examination of ethnopolitics and ethnopolicy in Malaysia over the past three decades will illustrate the salience of ethnocultural identity in Asia and will question the somewhat premature assumptions about a ‘new world order’, the coming ‘clash of civilizations’, and the ‘end of history’.
