Abstract

The chapter examines how transnational currents of political thought and national ideological formations are intertwined, in the context of South and Southeast Asia. Focusing on trajectories of liberalism; communism; nationalism; religious ideologies; and ideologies of race, indigenity, and caste, it suggests that ideology constitutes an important terrain for analysing the dynamics of colonial and postcolonial politics. Rather than provide an exhaustive survey, this chapter seeks to diagnose the broad contours of the principal ideological fields across the regions and establish a basis for further comparative inquiry. The conclusion notes the absence of the theme of ideology in the scholarship on South and Southeast Asian politics, regions which are themselves products of ideology.