Choose a country's approach and see how well it built unity.
Which approach to national unity worked best?
Thailand: assimilation
- Chinese took Thai names and schooling.
- Southern Malay Muslims resisted.
It absorbed the Chinese community successfully.
It fuelled separatism in the south.
Singapore: multiculturalism
- Four official languages.
- Housing quotas from 1989.
No major race riots after 1969.
It kept fixed racial categories.
Indonesia: language and Pancasila
- Bahasa Indonesia in every school.
- Pancasila accepted several religions.
It built a shared identity across hundreds of groups.
Force in East Timor and Aceh failed to win loyalty.
Burma: Burman dominance
- Buddhism the state religion in 1961.
- Military force against ethnic armies.
It strengthened the identity of the Burman majority.
Ethnic wars continued throughout the period.