Attempting to explain government and politics for ten Southeast Asian countries in a single volume is an ambitious undertaking. Much has been written on the region in recent years, but most accounts focus on a single country or a single issue (such as democracy, or elections). There is, however, an obvious need for a concise, up-to-date, overview volume that addresses core political science issues — institutions of government, and the nature of political practice — in all Southeast Asian countries. In the writer's experience, academics, policy-makers, journalists and others have frequently spoken of such a need.

Several attempts have sought to meet such an objective in the past. Early works appeared soon after the term Southeast Asia was adopted — to define a war theatre during World War II — but the first detailed account was Government and Politics of Southeast Asia, edited by George Kahin. This was published by Cornell University Press in 1959, then reappeared in an extensively revised form in 1964. Each of the then eight countries (minus Brunei, and with Singapore as part of Malaysia) was examined in terms of four headings: historical background; socio-economic setting; the political process; and major problems. This was a seminal work, and nothing that followed has matched its quality.