Malaysia's Foreign Policy Under Mahathir

Paper Summary:

The post World War II period has seen the world work increasingly towards respecting the territorial sovereignty of nations. Although, admittedly, geopolitical tensions, culture and religion continue to be divisive issues in pockets, the arena of international relations has shifted its focus from geographical balance of power concepts to global economic power. It is in the light of this background that Mahathir Mohammed's ambitions to establish Malaysia as a strong political and economic middle order in the world begins to assume significance. Indeed, as this paper demonstrates, it can be argued that Malaysia's foreign policy under Mahathir was one of strategic brilliance since it succeeded in building Malaysia as a political and economic force in South East Asia that could not be taken lightly. More important, if the core concern of any foreign policy is to safeguard the national interest, it can be said that Malaysia's foreign policy under the Mahathir administration succeeded in achieving this admirably, by emphasizing on the substantive, economic results of relations, while simultaneously protecting Malaysia's identity as an independent nation.

From the Paper:

"Mahathir harnessed the Islam element in his foreign policy to meet several objectives. One, it helped his administration co-opt the rhetoric of its Islamic opponents. Two, by re-prioritizing Malaysia's links with Muslim countries, Malaysia was able to not only establish a distinct national identity for itself, it was able to assert its desire and will to the West that it would seek its own growth path. This is in stark contrast with other developing nations who grew much too reliant on Western foreign aid and were, therefore, influenced by Western interests. Three, the assertion of Malaysia's religious identity complemented Mahathir's vision of a south-south co-operation against the dominance of the North, namely, the United States and Europe. Four, although trade figures do not reflect that Malaysia achieved its goal of increased trade and economic integration with the Middle East and other Muslim countries, it did benefit significantly from its relationships with Islamic countries in terms of aid, and as sources for external loans for its development projects."

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