Synopsis:

This chapter identifies key external or global factors and internal or local factors, which have the capacity of directly or indirectly influencing state performance in Southeast Asia with a special emphasis on Myanmar, Vietnam and Singapore. The aim is to develop a theoretical framework that delineates external and internal boundaries for state maneuvering. In identifying the external factors affecting state performance the chapter divides the global economy into developed markets, transitional and emerging markets, and ‘bottom of the pyramid’ (BOP) exemplified by Singapore, Vietnam and Myanmar, that focusing on how the state operate in these different kind of markets. This provides the key signifiers for identifying the external ‘room’ or set of constraints that states have to take onto account when performing in an international context. In identifying the internal factors affecting state performance, the chapter employs an institutional based view. It focuses on the dynamic interaction between institutions as well as between institutions and societal agency. The key argument of the chapter is that the state find itself sandwiched between external and internal factors that together define the outer boundaries and internal size of the ‘room’ in which the state has to perform.