Religious terrorism in Southeast Asia: perception and threat

Abstract

Terrorism is not a new phenomenon in South Asia. During the Cold War period, for instance, almost all countries in the region confronted with the left wing terrorism that sought to overthrow the capitalist economic and social order. Countries in the region faced and are still facing with several facets of terrorist acts from nationalist-separatist to religious fundamentalist terrorism. for some times terrorist threat in the region was "localized" in scope for it considers being internal problem of individual country. Hence, major powers in region were not intersted in the issue and treated it as minor localized conflict within the region.