The adjective “cultural” does not refer here to the actors’ motives in a conflict, but to the issue of
the conflict. When defining a conflict as “cultural” it is not relevant “why” there is a dispute, but
“what” is in dispute.
The present study will concentrate on Southeast Asia, i.e., the ten member states of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The study seeks to establish empirically what shapes
and patterns cultural conflicts in Asia and Southeast Asia have and how they have developed. Our
analysis will be based on five steps. As a first step we define cultural conflicts. The second step
leads from concept formation to the empirical level. In the third step, we provide a condensed
overview of culturally-influenced conflicts in Asia. In the fourth step we concern ourselves with cultural
conflicts in Southeast Asia. And finally we summarize our findings.