     1.3 Overview of This Chapter In the remainder of this introductory chapter we review the ‘state of statelessness’ in Asia, beginning in Section 1.4 by traversing the ratification and implementation of international law including both statelessness-specific treaties and general human rights treaties pertinent to statelessness. This is followed by a brief overview of regional law, including the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration and ASEAN’s hitherto tepid response to the phenomenon of statelessness in the region. This section also includes a sweep of the range of constitutional rights to nationality across Asia and of ordinary laws on citizenship, including modes of acquisition and loss. In Section 1.5 we provide further context to statelessness in Asia as well as map the core themes that emerge from our examination of statelessness in Asia in relation to causes. These include the wide range of ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic diversity in the region and how these factors interrelate and contribute to statelessness; the legacies of colonialism and how they continue to reverberate across Asia in terms of concepts of nationality and citizenship, as well as ‘insiders’ versus ‘outsiders’; the impact of the achievement of independent statehood and international recognition in the second half of the twentieth century in many Asian states on the construction of citizenship and the creation of statelessness; and how contemporary politics of nation-building may be viewed as an outcome of history as well as of current contestations over identity and, many times, power and resources. We conclude Section 1.5 by drawing out intersecting vulnerabilities which include migration, gender, age/minors, racialization, and national security. Finally, in Section 1.6 we offer some preliminary thoughts on frameworks of analysis and future research agendas, including challenges and prospects for reform. 1.4 Statelessness: State of the Law in Asia 1.4.1 International Law Until recently, the protection of stateless persons had tended to be overshadowed by the international priority to protect refugees. This is notwithstanding that the protection of stateless persons and the prevention and reduction of statelessness are longstanding objectives of the international community. In the aftermath of World War II, the Secretary-General of the newly constituted United Nations established https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009399555.003 Published online by Cambridge University Press