SECTION 6: CONCLUSION This final section summarizes briefly the facts that have been examined in the paper. We are not seeking to be ‘conclusive’ on any of the trends and actors discussed, so we leave the reader with some points which require further inquiry. When considering the severe state of the economic crisis in most countries studied for this paper and the widespread economic inequality facing most communities in those countries at present, the criminalization of poverty has clearly become an important tool in the playbook of contemporary fascists and fundamentalists in the subregions examined. Furthermore, both the South and Southeast Asia subregions have witnessed a significant increase in military control and normalization in governance and civic life – as well as military expansion – which could be contextualized further by understanding historical geopolitical events that have shaped and impacted these regions. For example, factors such as military relations between some of the nation-states explored in this paper and powerful global North nation-states—such as the US who ultimately benefit from the global sale and trading of arms as well as from more generally militarized countries in the global South over which they can exert greater control – cannot be overlooked in our analysis. These interconnected patterns become obvious in the context of Afghanistan. Madeleine Rees, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Secretary General, says of Afghanistan: “Peace cannot be realised through 20 years of violent intervention, investment in an extreme version of militarised security, and economic sub-contracting to private interests. Investments in people and their economic and social rights have been rendered insignificant by the budget for security.”250 Why is such a 360-degree analysis of the context important? Because there is, at times, a tendency within some Asian feminist analysis and scholarship to identify contemporary fascist and fundamentalist forces, trends, and actors as “simply the way things have always been.” 250 Rees, M. (n.d.) Finding Truth, Elevating Perspective: Changing the Narrative on Afghanistan. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). https://www.wilpf.org/focus-countries/afghanistan/afghanistan-changing-narrative/ 68