New Books on SE Asia: Jane Ferguson’s “Repossessing Shanland…”

Literati and politicians have constructed a virtual Shan state that lives on in popular media, rock music, and Buddhist ritual.

Coercing mobility: Territory, displacement & SE Asian Muslim Movements

Displacement is a key contributor to the trajectories of “Muslim” politics around the region...

Food availability, Indonesia’s commodity balance and the trap of Malthusian Optimism

A recent research paper casts doubt on the government’s ability to accurately determine available supplies.

NBSEAS on “Chasing Freedom: The Philippines Long Journey to Democratic Ambivalence”

Adele Webb offers a spirited defence of what she calls 'democratic ambivalence': the mixed feelings many Filipinos harbour about their own hybrid political system.

With ASEAN snub, Myanmar junta signals return to Cold War isolationism

Military officials have vowed to “learn to walk with only a few friends”, and weather international isolation and economic sanctions.

The Defence Technology Institute: growing status inside the Thai Ministry of Defence

Reforms permitted the Institute to transition from peripheral actor to resonant voice inside the Ministry.

No way home and no way in! COVID-19 and Indonesian workers in Japan

Irresponsible sending agencies in Indonesia and stakeholders in Japan have found ways to manipulate and take advantage of a precarious cohort of migrant workers.

Whose history, whose future? Creating a new legacy of shared maritime heritage

Proactive engagement, people-to-people connections, developing mutual trust and respect is essential to protect Perth for the future.

Hệ thống Kafala và Lao Động Giúp Việc Nhà từ Việt Nam: Tham Nhũng và Nhà Báo Bị Khóa Mồm

Luật sửa đổi thiếu thốn, tham nhũng tràn lan, và nhà báo bị đàn áp ở Việt Nam khiến các chị em giúp việc nhà tiếp tục bị tổn thương bên Ả Rập Xê Út.

Forgotten art history: the art of Chinese-Indonesian women in the 20th century

Uncovering transnational and gendered experiences reveals a far richer and more multifaceted picture of Indonesian art and identity.

A new Indonesian capital city: conflict pending

Poor consultation with local residents and traditional land owners, elite links and opaque deals with concession holders leave the new capital project vulnerable.

COVID-19 and a new social contract for education in the Philippines

The pandemic did not trigger educational access issues for those living in urban poor communities; it just made them worse.

What does the US-China AI rivalry mean for Southeast Asia?

...railing against Chinese government-dominated initiatives and the Digital Silk Road is not an adequate strategy, but other countries could improve their own strategies.

The Kafala system and Vietnam’s domestic workers: corruption and a silenced press

Insufficient legal revisions, corruption and press suppression in Vietnam leaves domestic workers vulnerable in Saudi Arabia.

Unsettled Frontiers: The author’s account

States may be more adept at initiating market formation than managing the market’s unruly and uncertain outcomes, which are particularly devastating for vulnerable and minority populations.

The dynamics of political contestation within Nahdlatul Ulama’s 34th Muktamar

NU’s dependence on political influence will make it difficult to maintain neutrality and critique social and political problems.

NBSEAS “Cambodia: From Pol Pot to Hun Sen and Beyond”

Despite best efforts to fashion Cambodia into a model liberal democracy, Hun Sen and the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) have eliminated all opposition.

Erasing the untouchables: the Indonesian way

For many years the Indonesian Government seemed determined to crush the villainy. That resolve is now being questioned.

Human rights in the age of Southeast Asian extractivism

Analysing the development of Filipino, Thai and Indonesian laws and policies for the achievement of the human right to a healthy environment.

The inequities in Indonesia’s vaccine rollout

Health authorities should focus their attention on remedying the notion that vaccine side effects are more dangerous than COVID-19 itself

ပူးတွဲကြေညာချက် – မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် စစ်တပ်အာဏာသိမ်းခြင်း တစ်နှစ်ပြည့်

ထိုးစစ်များအတွင်း အစုလိုက်အပြုံလိုက် သတ်ဖြတ်ခြင်းများအပါအဝင် လက်နက်မဲ့ အရပ်သားများကို ပစ်မှတ်ထားသတ်ဖြတ်ခြင်းနှင့် ထိခိုက်ဒဏ်ရာရစေခြင်းများကို ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ ရှုတ်ချသည်။

Joint statement: One year after the military coup in Myanmar

We deplore the targeted killing and maiming of unarmed civilians, including via massacres during recent military offensives launched in many parts of the country.

Embedded myths of Malaysia’s New Economic Policy

Reproducing postcolonial subjectivities perpetuates the myth that affirmative action addresses individual deficits rather than systemic disadvantages.

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Hydro-power projects and cultural rights for Bunong communities in Cambodia

The LSS2 dam blocked 2 of the Mekong River Basin's largest rivers, with serious social, economic and cultural impacts.