Social scientists convene for Southeast Asian studies conference
The Southeast Asia Research Group (SEAREG) held its annual North American conference at Boston University's Center for the Study of Asia from Dec. 5-7.
More than 60 participants heard detailed presentations from five SEAREG Fellows over the two days. The Fellows’ interests spanned various topics, methods and geographies across Southeast Asia. It was the 17th overall conference and second convening of the calendar year after City University of Hong Kong hosted the Asian edition in July.
“Boston University was a wonderful host for SEAREG’s 2024 North American meeting,” said Tom Pepinsky, Walter F. LaFeber Professor of Government and Public Policy at Cornell University and member of the SEAREG executive council. “Thanks to the support from our hosts, Joe Harris and Jeremy Menchik at Boston University, we enjoyed the high-quality research presentations and stimulating conversations between early career researchers and more senior scholars that make SEAREG such an important resource for social scientists working on Southeast Asia.”
The 2024 Winter SEAREG Fellows cohort included:
- Kuan-Wu Chen (University of South Carolina), whose research centers on “penal populism” in the Philippines under former president Rodrigo Duterte.
- Hui-Yuan Neo (Cornell University), whose work focuses on public perception in Malaysia and is interested in what strategies authoritarian regimes employ to regulate sensitive information when data transparency is necessary.
- Jae Hyun Park (University of Toronto), who has focused on entrepreneurism amongst rebel groups in Myanmar.
- Tuwanont Phattharathanasut (Academia Sinica), who has explored transnational youth activist networks in Hong Kong, Taiwan and other countries in the region.
- Shourya Sen (Princeton University), who has conducted extensive fieldwork in Laos to understand the entrenched legacies of the country’s revolution.
Sidney Jones, a senior adviser to the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) in Jakarta and adjunct professor at New York University, delivered the State of the Region keynote. Her remarks provided incisive analysis into recent developments in Myanmar, Indonesia (Papua and Aceh) and the Philippines (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao).
John Sidel, the Sir Patrick Gillam Chair in International and Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, gave the State of the Field speech. His remarks pushed scholars on the actual debates in the region. In advocating for give-and-take on big issues, he encouraged researchers to “disagree agreeably and soldier on.”
The final sessions of the conference provided mid-career scholars the opportunity to present nascent research. The first panel focused on “Identity, Conflict, and the Dynamics of Power” and featured presentations from Joel Selway (Brigham Young University), Matthew Nanes (Saint Louis University), Dotan Haim (Florida State University) and Amy Liu (University of Texas). The second explored “Mobilization, Resistance and Democratic Transformation” and included Mai Truong (Marquette University), Nick Kuipers (Princeton University) and Jeremy Ladd (Quinnipiac University).
The next SEAREG conference will be held at Mahidol University in Bangkok from July 8-10, 2025.
About SEAREG
Established in 2013, the Southeast Asia Research Group (SEAREG) highlights the best new research by young social scientists working on Southeast Asian politics and fosters a network of scholars in political science and allied disciplines who are working at the forefront of Southeast Asian studies. The program is based at the Duke Center for International Development and relies on generous support from the Henry Luce Foundation.