Faculty & Centre

Wars, armed combat, and military occupations are as old as humanity with conflict arising over mates, food and subsequently territory and material resources and ultimately power, control, and domination. The weapons of conflict have also evolved in sophistication, efficacy, and destructiveness with little sign of abatement. There are presently scores of conflict hotspots (of varying degree) across the globe with others simmering under the surface. This paper details examples drawn from Southeast Asia as an exploratory study to develop a compendium and potential typology set of wars and armed conflicts across the region over time. The aim is to discern patterns of occurrence, and more importantly, primary driving forces and/or ‘push’ factors that precipitated conflict in the first place. Scrutiny and analysis of discernible patterns might reveal certain conditions and situational commonalities that alert us to the need of making concerted efforts to avoid similar occurrences in the future.

This paper explores various notions of masculinity among young Malay men in Brunei Darussalam. Using interview data from 16 male and female informants, it elucidates other forms of self-expressions and identities in contrast to the stereotypical and traditional notion of masculinity. While the data attest to the normative values and ways of being men recognized by the mainstream society and institutions in Brunei, it also found a significant “modern” approach and perception of expressing different notions of masculinity. This pilot study sheds light on the norms and values that define and shape masculinity among young Malay men within their socio-cultural contexts of contemporary Brunei Darussalam.

During the past two decades the Southeast Asian region (ASEAN) has experienced a range of serious crises affecting the tourism industry and related services, including natural and environmental disasters, epidemics and pandemics, global financial slumps, terrorist actions and political and military conflict. The latest challenge has been the “Novel Coronavirus” (Covid-19/SARS-CoV-2) pandemic which began to make a profound impact from the first half of 2020. It has had damaging consequences for tourism development and economic growth in all the ASEAN countries, but some have suffered more than others. These difficulties are set to continue in 2023 and into 2024; though there are signs of recovery and of the resilience of the tourism industry. The paper examines this process of post-Covid-19 recovery, taking the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or Laos) as a case study, and giving consideration to the continuities and discontinuities in the tourism industry and the transition from the environment of lockdowns and restrictions to the re-opening of borders and the increasing movements of people. Tourism in the Lao PDR is rather neglected in the literature and attention to how the country is faring in its attempts to retrieve its 2019 pre-pandemic position is crucial in attempting to understand how the tourism industry there will develop in the next several years. Tourism was the major source of foreign exchange in 2019 and its decline has therefore amplified the economic pressures which the Lao PDR is continuing to experience.

During the past two decades the Southeast Asian region has experienced a range of major crises. Its substantial tourism industry has often taken the brunt of these difficult and testing events, from natural and environmental calamities, epidemics and pandemics, downturns and financial slumps in the world economy, terrorism and political conflict. The latest peril, this time on a global scale, is the ‘Novel Coronavirus’ (Covid-19/SARS-CoV-2) pandemic; it has already had serious consequences for Southeast Asia and its tourism development and will continue to do so. Since the SARS epidemic of 2002-2004 the Southeast Asian economies have become increasingly integrated into those of East Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong). China’s contribution to tourism in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has grown exponentially. This paper surveys some of the most significant literature on crises, and specifically Covid-19, to gauge their consequences for tourism in Southeast Asia. By comparing experiences across the region, we highlight the issues raised by the over dependence of some countries on visitor arrivals from East Asia, the problems generated in certain cases by multiple, sequential or coinciding crises, and some of the responses to these. A common focus of crises research has been on dramatic and usually unpredictable natural disasters and on human-generated global economic downturns but less attention has been given to disease and contagion, which is both natural and socio-cultural in its origins and effects. In the case of Covid-19, it is a situation that evokes a pre-crisis period of normality, a liminal transition and a post-crisis ‘new normality’.

This paper considers whether regional digital partnership offers an effective strategy for post-pandemic recovery. To ground the paper in critical reflection, we combine personal impressions of our current situation with a discussion of the ways to achieve meaningful digital partnership. Drawing on work as varied as Thomas Kuhn, Bong Joon-ho, Nikolai Kondratieff and Piyawat Sivarak, the paper argues that our future wellbeing is predicated on our ability to bridge the digital divide and cooperate effectively for mutual benefit.

This paper makes the case for a more spontaneous approach to collecting data from the field in qualitative studies of labour migration rather than an overly planned one. It shows the benefit of this supplemental method in fine-grained investigations by illustrating how my own fieldwork in a circle of the Indonesian Chinese migrant workers transitioned from intentionally planned to a more impromptu engagement. A defining feature of ‘hanging around’ as method is the fieldworker’s conscious effort to not view the migrant workers as simply informants and go beyond that. It involves the researcher humanizing the interviewees as people who have motivations and concerns as migrant labour other than purely pecuniary and in further establishing a connection with them before proceeding to interview.

The COVID-19 pandemic calls for a collective response at the global and regional level. Otherwise, some nations may be left behind and the potential for the contagion to return remains high. As advanced regional blocs, the EU and ASEAN have a major responsibility to their members for coordinating health protection measures and access to vaccines, maintaining the mobility of people and goods, and supporting their economy. The pandemic is therefore a test for regions. They must demonstrate that they are at least making national measures more effective. This paper seeks to determine whether the EU and ASEAN have passed the COVID-19 test. It does so by analysing their responses in 2020 when the countries were hit by the first wave of contagion. The first section of the paper considers their attitude and action when the initial cases appeared in Europe and Southeast Asia in the early part of 2020. While the second section focuses on vaccines and the policies adopted in each region. The paper concludes that overall, the responses of the two regions to their COVID-19 test were late and insufficient.

The politics of identity is central to the study of race and ethnicity. This paper considers the utility of several methodological approaches relevant to making sense of ethnic identity. It details the contributions of narrative, performative, and dialogical understandings of identity-formation and the ways in which they intersect and inform one another. The paper further highlights their application to ethnicity through four case studies in Malaysia and Indonesia. Although analytically distinct approaches, it is important not to treat the three elements in isolation or separately. A performative or dialogical approach is only meaningful if the narratives implicit in both are uncovered and analyzed, while narratives gain greater import if they are regarded as dialogical. As this paper argues, if triangulated and used in careful combination, they can render a fuller sense of ethnic identity-formation and its complexities.

The South China Sea is a significant maritime region both strategically and economically. Its valuable resources provide major economic benefits for the countries of the surrounding region. Maintaining the maritime security of Brunei’ territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) against illegal activity is key to ensuring the long-term viability of its benefits for the country. This paper considers the effectiveness of maritime co-ordination and information sharing in combatting illegal fishing activities within Brunei Darussalam’s EEZ and the challenges it faces.

Due to geopolitical tensions, such as those brought about by COVID-19 and the US-China trade war, many multinationals have been closing factories in China and relocating to countries along the Mekong such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. As a result, these countries will inevitably experience more international commerce in the future and attention will focus on their legislative and judicial systems. While much has been written about these countries’ laws, scant attention has been paid to a common feature in their development, the pervasive influence of Japanese private law. Since 1996, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has played a major role in the modernization of law in the region. Through its Legal and Judicial Development Project, JICA has provided technical assistance for the reform of codes and the training of lawyers in the use of those codes. This paper critically examines JICA’s contribution to the rule of law in the region. It considers whether Japanese soft power (as manifested by JICA) complements or is at cross-purposes with projects of other organisations and initiatives (such as, Asian Development Bank and World Bank). It then evaluates the extent to which JICA’s work is currently attuned to or has the potential to be made more responsive to the social and economic aspirations of the relevant countries.

Places are social constructs. They become individuated and significant when imbued with meaning through people’s lived experience, usage, and imagery. This paper discusses the construction of Patanian places in Thailand’s Deep South, a region consisting of the provinces of Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala, where the Malays constitute the ethnic majority. Using the Krisek Mosque, the Tomb of Sultan Ismail Shah, and the former home of Haji Sulong as examples, the paper shows how Patanian Malay narratives about these places illustrate their sorrow about the demise of the historical Malay kingdom of Patani and their community’s strained political relationship with the Thai state and nation. Viewed collectively, these places constitute a landscape of grief for the Patanian Malays.

Landslides have been a concern for many residents in the Penanjong area of Tutong District. This is due largely to the proximity of their homes to the steep slope of sandstone ridges in the area. Affected residents have adapted to the condition as there is no landslide risk management for the area. The paper therefore aims to study the coping strategies of the residents. It focussed on two locations, where people are most affected. The paper employs the typology created by Sudmeier-Rieux et al. (2012) and Setiawan et al. (2014), as a basis to understand how residents cope with landslides. Data were acquired through interviews with affected residents as well as an officer in the public works department responsible for landslide response. The terrain was also examined and analysed using topographic maps and GIS. The study found that (a) landslides in the area were not deadly but impacted the affected household in terms of cost to deal with clean-up, as well as disruption to daily life activities; and that (b) response from government was slow and limited. The residents’ coping strategy could be described as passive acceptance of landslide risks, dealing with emergency and installing some preventive measures. They are generally left to deal with the landslides by themselves with limited access to government help because the authority regards landslide risk as low due to their small scale. They residents have develop coping capabilities at their own expense to deal with landslides, which appears to be triggered largely by urbanisation processes. In the main, residents were able to deal with landslide risk on their own, although some revealed that they suffer mental anxiety because of the possibility of landslides.

It is a commonly held assumption that while migrants can contribute to economic growth, their impacts on population composition may also generate socio-cultural tensions and political instability. As such, ethnic diversity of a province or a community may have a positive or negative affect on regional development. This raises the question of whether impacts of migration on ethnic diversity correlate with economic growth. Taking Indonesia as the locus of the study, the following paper presents new empirical data in response to that question. By analysing statistics on ethnic groups and regional composition derived primarily from the Indonesia 2010 Population Census and cross referencing them with recent ethnic classifications and fractionalisation and polarisation indexes, a fuller overview of ethnic diversity across the archipelago and its relationship to migration and economic growth is gained. Based on the data, a mixed pattern emerges on the role ethnic diversity plays in intermediating the relationship between migration and economic growth. The findings suggest a correlation between indicators of ethnic diversity and economic regions but in less developed regions in particular, other variables also modulate the relation between migration and economic growth. While ethnic diversity appears to be a primary variable in more developed regions.

Proposing constitutional reform and the process of establishing it are two distinct matters. The former is largely a normative projection of what could be whilst the latter involves the manner in which reform is brought about. In reality, translating proposals into accepted practice involves overcoming legacies of the past. Whether or not they can persist over time is a process that is invariably fraught and often generates mixtures of trade-off and compromise. The following paper examines the merits or otherwise of a gradualist approach to constitution-making. By anatomizing the constitutional reform process that took place in Indonesia from 1999-2002, it considers whether or not such an approach is appropriate for establishing meaningful constitutionalism in plural and divided societies.

Many years ago, I went to Nanjing regularly to do fieldwork on Muslim communities and mosques in Nanjing. I had the opportunity to visit the tombs of Zheng He and the King of Borneo. At that time, I believed that the person lying in the tomb was the King of Borneo. It was recorded on Chinese sources that two kings died in China following the voyages of Zheng He to China. One was the King of Sulu, buried in Shandong province. The other one was the King of Borneo, buried in Nanjing. When I came to work in Brunei, I noticed that there was a street named Jalan Ong Sum Ping. I asked my students who was Ong Sum Ping. They all said that they had no idea, and he was probably a legendary figure. As a historian, it aroused my curiosity and interest. There are few local sources on the person. However, there are many Chinese sources on the person, especially on the Chinese websites, even though many are problematic and unreliable. As a result, I was motivated to write this paper and to rectify the Chinese sources. In the course of investigation, I discovered that Ong Sum Ping and the King of Borneo buried in Nanjing are related, and that the Ming government had made a mistake.

While the myth of the exotic Oriental is a subject of rejection and subversion in conventional postcolonial studies, in contemporary studies of Southeast Asia, self-exoticism is evident at both the individual and national levels. It is deployed to achieve positional status in a globalised world. This paper investigates what Graham Huggan (2001) terms the postcolonial exotic, particularly in terms of a re-politicisation of the female body in contemporary literature concerning Southeast Asia. It also draws on Christopher B. Balme’s theory of performative metonymy (where postcolonies mimic the expectations of the ex-colonisers) to foreground the workings of Huggan’s postcolonial exotic in selected texts. The two primary texts selected for this purpose are Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan’s Sarong Party Girls (2016), which traces the practice of postcolonial exotic through the self-exoticising of the female body, and Amir Falique’s The Forlorn Adventure (2014) in which the presentation of Brunei can be read as an extension of the politics of the female body. Additionally, a reading of the practice of postcolonial exoticism in David Henry Hwang’s play M.Butterfly (1989) will assist in tracing the development of the postcolonial exotic from the 20th century to 21st century literature. The paper considers the applicability or otherwise of both Huggan’s and Balme’s theory in the contemporary literature-scape of Southeast Asia. It contends they have utility in understanding further the persistence of the myth of the exotic and the extent to which global consumer culture and commodification affects the politics of postcolonies.

This paper explores the unique experiences of individuals within polygamous families, specifically from the lens of the offspring – a viewpoint not commonly considered before making decisions to enter this arrangement. Drawing on interviews with eight Malay Muslim Bruneians, this study provides insight into the significance of family cohesion on the lives of half-siblings. Relations between half-siblings are heavily influenced by other family members, namely the father’s fairness and the mother’s acceptance. Although there is a spectrum in the level of cohesion between half-siblings, there is no denying that polygamy brings with it significantly more negative effects than positive ones on the participants’ lives regarding their social development, interpersonal relations, financial stability, and academic performance. This extends the current studies on such families in Brunei and documents how the offspring within polygamous families navigate their way through living in a non-conventional family structure.

Marginality, vulnerability and disadvantage are key concerns of the social sciences. Nevertheless, state-business-investment agendas, policies, and practices in Southeast Asia regularly downplay these issues. This paper examines the applicability of a precarity framework for deciphering the forces, processes, and interests shaping contemporary forms of jeopardy in the region. Using a selection of illustrative examples, it demonstrates that conceptualising precarity enhances the efficacy and scope of research on everyday marginality, disenfranchisement, and inequality. By focusing on the interplay of political, economic, social, and psychological factors, the precarity lens provides a nuanced and comprehensive understanding of current vulnerabilities and insecurities in Southeast Asia.

This exploratory study seeks to detail propositions and a conceptual framework that factor ethnic heterogeneity and exclusive institutions in determining public service motivation (PSM). Drawing on scholarly work on PSM, heterogeneity and institutions, our paper suggests that in assessing an individual’s PSM and chances of joining the public service, ethnic heterogeneity matters. It matters because while personal attributes - like education, personal values and identity, political beliefs, socialisation - are important in determining one’s public service motivation, they are not the sole determinants. As the paper highlights, an ethnically heterogeneous environment with the potential of producing numerous types of exclusive institutions can influence one’s perception of the public service, alter one’s motivation to serve in the public service or even eliminate one’s chances of joining the civil service.

This paper contends that a state’s political-economic dynamics can have a key influence over the primary aims and rationale of conducting transdisciplinary projects in the Global South (TPGS). By reflecting on fieldwork experiences in the study of dam-induced problems in northeast Cambodia, it problematises a tendency to overstate the impact of methodological challenges such as language barriers, internet access or unexpected funding expenses on project efficacy. Instead, the paper employs a social-conflict lens to detail the political-economic agency of actors and the preponderant influence this can bring to bear on the aims of a transdisciplinary project. In doing so, it foregrounds often-inimical and asymmetrical relationships that form among various non-academic stakeholders during a TPGS to significantly shape project outcomes.