ANU Southeast Asia Institute Student Research Symposium 2024

Given the diversity of Southeast Asia and the entrenched traditions of country-specific research, how should we develop more explicitly regional approaches and methodologies? Scholarly efforts to conceptualise Southeast Asian politics, society, and security at a regional level are fraught with difficulty. The region’s vibrant diversity poses significant challenges in terms of linguistic competence, social access, and local knowledge required for substantive empirical research. Simultaneously, geopolitical and geoeconomic trends, ecological challenges, and socio-cultural connections often transcend national boundaries, demanding approaches that can account for system effects, contingent spillovers, and zones of exceptions. In addition, the political history behind Southeast Asia’s institutionalisation as an epistemological category compels us to approach critically the idea of ‘the region’.

Responding to these challenges, this Symposium investigates two sets of meeting points: (i) between knowledge grounded in country-specific empirics and explicitly regional methods and theorising; and (ii) between separate research traditions and deliberate attempts to integrate findings. In seeking both theoretically sophisticated and empirically grounded research on the region of Southeast Asia, how can scholarly research capture the relationships between continuity and change, and between statist choices and diffused externalities, for example?

This ANU Southeast Asia Institute (SEAI) Student Research Symposium will consist of a mix of student presentations and interactive panels with Southeast Asian experts.

A stellar program alongside student panels include: 

• State-of-the-Field Keynote Conversation with Professor Evelyn Goh and Professor Paul Hutchcroft.
• Special Launch of Recorded Resources featuring ANU Scholars on Conducting Research in Southeast Asia —an invaluable guide for researchers.
• Policy Keynote by a pre-eminent policy practitioner from Southeast Asia, offering unique and timely regional expertise.
• Publishing Roundtable with distinguished scholars of Southeast Asia, from ANU and internationally —gain valuable insights on publishing research on the region.
• Professionalisation Workshop on navigating the academic job market, led by mentors and specialists in Southeast Asian International Relations, Political Science, and History in Australia.

Please register to attend this Symposium as seats are limited, and please select the appropriate ticket - for catering purpose, we need you to register for '2-Day Ticket', 'Single Day Ticket -26 Nov only', and 'Single Day Ticket -27 Nov only'.  

The Policy Keynote (on 26 November at 5pm) registration will be a separate process, please register here. 

Come and support our student presenters and network with Southeast Asian scholars and experts at ANU!

This event is supported by the ASEAN-Australia Centre of the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the ANU Southeast Asia Institute, with additional support also from the ANU Indonesia Institute, the ANU Malaysia Institute, the ANU Philippines Institute, and the ANU Myanmar Research Centre.  

Image credit: Ratchada Train Night Market, Bangkok by aotaro, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

See full program with paper's abstracts HERE

Program

Day 1. Tuesday 26 November 2004
All sessions: Hedley Bull Building, ANU (Please refer to our directional signs on the day.)

8.30-9.00am: Arrival and Registration

Venue: Atrium, Hedley Bull Building

9.00-9.30am: Welcome and Opening Remarks

9.40-10.30am: How Do We Study Southeast Asia as a Region?

The program opens with a conversation led by Hutchcroft and Goh on the Symposium’s theme of studying Southeast Asia as a region. How can we approach this diverse and complex region to conduct research with integrity and attention to detail? Do those coming from comparative politics and comparative international relations have different insights, and how can we build across and beyond these approaches and literatures?

• Professor Paul Hutchcroft, Australian National University
• Professor Evelyn Goh, Australian National University

Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (HB1), Hedley Bull Building

10.30-11.00am:  Morning Tea and Networking

Venue: Atrium, Hedley Bull Building

11.00am-12.30pm: Student Panel – Parallel Sessions

Panel 1. Ontological Security and Digital Lives

• Ziran Zhao, Monash University
  Malaysia Beyond Root Narrative: Malaysian Chinese’s Media Practices in Little Red Book

• Lynrose Jane Genon, Queensland University of Technology
  'Digital Peacebuilding': Examining Young Women Leaders' Use of Social Media to Build Peace in the Philippines

• Kriswanda Krishnapatria, University of Melbourne
  Digital Polarisation in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Study of Kaskus in Indonesia and 'Dutertards' in the Philippines

• Minh Son To, Nanyang Technological University
  Counter-Imaginaries, Ideological Residuum, and Postcolonial Ontological Security: Southeast Asia against the Ukraine and Gaza Wars

• Chair and Discussant: Dr Nicholas Chan, Australian National University

Venue: Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building

Panel 2. Governance, Society, and Resistance

• Len Ang, Australian National University
  The Trajectory of Cambodia’s Local Governance Officials: Pre-Reform, Reform, and Post Reform

• Indra Surya Ramadhan, Australian National University
  Regime Preferences and the Struggle for Liberal Democracy in Southeast Asia: A Conjoint Experiment Framework

• Kay Thwe Phyo, Flinders University
  Crisis and Education: Voices from Myanmar’s Higher Education Teachers

• Nyo Mee Oo, Flinders University
  How Do the Vulnerable Groups in Myanmar Use Non-Violent Tactics Especially via Digital Media Platforms to Resist Military Forces after the 2021 Coup, and What Role Does This Community Solidarity Play in Sustaining the Resistance Movement?

• Chair: Hanh Nguyen, Australian National University

• Discussant: Hunter Marston, Australian National University

Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (HB1), Hedley Bull Building

Panel 3. Statecraft and Strategy

• Bowen Yao, Nanyang Technological University
  The Rise of Hedging in Southeast Asia: A Historical Institutional Review

• Viet Dung Trinh, University of Queensland
  Securitization versus Non-Securitization: Vietnam’s Different Responses to Sino-centric Security Challenges

• Nguyen The Phuong, UNSW Canberra
  Vietnam’s Evolving Strategic Space: A Strong Maritime-Oriented Continental Country in the 21st Century?

• Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, Australian National University
  The Lawyers of the Sea: How Identity, Coalitions and Diplomacy Redefine Indonesia’s Archipelag

• Binyi Yang, Nanyang Technological University
  Data Sovereignty in the Digital Age: ASEAN's Strategic Integration of Smart City Technolog

• Chair and Discussant: Minh Phuong Vu, Australian National University

Venue: Seminar Room 3 (HB3), Hedley Bull Building

12.30-1.30pm:  Lunch and Networking

Venue: Atrium, Hedley Bull Building

1.30-3.00pm: Launching the ANU SEAI Original Recording Series: Southeast Asia from the Ground Up

'Southeast Asia from the Ground Up: Researching the Region?' is a seven-episode series produced and directed by Emir Syailendra, featuring interviews with six scholars at different career stages, from recent PhD graduates to established experts. The series offers insights into the design, execution, and writing of research about Southeast Asia. It is the second interview series produced by the ANU SEAI. This session will launch and preview the series.

• Chair and Producer: Emir Syailendra, Australian National University

Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (HB1), Hedley Bull Building

3.00-3.15m:  Afternoon Tea and Networking

Venue: Atrium, Hedley Bull Building

3.15-4.45pm: Student Panel – Parallel Sessions

Panel 4. History and Boundaries

• Hwee Ping Teo, RMIT University
  Conceptualising the Use of Historical Multi-Lingual Sources in Southeast Asia

• Angshuman Choudhury, National University of Singapore
  Borderlands as Scholarly Bridges: Can Myanmar’s Borders Show Us an 'Asian Way' of Doing Collaborative Research?

• Lohit Roy, University of Melbourne
  Constitutive Others: Power, Hierarchy and the Census in British Burma

• Maxime Herinckx, University of Melbourne
  Geographic and Conceptual Boundaries: Illiberal Peace-Building in Southeast Asia and Beyond

• Lin Pu and Kevin Nielsen M Agojo

  Presenter: Lin Pu, Australian National University
  How Does Populist Foreign Policy Reinforce Illiberal Practices? Philippine Law Enforcement Cooperation with China under Duterte

• Chair and Discussant: Tommy Chai, Australian National University

Venue: Institutes Boardroom, HC Coombs Extension Building

Panel 5. Religion, Culture, and Sexuality

• Lim Yun, Nanyang Technological University
  The Politics of Sugar Dating in Singapore: Exploring (Post)feminist Possibilities of the Sexual Subjec

• Win Pike Myo and Kanokwan Tharawan
  
  Presenter: Win Pike Myo, Mahidol University 
  Healthcare Gaps for Myanmar Political Migrants: Regional Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Mae Sot

• Dyah Kattika, Australian National University
  Indonesia’s Young Anti-Feminists?: Capturing the Socially Conservative Faction within The
  Student Movements

• Chair and Discussant: Dr Eva Nisa, Australian National University

Venue: Seminar Room 3 (HB3), Hedley Bull Building

Panel 6. Dynamics of Thought, Practice, and Regionalism

• Quah Say Jye, University of Cambridge
  'Asian Values' and the Liberal International Order: Southeast Asian Studies as Global Intellectual History

• Van Quan Nguyen and Minh Hoang Nguyen

  Presenter: Van Quan Nguyen, University of Queensland
  Leadership Hollow and Regional Identity: The Elusive Search for Southeast Asia’s Flexible Regionalism

• Serena Eleonora Ford, Monash University
  Situating the local in ASEAN’s Women, Peace and Security Agenda

• Huqing Lin and Benny Teh Cheng Guan

  Presenter: Huqing Lin, Universiti Sains Malaysia
  ASEAN’s Dilemma: Balancing Regional Cooperation and Chinese Power

• Sahely Ferdous, Macquarie University
  From Structural Violence to Regional Insecurity: A Conflict Theory Approach to Understanding the Rohingya Crisis and Its Impact on Southeast Asia’s Stability

• Chair and Discussant: Emir Syailendra, Australian National University

Venue: Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building

4.45-5.00pm: Evening Break and Networking

Venue: Atrium, Hedley Bull Building

5.00-6.40pm: Policy Keynote 

The ANU Southeast Asia Institute in partnership with the ASEAN-Australia Centre is pleased to invite you to a keynote address by the Secretary-General of ASEAN H.E. Dr Kao Kim Hourn as he reflects on 50 years of the ASEAN-Australia relationship. We encourage all symposium participants to attend this keynote session, but please note that separate registration is required. REGISTER HERE. 

Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (HB1), Hedley Bull Building

Day 2 Wednesday 27 November
All sessions: Hedley Bull Building, ANU (Please refer to our directional signs on the day)

9.00-10.30am: Student Panel – Parallel Sessions

Panel 7. Environmentalism, Developmentalism, and Geoeconomics

• Lin Pu, Shaka Y.J. Li, and Raras Cahyafitri

  Presenter: Lin Pu, Australian National University
  Where Does Extractive Repression Occur? Chinese FDI and Civil Society Repression in Southeast Asia

• Cahyani Widi Larasakti, University of Melbourne
  Carbon Club’s Energy Transition: The Win-set Area of Transitioning Energy in Resource-Rich Countries

• Hanna Nur Afifah Yogar, Chulalongkorn University
  From Necro to Symbio: The Politics of Palm Oil Plantations Development and Multispecies Life in West Kalimantan

• Arrizal Anugerah Jaknanihan, Australian National University
  Calibrated Liberalisation and the Geoeconomics of Southeast Asia

• Chair and Discussant: Professor Evelyn Goh, Australian National University

Venue: Lecture Theatre 2 (HB2), Hedley Bull Building

Panel 8. Migration and Diaspora

• Xincheng Hong, National University of Singapore
  Coastal-hinterland Continuums from South China to Singapore and Beyond: Connecting Transnational History to Regional Methods of Southeast Asian Studies

• Yongrong Du, City University of Hong Kong
  Shifting Identities and Re-constructing 'Home' —A Study of Malaysian Chinese Transmigrants in Taiwan

• Anna Joceline Dizon Ituriaga, National Chengchi University
  Third-Country Serial Migration: Filipino Workers in Taiwan Pursuing Opportunities in Poland

• Pechpoom Kasurop, Thammasat University
  Sam-Sam: Rethinking Transborder Ethnic Identity in the Malay Peninsular

• Jinlong Yu, East China Normal University
  'Two China' in Southeast Asia: A Memory Anthropological Study of Chinese Political Refugees and the Lone Soldier Tomb in Thailand

• Chair: Dr Nicholas Chan, Australian National University 

• Discussant: Dr Ying Xin Show, Australian National University

Venue: Seminar Room 3 (HB3), Hedley Bull Building

Panel 9. Authoritarianism and Democratic Backsliding

• Prem Singh Gill, Nanyang Technological University
  Shinawatra Comeback: Legal Tactics and Military Alliances Undermining Thai Democracy

• Dimas Lazuardy Firdauz, Airlangga University
  How Jokowi Leveraged Incumbency Advantage for Political Success: Strategic Allocation during the 2024 Presidential Election

• Anthony Neil, London School of Economics
  The (Para) State as Cultural Practice: Armed Group Subject-Making through Education in the Karen Highlands in South Eastern Burma

• Chair: Dyah Kartika, Australian National University

• Discussant: Dr Greg Raymond, Australian National University

Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (HB1), Hedley Bull Building

10.30-11.00am: Morning Tea and Networking

Venue: Atrium, Hedley Bull Building

11.00am-12.30pm: Publishing Roundtable

This roundtable aims to open the 'black box' of the academic publication process. It features regional experts, members of influential editorial teams, and advocacy networks. Together, we will discuss how to identify quality outlets for your research and what it takes to meet the expectations of reviewers and editors. Attendees will learn how and where Southeast Asia-based research can make an impact beyond regional studies.

• Professor Meredith Weiss, University at Albany
• Dr Ian Storey, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute
• Professor Joanne Wallis, The University of Adelaide
• Dr Greg Raymond, Australian National University 
• Professor Sango Mahanty, Australian National University
• Associate Professor Lia Kent, Australian National University
• Associate Professor Cecilia Jakob, Australian National University
• Chair: Dr Katrin Travouillon, Australian National University

Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (HB1), Hedley Bull Building

12.30-1.30pm: Lunch and Networking 

Venue: Atrium, Hedley Bull Building

1.30-3.00pm: Professionalisation Workshop: Preparing for the Job Market

This workshop provides aspiring Southeast Asia scholars with insights into the academic job market. Featuring a panel of scholars at different career stages, the workshop will cover key topics, including navigating Australian and international markets, choosing between postdoctoral positions and tenure-track roles, and essential soft skills. Attendees will gain practical advice on enhancing their competitiveness and adapting to the changing academic landscape.

• Associate Professor May Pichamon Yeophantong, Deakin University
• Dr Eve Warburton, Australian National University
• Dr Nicholas Wai Yeap Chan, Australian National University
• Dr Jarrah Sastrawan, Australian National University
• Chair: Tommy Chai, PhD Candidate, Australian National University

Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (HB1), Hedley Bull Building

3.00-3.30pm: Afternoon Tea and Networking

Venue: Atrium, Hedley Bull Building

3.30-4.30pm: Student Roundtable: Reflections on Southeast Asian Research

This session features a roundtable of student participants sharing their experiences of the symposium, as well as their personal journeys in researching, writing, and thinking about Southeast Asia and beyond. The roundtable will gather early career researchers representing diverse research traditions, methodologies, and interests to foster an inclusive dialogue. Attendees are invited to join this interactive and casual session to share their insights and experiences.

• Lynrose Jane Genon, Queensland University of Technology
• Viet Dung Trinh, University of Queensland
• Pechpoom Kasurop, Thammasat University
• Cahyani Widi Larasakti, University of Melbourne
• Hwee Ping Teo, RMIT University
• Chair: Quah Say Jye, University of Cambridge

Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (HB1), Hedley Bull Building

4.30-5.00pm: Final Remarks and Formal Symposium Closure

Venue: Lecture Theatre 1 (HB1), Hedley Bull Building