New Books Network
Southeast Asian Studies
Southeast Asian Studies March 1, 2021

Democracy for Sale

Elections, Clientelism, and the State in Indonesia

Edward Aspinall and Ward Berenschot

Hosted by Michele Ford
In post-Suharto Indonesian politics the exchange of patronage for political support is commonplace. Clientelism saturates the political system through everyday practices of vote buying, influence peddling, manipulating government programs, and …

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Southeast Asian Studies March 1, 2021

Fighting for Virtue

Justice and Politics in Thailand

Duncan McCargo

Hosted by Nick Cheesman
Anyone who has taken any interest in the politics of Thailand at all in the last two decades could not help but have noticed the part that the country’s judiciary …
SSEAC Stories February 25, 2021

A Thai Contemporary Artist on Identity, Power, and the Space In-Between

A Discussion with Phaptawan Suwannakudt

Phaptawan Suwannakudt

Hosted by Natali Pearson
As a Thai-Australian woman artist, Phaptawan Suwannakudt has long battled prejudice and discrimination relating to her gender. This disappointment with society’s dictates features at the heart of Phaptawan’s artistic practice …
SSEAC Stories February 18, 2021

Decolonising Conservation Practices and Research

Seeing the Orangutan in Borneo with Dr June Rubis

June Rubis

Hosted by Natali Pearson
Around the world, orangutans are widely recognised as an iconic species for environmental and wildlife conservation efforts. The rainforest in the Malaysian state of Sarawak is one of last remaining …
Southeast Asian Studies February 15, 2021

The Politics of Love in Myanmar

LGBT Mobilization and Human Rights as a Way of Life

Lynette J. Chua

Hosted by Michele Ford
The Politics of Love in Myanmar: LGBT Mobilization and Human Rights as a Way of Life (Stanford UP, 2018) offers an intimate ethnographic account of a group of LGBT activists before …
SSEAC Stories February 11, 2021

Combating African Swine Fever in Timor-Leste

A Discussion with Associate Professor Paul Hick

Paul Hick

Hosted by Thushara Dibley
Since it first arrived in Asia in 2018, African swine fever virus has caused a devastating pandemic resulting in more than a quarter of the global pig population being killed …
Indian Ocean World February 10, 2021

Miracles and Material Life

Rice, Ore, Traps and Guns in Islamic Malaya

Teren Sevea

Hosted by Kelvin Ng
In Miracles and Material Life: Rice, Ore, Traps and Guns in Islamic Malaya (Cambridge UP, 2020), Teren Sevea reveals the economic, environmental and religious significance of Islamic miracle workers (pawangs) in the …
SSEAC Stories February 4, 2021

Reducing Poverty through Digital Finance Schemes in Myanmar

A Discussion with Dr Russell Toth

Russell Toth

Hosted by Thushara Dibley
Financial inclusion has been one of the most prominent issues on the international development agenda in recent years, as access to payments, remittances, credit, savings and insurance services have been …
Southeast Asian Studies February 1, 2021

Making Two Vietnams

War and Youth Identities, 1965-1975

Olga Dror

Hosted by Patrick Jory
We are familiar with the history of the division of Vietnam in 1954 into two states, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the north and the Republic of Vietnam in …
SSEAC Stories January 28, 2021

Trading Birds of Paradise

A Brief History by Dr Jude Philp

Jude Philp

Hosted by Natali Pearson
Long praised for their splendid plumage, birds of paradise are a rare sight only to be found in the remote rainforests of New Guinea and associated islands. They are among …
History January 27, 2021

Coup, King, Crisis

A Critical Interregnum in Thailand

Pavin Chachavalpongpun

Hosted by Michael Vann
There are many Orientalist stereotypes about Thailand. Known as the “Land of Smiles” to foreign tourists, they often comment on the calm and pleasant demeanor of a people seemingly averse …
Genocide Studies January 25, 2021

The International People’s Tribunal for 1965 and the Indonesian Genocide

Annie Pohlman, Jess Melvin, Saskia E. Wieringa

Hosted by Kelly McFall
How do you hold a government accountable for crimes it refuses to acknowledge?  Today's book, The International People's Tribunal for 1965 and the Indonesian Genocide (Routledge, 2019) emerges out of the International …
Anthropology January 22, 2021

Everyday Economic Survival in Myanmar

Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung

Hosted by John Traphagan
Reforms in Myanmar (formerly Burma) have eased restrictions on citizens' political activities. Yet for most Burmese, Ardeth Maung Thawnghmung shows in Everyday Economic Survival in Myanmar (U Wisconsin Press, 2019), eking …
Southeast Asian Studies January 15, 2021

Disturbed Forests, Fragmented Memories

Jarai and Other Lives in the Cambodian Highlands

Jonathan Padwe

Hosted by Faizah Zakaria
Cambodia’s troubled history has often been depicted in terms of conflict, trauma and tussles between great powers. In Disturbed Forests, Fragmented Memories: Jarai and Other Lives in the Cambodian Highlands …
Southeast Asian Studies December 31, 2020

Speaking Out in Vietnam

Public Political Criticism in a Communist Party-ruled Nation

Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet

Hosted by Michele Ford
Since 1990 public political criticism has evolved into a prominent feature of Vietnam's political landscape. Over the last three decades, such criticism has become widespread around four main clusters of …
East Asian Studies December 22, 2020

Buddhist Tourism in Asia

Courtney Bruntz and Brooke Schedneck

Hosted by Daigengna Duoer
This edited volume is the first book-length study of Buddhist tourism in contemporary Asia in the English language. Featuring chapters from diverse contributors from religious studies, anthropology, and art history, Buddhist …
East Asian Studies December 21, 2020

Asymmetrical Neighbors

Borderland State-Building Between China and Southeast Asia

Enze Han

Hosted by Victoria Lupascu
Asymmetrical Neighbors: Borderland State-Building Between China and Southeast Asia (Oxford UP, 2019) explains the variations in state building across the borderland area between China, Myanmar, and Thailand. It presents a …
Southeast Asian Studies December 21, 2020

Man of Contradictions

Joko Widodo and the Struggle to Remake Indonesia

Ben Bland

Hosted by Patrick Jory
Joko Widodo, or “Jokowi”, as he is popularly known, famously rose from a riverside shack to become president of Indonesia in 2014. In a country better known for decades of …
SSEAC Stories December 17, 2020

COVID-19 and Migrant Workers in Southeast Asia

A Discussion with Emeritus Professor Philip Hirsch

Philip Hirsch

Hosted by Natali Pearson
COVID-19 has had such far-reaching impacts that it can be, and has been, studied from the perspective of almost any academic discipline. For geographers, the ways in which COVID-19 affects …
SSEAC Stories December 10, 2020

Beating Plastic Pollution in Timor-Leste with Professor Thomas Maschmeyer

Thomas Maschmeyer

Hosted by Thushara Dibley
As environmental emergencies go, the explosion of plastic waste is right up there. With global plastic production exceeding 300 million tonnes each year, the world has generally looked at it …