SSEAC Stories

In her latest book, Projectland: Life in a Lao Socialist Model Village (University of Hawaii Press), due out in May 2021, Associate Professor Holly High argues that socialism remains an important consideration in understanding “the politics of culture and the culture of politics” in Laos. She contends that understanding socialism in Laos requires moving past the ideological condemnations and emotion-laden judgements that marked the Cold War era, as well as paying attention to everyday experience.

In this episode, Associate Professor Holly High talks to Dr Natali Pearson about her decades-long anthropological fieldwork in rural parts of Laos, recounting little-known stories of life in a remote village in Sekong Province. She explores the role of the State in shaping local aspirations, world views and beliefs, as well as discusses notions of gender and how socialist values of equality, unity and independence have influenced the lives of women in one of Laos' model villages.

Warning: This episode contains discussions of gender-based violence which may be distressing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

Associate Professor Holly High is Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Sydney. She has been researching Lao PDR since the year 2000. Her work has been characterised by long-term fieldwork in rural and remote Laos, where she studies everyday experience in relation to larger issues in Laos and the world. Her research has looked at poverty reduction projects and agricultural, cultural, and health policies. In 2020, Associate Professor Holly High was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship for her work on reproductive health policy rollout in Laos.

For more information or to browse additional resources, visit the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre’s website here.

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Social media has become a crucial avenue for political discourse in Southeast Asia, given its potential as a “liberation technology” in both democratising and authoritarian states. Yet the growing decline in internet freedom and increasingly repressive and manipulative use of social media tools by governments means that social media is now an essential platform for control. “Disinformation” and “fake news” production is growing rapidly, and national governments are creating laws which attempt to address this trend, but often only exacerbate the situation of state control.

In this episode, Dr Aim Sinpeng and Dr Ross Tapsell discuss their new book, From Grassroots Activism to Disinformation: Social Media in Southeast Asia (ISEAS Publishing, 2020), with Dr Thushara Dibley, and explore some of the more recent controversies surrounding social media use in Southeast Asia.

Aim Sinpeng is a Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the University of Sydney. Her research interests centre on the relationships between digital media, political participation and political regimes in Southeast Asia. Aim is particularly interested in the role of social media in shaping state-society relations and inducing political and social change. Aim received Facebook research grants to study hate speech in the Asia Pacific (with Fiona Martin) and the effectiveness of countering misinformation strategies (with Denis Stukal). Her other scholarly works examine popular movements against democracy in democratising states. She is co-editor of From Grassroots Activism to Disinformation: Social Media in Southeast Asia (ISEAS Publishing, 2020). She is the author of a forthcoming book, Opposing Democracy in the Digital Age: the Yellow Shirts in Thailand (University of Michigan Press). You can follow Aim on Twitter: @aimsinpeng.

Ross Tapsell is a Senior Lecturer and researcher at the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific, specialising in Southeast Asian media. He is the author of Media Power in Indonesia: Oligarchs, Citizens and the Digital Revolution (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) and co-editor of Digital Indonesia: Connectivity and Divergence (ISEAS Publishing, 2017) and From Grassroots Activism to Disinformation: Social Media in Southeast Asia (ISEAS Publishing, 2020). He has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, VICE and other publications in the Southeast Asian region. Ross is currently Director of the ANU's Malaysia Institute, and is involved in the ANU's Indonesia Project and the academic blog New Mandala. You can follow Ross on Twitter: @RossTapsell.

For more information or to browse additional resources, visit the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre’s website here.

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From glove puppets of Chinese origin and Hakka religious processions, to wartime political theatre and contemporary choirs and dance groups, the diverse performance practices of ethnic Chinese communities throughout Southeast Asia highlight the complexity of minority self-representation and sense of identity of a community that is often considered solely in socioeconomic terms. Each performance form is placed in its social and historical context, highlighting how Sino-Southeast Asian groups and individuals have represented themselves locally and nationally to the region's majority populations as well as to state power.

In this episode, Dr Josh Stenberg talks to Dr Natali Pearson about Sino-Southeast Asian self-representation in performance arts, and challenges essentialist readings of ethnicity or minority. In showing the fluidity and adaptability of Sino-Southeast Asian identities as expressed in performance and public display, Dr Stenberg enriches our understanding of Southeast Asian cultures and art forms, Southeast Asian Chinese identities, and transnational cultural exchanges.

Dr Josh Stenberg is a Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies in the School of Languages and Cultures at the University of Sydney. A scholar of Sino-Southeast Asian performance and literature, he examines the intersection of ethnic and political identity through the cultural performance of minority ethnic communities. He is the author of Minority Stages: Sino-Indonesian Performance and Public Display (University of Hawaii Press, 2019). In 2020, Dr Stenberg was awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) to conduct further research into the reception of China's state-funded cultural diplomacy initiatives among Overseas Chinese communities in multicultural societies.

For more information or to browse additional resources, visit the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre’s website here.

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Southeast Asia's demand for protein in the form of animal meat is increasing by more than 4% every year. This has important consequences for regional food security and household incomes and wellbeing. Laos and Cambodia are ideally placed in the region to meet the demand. However, current livestock production and health practices pose a constraint and are preventing this opportunity from being realised. In addition, farmers in both countries contend with high costs of production, variable returns and changing government policy, which is similar to the situation experienced by Australian farmers.

Associate Professor Russell Bush talks to Dr Natali Pearson about his work towards improving livestock health and food security in Laos and Cambodia, and describes how better livestock management can have a transformative impact on livelihoods.

Associate Professor Russell Bush is an expert in applied Livestock Production within the School of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney, leading research and teaching activities in Southeast Asia and Australia. He is also a cattle and sheep producer from southern New South Wales with over 45 years’ experience which provides a unique perspective when interacting with smallholder farmers in Laos and Cambodia where three multi-year ACIAR funded livestock research for development projects have recently concluded. A/Prof Bush recognises the value of participatory training involving multi-disciplinary teams to ensure key messages are conveyed to stakeholders, including farmers (industry), support personnel, government, and university staff/students. He has also worked on previous livestock projects in Indonesia, China, and Pakistan.

If you'd like to know more about Associate Professor Bush's work, head to the Mekong Livestock blog: mekonglivestock.wordpress.com/publications/.

For more information or to browse additional resources, visit the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre’s website here.

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Myanmar is scheduled to hold general elections in November 2020. While the country has experienced political liberalisation since 2011, the latest Freedom House Report ranked Myanmar as “not free.” Dr Roger Lee Huang talks with Dr Natali Pearson about Myanmar's ongoing regime transition, arguing that the country’s "disciplined democracy" contains features of democratic politics, but at its core remains authoritarian.

Dr Roger Lee Huang is Lecturer in Political Violence with the Department of Security Studies & Criminology at Macquarie University. Roger has broad research interests in the politics, international relations, and security of East and Southeast Asian states. He has previously researched and worked in political and policy circles in Myanmar, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Roger recently published 'The Paradox of Myanmar's Regime Change' with Routledge. Find out more and purchase the book here.

For more information or to browse additional resources, visit the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre’s website here.

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Deep in the jungles of Myanmar lie the remains of an ancient kingdom, the 15th-century royal city of Mrauk-U. Located in the Bay of Bengal and separated from the rest of the country by the Arakan mountain range, Mrauk-U Township boasts a stunning rural landscape dotted with the hundreds of spires of stone temples, remnants of the former glories of the Arakan Kingdom.

Long abandoned by local authorities, the Buddhist temple complex of Mrauk-U was brought back to the spotlight in 2017, when former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan led a mission to Rakhine State and urged Myanmar to nominate Mrauk-U for UNESCO World Heritage Site status. The proposal sought not only to protect the city’s many archaeological sites from ruin, but also aspired to nurture a communal sense of pride in the local population’s heritage. Yet in recent years, efforts to uncover Mrauk-U’s mysteries have been threatened by conflict between the Myanmar military and a secessionist group, the Arakan Army.

In this episode, Dr Bob Hudson speaks to Dr Thushara Dibley about the remote archaeological site of Mrauk-U, its turbulent history, and how attempts to have it recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site are contributing to peacebuilding efforts in a region torn by civil conflict.

Bob Hudson is an archaeologist, an associate of the Asian Studies Program, and an adviser to UNESCO and the Myanmar Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture. Bob holds a PhD in archaeology from the University of Sydney, and recently completed a fellowship with the Australian Research Council.

For more information or to browse additional resources, visit the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre’s website here.

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Indonesia’s labour movement emerged weak and disorganised after more than 30 years under authoritarian rule. Yet in the two decades since the country’s transition to democracy, it has emerged as a vibrant, even influential, political actor. While the movement’s rise to success has not been without its challenges, it achieved its goals by adopting a unique combination of political tactics.

As Indonesia erupts in violent protests over the passing of a controversial new jobs law, Professor Michele Ford reflects on the history of Indonesia’s labour movement, exploring how international support, the post-transition political opportunity structure, and unions’ tactical creativity combined to reinvigorate the labour movement, leading to substantial rises in the minimum wage and some policy success.

Professor Michele Ford is Director of the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre. Her research focuses on trade union aid, Southeast Asian labour movements and labour migration. Michele’s work has been supported by a number of Australian Research Council Discovery Project grants related to these and other topics. She has also been involved in extensive consultancy work for the ILO, the international labour movement and the Australian government.

You can follow Michele on Twitter @MicheleSSEAC.

For more information or to browse additional resources, visit the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre's website here.

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Around the world, social justice movements have exposed the pervasive extent of gender-based violence in the workplace. While women’s empowerment has long been a tenet of development aid, in practice, aid projects often impact social relations in complex ways and catalyse social violence by grouping and categorising people for aid distribution. Women are overwhelmingly affected by this process and often become the victims of work-related violence. In Cambodia, these dynamics are particularly acute, as gendered norms continue to prevail in many industries and exclude women from labour unions.

In this episode, Dr Kristy Ward chats with Professor Michele Ford about her research into conflict dynamics and the politics of representation, delving into the disruptive impact of development aid, and the ways in which women in Cambodia and India have sought to negotiate agency and combat gender-based violence in the workplace.

Kristy Ward is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre. Her research interests include labour activism, gender and organised labour, and the politics of aid with a particular focus on Cambodia. Kristy’s current research on worker agency and representation examines why, how and to what effect Cambodian workers mobilise collectively under comparative regulatory regimes. From 2013 to 2016 Kristy taught numerous subjects in the undergraduate and postgraduate Development Studies program at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), where she also completed her PhD. Kristy has worked with various non-government organisations in evaluation, project development, and consultancy roles in both Australia and Southeast Asia.

For more information or to browse additional resources, visit the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre's website here.

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Traditionally and historically, disability has widely been seen and treated as a medical impediment. For decades, the Indonesian Government perpetuated this medical model of disability, which focuses on what a person cannot do and cannot be. But in recent years, activists have challenged this notion, emphasizing that 'disability' is the result of the interaction between people living with impairments and an environment filled with physical, attitudinal, communication and social barriers.

In this podcast, Dr Thushara Dibley chats with Dr Natali Pearson about disability activism in Indonesia, highlighting the success of local activists in changing Indonesian law and shifting attitudes in the broader population.

About Dr Thushara Dibley:

You can follow Thushara on Twitter @thushdibley.

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In 1998, Indonesian fishermen diving for sea cucumbers discovered a shipwreck off Belitung Island in the Java Sea. The ship was a Middle Eastern vessel constructed from planks sewn together with rope — and its remarkable cargo originally included around 70,000 ceramics produced in China, as well as luxurious objects of gold and silver. Whether the vessel sank because of a storm or other factors as it traversed the heart of the global trading network remains unknown. Bound for present-day Iran and Iraq, it is the earliest ship found in Southeast Asia thus far and provides proof of active maritime trade in the ninth century among China, Southeast Asia, and West Asia.

In spite of its historical significance, the Tang Shipwreck's destiny has not been smooth sailing. After being salvaged from Indonesian waters, the ship and its cargo were purchased by Singapore, and soon, controversies emerged around its provenance.

In this episode, Dr Natali Pearson gets on the other side of the mic and chats with Professor Michele Ford about the Tang Shipwreck, how its underwater treasures were salvaged from looting in Indonesia, and the controversies it stirred in the world of maritime cultural heritage.

About Dr Natali Pearson:

You can follow Natali on Twitter @sea_greeny.

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