The Institute of Asian Studies

The Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) is a research institute dedicated to producing and disseminating cutting-edge knowledge about the (1) regionalism and internationalisation, (2) urbanisation, sustainability and precarity and (3) people, environment and culture of the Asian region. With a core staff and affiliated researchers producing multidisciplinary scholarship, and located at the heart of Asia on the beautiful and ecologically diverse island of Borneo, the IAS serves Brunei as well as the global community in elevating our understanding of this dynamic region of the world.

News & Events

IAS May 2025 Newsletter

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) is pleased to share its latest newsletter. Please click here to read about the activities of the Institute and the staff at IAS.

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IAS Researcher Publishes in Q1 Law Journal

Dr Nobumichi Teramura (IAS, UBD) and Professor Luke Nottage (Sydney Law School) recently contributed a research article to the Journal of International Economic Law (JIEL). In the Scopus index, the JIEL is a Q1 journal in ‘Law’ and ‘Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous)’ quartiles. The advance publication of the article is available here.   This work […]

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Working Paper on Bruneian Students’ Use of Standard and Brunei Malay

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 85: Urang versus Orang: The frequency of Bruneian students’ use of Standard and Brunei Malay by Ili Arina Zainal. Please see below for details. Download the Working Paper Abstract: Despite the various research done about the […]

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Seminar on Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC)

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) recently held a seminar on “Leading the Way in International Dispute Resolution: 10 Years of the Singapore International Commercial Court” by Assistant Professor Kwan Ho Lau (Singapore Management University) For more information, please see the flyer below.

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Working Paper on Indonesian Chinese Migrant Workers in Brunei Darussalam

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 84: Doing Fieldwork on Indonesian Chinese Migrant Workers in Brunei Darussalam by Westly Lo Siong Wei. Please see below for details. Download the Working Paper Abstract: This paper makes the case for a more spontaneous approach […]

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IAS Researcher Participates in Knowledge Dissemination Consultation

Senior Assistant Professor and Deputy Director of the Institute of Asian Studies Koh Sin Yee participated in the consultation on ‘Navigating Health and Work Challenges: Impact of COVID-19 on Women Migrants and Effective Coping Strategies’ at Monash University Malaysia on 13 March 2025. The consultation is part of the Women RISE WISH Project: Women Migrants’ Health and Work after […]

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Staff

The staff of IAS consists of researchers in the Institute and research fellows from across the University. While the main focus of the IAS staff is on conducting research and publishing, IAS researchers also regularly teach modules for such majors as Anthropology & Sociology and History & International Relations in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), as well as supervise graduate students in IAS, and both graduate and undergraduate students studying in programs in other faculties.

Scholarship

The core mission of the IAS staff is to engage in research and to publish.

These are some recent representative publications.

B. Jetin (2018). “Production Networks of the Asian Automobile Industry: Regional or Global?”. International Journal of Automobile Technology and Management, 18 (4), pp. 302-328. DOI: 10.1504/IJATM.2018.097346

Franco, F.M. and Minggu, M.J. (2019). “When the Seeds Sprout, the Hornbills Hatch: Understanding the Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the Ibans of Brunei Darussalam on Hornbills”. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 15 (46). DOI: 10.1186/s13002-019-0325-0

Victor T. King (2019). “Truth’s Fool: Derek Freeman and the War over Cultural Anthropology”, International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, 15 (1), pp. 183-197. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13063

Paul J. Carnegie (2019). “National Imaginary, Ethnic Plurality, and State Formation in Indonesia,” in Ratuva S. (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0242-8_165-2

Chang-Yau Hoon and Esther Kuntjara (2019). “The Politics of Mandarin Fever in Contemporary Indonesia: Resinicization, Economic Impetus, and China’s Soft Power”, Asian Survey, 59(3): 573-594. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2019.59.3.573

Liam C. Kelley (2020). “The Centrality of ‘Fringe History’: Diaspora, The Internet and a New Version of Vietnamese Prehistory,” International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies, 16 (1): 71–104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21315/ijaps2020.16.1.3

Seminar Series

To exchange ideas with other members of the University community and the public, the IAS holds a regular seminar series.

Working Paper Series

The Institute also maintains a working paper series to highlight and disseminate the cutting-edge work of IAS researchers, UBD faculty, and other scholars working in and on the region.

Book Series

The Institute maintains a book series with academic publisher Springer on “Asia in Transition.”

Video Interviews

The Institute creates video interviews with IAS staff members, IAS research associates, UBD lecturers who research about Asia, and visitors to IAS who share their knowledge on topics ranging from the Belt and Road Initiative to Hornbills in Brunei.

Graduate Studies

IAS offers research-based MA and PhD programmes in Asian Studies.

Conferences

The Institute maintains productive relations with numerous international scholars and scholarly organizations.

Internationalisation

The Institute maintains productive relations with numerous international scholars and scholarly organizations.