The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 73: Revisiting the Chinese Sources on Early Southeast Asian History by Liam C. Kelley.Please see below for details. Download the Working Paper Abstract:Chinese sources have played a very important role in the writing of early Southeast Asian history. However, scholars have struggled to understand the information in those sources and over the past century, there have been countless different interpretations that have been put forward. In this paper, we revisit the Chinese sources on early Southeast Asian history and do…

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 72: Speaking for the Spirits: A Reflection on Knowledge, Expertise, and Methodology in Ethnographic Fieldwork on Religion by Lisa Arensen. Please see below for details. Download the Working Paper Abstract: Our ways of representing the cosmological world are core issues in the reconfigured animism field in contemporary anthropology, as well as a recurring theme in the social sciences’ current interest in ontologies. This paper interrogates methodological questions of decisions regarding who to listen to as cosmological interlocuters in fieldwork, and…

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 71: Reflections on a Livelihood Study of Sesan Riverine Communities in Cambodia and the Challenges of Transdisciplinary Research in the Global South by Ta-Wei Chu and Paul J. Carnegie. Please see below for details. Download the Working Paper Abstract: 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…

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 70: Public Service Motivation in an Ethnically Heterogeneous Society: Towards a New Conceptual Framework by Nadia H. Yashaiya and Abdillah Noh. Please see below for details. Download the Working Paper Abstract: 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,…

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 69: JICA and Regional Soft Power: Japan’s Legal and Judicial Development Project in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos since 1996 by Nobumichi Teramura. Please see below for details. Download the Working Paper Abstract: 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…

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 68: Landscape of Grief: Place-Making in Thailand’s Deep South by Muhammad Arafat. Please see below for details. Abstract: 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…

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 67: Who are the Dusun in Brunei? Representation and Deconstruction of an Ethnic Identity by Lian Kwen Fee, Yabit Alas, Tong Chee Kiong, and Faizul Ibrahim. Please see below for details. Download the Working Paper Abstract: The etymology of the term ‘Dusun’ is disputed. It has been attributed to British colonialists to refer to a place where people practised horticulture and to the Brunei Malays to describe orchard or countryside. Over time, as a consequence of official ascription, it has…

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 66: Migration, Ethnic Diversity, and Economic Growth: Towards an Empirical Understanding of Regional Development in Indonesia by Aris Ananta, Evi Nurvidya Arifin, Ari Purbowati, and Paul J. Carnegie. Please see below for details. Abstract: 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…

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 65: The Iban of Temburong: Migration, Adaptation and Identity in Brunei Darussalam by Victor T. King and Magne Knudsen. Please see below for details.Abstract: The Iban are the most well-documented and studied of all Borneo indigenous peoples; there is a wealth of material on their language, history, social organisation and culture which can be used for comparative purposes. Yet, the Iban of Brunei are relatively under-studied. This paper is based on fieldwork on selected Iban communities in Temburong, Brunei Darussalam…

The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No 64: Digital Divides and Paradigm Shifts in the Time of COVID-19 by Caroline Anne Yong Suk Zhen, Siu Tzyy Wei, and Paul J. Carnegie. Please see below for details.Abstract: 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…