The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) recently held a seminar on “Contentious Solidarity: Engaged Ethnography and Knowledge Mobilization among Plumbers in Delhi” by Dr. Sanjeev Routray, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at FASS and Research Associate at IAS.
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The Institute of Asian Studies
The Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) is committed to advancing research, fostering scholarly productivity, and stimulating intellectual exchange on Borneo and Southeast Asia at the crossroads of East and South Asia. Through its book series, seminars, working papers, workshops, and events, IAS brings together scholars and graduate students from the region and beyond to cultivate interdisciplinary dialogue and collaborative inquiry. It offers a dynamic hub for scholars and students alike to engage Southeast Asia’s rich historical, socio-cultural, and ethno-linguistic diversity, while critically addressing the region’s most pressing contemporary political, economic, and environmental challenges.
News & Events
IAS Researcher presented at a seminar held by Universitas Satya Negara Indonesia (USNI)
IAS Research Associate and Assistant Professor Indra Alverdian from the Faculty of Military Studies participated in a seminar held by Universitas Satya Negara Indonesia (USNI) on September 22, 2026, in Jakarta, Indonesia. The theme of the seminar was “Indonesia at the Crossroads: Safeguarding Maritime Sovereignty in an Increasingly Contested Indo-Pacific.” During the event, Dr. Alverdian […]
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Postgraduate Workshop – Conducting field studies for social geography: The experience from Indonesia
On 7 September 2026, IAS Visiting Scholar Dr Lidya Lestari Sitohang conducted a workshop for postgraduate students from Asian Studies and other programmes at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Drawing on her own PhD journey and extensive field experience across Indonesia, including research in the borderlands of Borneo, Dr Lidya shared insights into the realities of conducting […]
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Seminar on Sustainable Development in the Borderlands of Borneo
The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (IAS @ UBD) recently held a seminar on “Sustainable Development in the Borderlands of Borneo” by Dr. Lidya Lestari Sitohang, Assistant Professor at State University of Surabaya (UNESA) and Visiting Scholar at IAS.
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Working Paper on Reframing Film in Brunei Darussalam: From Cultural Expression to Emerging Economic Activity
The Institute of Asian Studies at Universiti Brunei Darussalam is pleased to announce the publication of IAS Working Paper No. 94: Reframing Film in Brunei Darussalam: From Cultural Expression to Emerging Economic Activity by Nur Jazmeen Farzana binti Amirnuddin. Please see below for details. Download the Working Paper Abstract: Brunei Darussalam’s ongoing efforts towards economic diversification […]
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IAS Researcher Participated in Joint Research on “Shaping the Future of the Indo-Pacific: Strategic Roles of Japan and Indonesia”
IAS Researcher and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Military Studies, Dr. Indra Alverdian participated in a Joint Research together with Researchers from the National Graduate Institute of Policy Studies (GRIPS), Tokyo Japan and Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) in Jakarta, Indonesia. The research entitled, “Shaping the Future of the Indo-Pacific : Strategic Roles […]
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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.
Carnegie, P. J. (2025). Contours of Precarity: A Perspective on Vulnerability and Insecurity in Southeast Asia. Pacific Affairs, 98(1): 103-120
Tritto, A., & Huang, R. L. (2025). Chinese Foreign Direct Investment in Myanmar: Investment Realization and Effects. In The Effects of Chinese FDI in Southeast Asia (pp. 141-165). Routledge.
Ho, H.M.Y. (2025). Contested homes in speculative futurities in Anglophone Bruneian fiction. Science Fiction Studies, 52(1), 95-114.
Koh, S.Y., & Yeoh, B. S. A. (2025). Post-2020 mainland Chinese student mobility to Malaysia: Trends and drivers. Asian Population Studies, 21(1), 33–45.
Mannion, N. L. M., Gaulton, R., Jamil, M. E., Pfeifer, M., Slik, J. W. F., Willis, S. G., & Franco, F. M. (2025). Hunting motivations, behaviour and forest access: Characterising wildlife hunting practices in a multi-ethnic, forested landscape of Brunei Darussalam, Southeast Asia. People and Nature, 00, 1–13.
Koh, S. Y. (2026). Enduring and emergent challenges to post/decolonising migration studies. In Migration Studies and the Decolonial Challenge (pp. 38-55). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Carnegie, P.J. (2026). Studying the Politics of Precarity in Southeast Asia. Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia. 59(1): 1-16.
Goh, C.S. (2026). Living beyond borders: The ambivalence of the Murut identities in Sabah and North Kalimantan. In Negotiating Belonging in Borneo: Narratives of Ambivalence ( X-X). Springer.
Goh, C.S. (2026). Negotiating Identity and Inequality: Internal Migration and Cross-Border Connections of the Lun Bawang in the Heart of Borneo. Asian Geographer. In Press.
Routray, S. (2026). Articulations: Production and social reproduction in an industrial neighborhood of Delhi. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 0308518X261437524.
Tritto, A. (2026). Statism and state activism in response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Indonesia and Malaysia’s approaches to developing the EV sector. Competition & Change, 30(1), 219-243.
Ho, H.M.Y. (2025). Breaking the silence: (Re)presenting mental health challenges in contemporary anglophone Malaysian and Bruneian fiction. In Decolonising comparative literature: Reading across Southeast Asian literatures (pp. 155-170). Springer.
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.
Conferences
The Institute maintains productive relations with numerous international scholars and scholarly organizations.
Global Engagement
The Institute maintains productive relations with numerous international scholars and scholarly organizations.
