UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: Change and Resistance - Future Directions of Southeast Asia [Taipei, 5-7 December 2019]

SEASIA Biennial Conference 2019

Change and Resistance: Future Directions of Southeast Asia

5-7 December 2019, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

Panel 8.4: Social Movements and Political Participation in Southeast Asia

Friday, 6 December 2019, 10:50-12:20, Room 904 (9th Floor)

Chair: Chia-Chien Chang (National Chengchi University)

Panelists:

• Social Movement and Political Participation: Fortification of Identity in Malaysia's Bersih Movement by Lim Hui Ying (Doshisha University)

• The “People Power” People Power Monument of the Philippines by Gil D. Turingan (University of the Philippines Diliman)

• Liberal Democracy and Civil Society: The Co-Production of Education Services by John Mark Hernandez Villanueva (Mapua University Manila)

• The Hybrid Public Sphere in Myanmar and Implications for Civil Society  by Carl Middleton (Chulalongkorn University)

• Activist Lawyering in an Emerging Democracy: the Case of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation by Timothy Sinclair Mann (University of Melbourne)

• Articulating a Broken Polity Social Movement and Political Party's Role in Organizing Cleavages by Zahra Amalia Syarifah (The University of Chicago)

For more information about the conference, please visit this link here.

Abstract for The Hybrid Public Sphere in Myanmar and Implications for Civil Society

by Carl Middleton*, Tay Zar Myo Win

Myanmar was under a military junta government for almost six decades, during which time the state heavily controlled the population’s access to information through maintaining an ‘authoritarian public sphere,’ including via severe control over civil society and independent mass media. In 2010, Myanmar held elections that, although highly flawed, resulted in a semi-civilian government. Whilst the military maintained considerable influence, a degree of electoral competition and civil, political and media freedoms were introduced, all within the constraints of the 2008 constitution. This melding of liberal and illiberal elements within an electoral system is best understood as a hybrid regime (Diamond, 2002). In this paper, we analyze the emergence of a ‘hybrid public sphere’ in Myanmar since 2010 that maintains some elements of the previous authoritarian control of the production and circulation of critical discourse, combined with more liberal elements that reflect recently gained civil, political and media freedoms and a greater role for civil society, journalists, and interaction via social media. The paper develops its analysis first through an assessment of the political transition at the national level, and then in a case study in subnational politics in Dawei City with a focus on local planning of electricity supply. We argue that for Myanmar to shift from a procedural to substantive form of democracy, independent civil society require strategies that link (and deepen) recently gained formal freedoms to ensuring the accountability of state and powerful non-state actors via the creation and maintenance of a substantive public sphere.

*Center of Excellence on Resource Politics for Social Development, Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University (Carl.Chulalongkorn@gmail.com)

PH.D. SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: How East Asian regional economic integration connect and transform wetlands in Thailand and Japan

The Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS) is happy to announce a partial-scholarship for a Thai Ph.D. candidate commencing in 2019. The research topic is “Tele-connected places, virtual water flows and vulnerability: How East Asian regional economic integration connect and transform wetlands in Thailand and Japan.”

The successful candidate will be enrolled in Chulalongkorn University's Graduate Research in International Development Studies (GRIDS) program of the Faculty of Political Science and will be connected with the CSDS on our thematic work. The Ph.D. will be supervised by Dr. Carl Middleton (GRID/ CSDS) and in collaboration with Dr. Takeshi Ito of the Global Studies Program of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sophia University, Japan.

The partial-scholarship is kindly provided by from the  Royal Golden Jubilee Scholarship (Kanchanabhisek Fund). The scholarship is open to a Thai candidates with a minimum of GPA 3.0 for your Bachelor-level degree and a minimum of GPA 3.5 for your Master-level degree. The deadline for applicants is 30 October 2018.

The scholarship covers the following costs:

• Allowance of THB 12,000 / month for 3 years
• Tuition fee of THB 60,000 / year for 3 years
• Research funding of THB 50,000 / year for three years
• Field research grant of up to THB 500,000 to conduct overseas research [in Japan]

The scholarship does not cover the cost of registration fee (195,000 THB per year).

Interest applicants can contact Dr. Carl Middleton for further details.

UPCOMING PUBLIC SEMINAR: "Why Think Tanks and Civil Society Networks Matter: Towards a Creative Diplomacy Agenda" [29 January 2018]

Why Think Tanks and Civil Society Networks Matter

Towards a Creative Diplomacy Agenda:
Exploring New Approaches for Contemporary Transboundary Water Governance

Monday 29th January, 14:00-17:00 at the Saranitet Conference Room, 2nd floor, Main Auditorium, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Organized by: Chula Global Network (CGN), Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, and Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), Chulalongkorn University

Asia has some of the world’s largest transboundary rivers, which are central to livelihoods, culture and economies. The need for cooperation along these rivers is more apparent than ever before as large hydropower dams, irrigation schemes and water diversions are promoted under regional economic development plans. Contestation over these plans and projects have occurred both between states sharing freshwater rivers, and various non-state actors including communities, civil society groups amongst others. Similarly, many countries of Asia share open seas that also require deepening cooperation. To ensure sustainable, inclusive and just sharing of transboundary waters requires a rethinking of existing practices and a critical deliberation of new concepts, research agendas, and approaches.

Knowledge among and between think tanks and civil society network is a crucial component of transboundary water governance. It is now widely recognized that addressing real-world complex water governance challenges requires the combination of a range of different types of knowledge, including academic, local, practical, and political knowledge. Whilst some knowledge producers are well-established and recognized, for example academic institutes, local communities, civil society groups and government agencies, other actors such as think tanks producing policy knowledge are relatively recent. How these forms of knowledge are combined and acted upon within policy and practice will be an important determinant of the outcomes of transboundary water governance.

In this seminar, representatives of academia, government, international organizations and think tanks will critically reflect on existing practices of transboundary water governance in Asia, and propose new concepts and approaches including on the role, strategies and possibilities for various forms of knowledge production.

Speakers:

• Professor Imtiaz Ahmed, Centre for Genocide Studies University of Dhaka
• Dr. John Dore, Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Australia
• Ganesh Pangare, Asia-Pacific Regional Director, International Water Association
• Dr. Sucharit Koonthanakulwong, UNESCO Chair on Water & Sustainable Development
• Asst. Prof. Dr. Carl Middleton, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
• Dr. Chariyaway Suntabutra, Former Ambassador of Thailand to Egypt, Kenya and Germany

For more information please contact Robert Irven (CSDS): csds.chulalongkorn@gmail.com