Southeast Asia’s vibrant economy and politics are currently researched by social scientists in several Oxford departments.
In the Blavatnik School of Government, Professor Julien Labonne has carried out extensive research on the politics of the Philippines. He has researched topics including the ways in which voters’ sentiment is swayed by campaign promises, policymaking by female members of political dynasties, and the role family networks play in political competition.
The Blavatnik School of Government is a partner in the Research on Improving Systems of Education programme (RISE). This multi-country research programme seeks to answer the question: 'What works to improve education systems to deliver better learning for all at scale in developing countries?' The seven-year programme will build, interpret and seek to apply the evidence from research undertaken in six countries including Indonesia and Vietnam.
MSc and MPhil students in the School of Geography and the Environment can elect to study a module on ASEAN Environments, with a particular focus on Indonesia. The module explores the reasons for the creation of ASEAN, and the governance of a range of environmental issues including pollution, forest governance, and community adaptation. Module leader Dr Mari Mulyani has published extensively on forest governance in Indonesia and the impact of climate change; outside of her role at Oxford Dr Mulyani regularly lectures at the University of Indonesia’s School of Environmental Science.
Dr Tim Schwanen leads the School of Geography and the Environment’s Transport Studies Unit, which is collaborating with the De La Salle University in Manila, the Philippines, on a research project to enhance the research capabilities with respect to transport planning in cities and the effects of flooding on urban transportation.
Professor Dariusz Wojcik, also in the School of Geography and the Environment, is a founder-member and chair of the Global Network on Financial Geography, an interdisciplinary network of academics, practitioners and experts interested in research on the spatiality of money and finance and its implications for the economy, society, and nature. The Network’s research includes work on the role of Singapore as a global and regional finance hub.
The Ecosystems Governance Group within Oxford’s interdisciplinary Environmental Change Institute (ECI) is chaired by Dr Constance McDermott. She is currently the Oxford lead on a project that examines dynamics of resilience and access to sustainable growth in post-conflict regions of upland Nepal and Burma. The project looks at resilience across social difference (gender, caste, class and ethnicity) in the context of a number of major changes in the region, including climate change, but also the accelerating development of infrastructure, commercialisation, foreign remittances and post-conflict political change.
In the Oxford Department of International Development, Vietnam is one of the four study countries in the Young Lives research programme, a longitudinal study into children and youth around the world.
Dr Kate Roll, an Associate Scholar at the Saïd Business School researches post-conflict transitions and she is particularly interested in the economic conditions and associated public policies which enable societies to rebuild following conflict. For four years she led the Saïd Business School’s Mutuality in Business Project, which focuses on corporate practices designed to improve the lives of those living in poverty. As part of this work, she conducted field-based research on ‘base of the pyramid’ route to market programmes in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Kenya.
