Association of Mainland Southeast Asia Scholars

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The Association of Mainland Southeast Asia Scholars (AMSEAS) is a sub-regionally focused academic as It is also a region of great political complexity.

AMSEAS seeks to contribute to and expand the work of ASAA by providing new opportunities for the promotion and advancement of research relevant to Mainland Southeast Asia. Recognising the benefits of adopting a multidisciplinary approach and encouraging dialogue between scholars of the individual countries, we promote and support the study of Mainland Southeast Asia in Australian and New Zealand u

niversities, as well as working to enhance public knowledge of the region. Mainland Southeast Asia is an area consisting of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. It is one of the world’s most culturally heterogeneous, linguistically diverse and economically dynamic regions. This diversity is a result of a long history of interconnected cultural exchanges by land and sea, as part of a vast trade network, which played an integral role in the areas rich religious, historical and socio-political dynamic. Today it is home to three of Southeast Asia’s least developed countries, which are also among the ten fastest growing economies in the world. Two of its five members have post-revolutionary single-party states, while the remaining three have gone through distinctive processes of formation and change. Its governments all seek regional collaboration through ASEAN and other frameworks. Mainland Southeast Asia possesses many shared national borders, including with China (Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) and India (Myanmar). Transborder connectivity is central to the region’s dynamic socio-economic and environmental transformations, as well as geopolitical contestations. In this context, hydropower development and natural resource management, regional and national security, as well as mineral resource extraction and migration patterns, are significant. These characteristics warrant strengthened interdisciplinary and cross-country collaboration in order to provide informed commentary on the importance of Mainland Southeast Asia in relation to Southeast Asia and beyond

Executive Committee

President – Patrick Jory, University of Queensland
Secretary – Marnie Feneley, University of New South Wales
Treasurer – Melissa Curley, University of Queensland
Country Representative Laos and International Liaison Officer – Simon Creak, Nanyang Technological University
Country Representative Myanmar – Nick Cheesman, ANU
Country Representative Vietnam - Lan Anh Hoang, University of Melbourne
Country Representative Cambodia – Sovinda Po, Griffith University
Country Representative Thailand - Arjun Subrahmanyan, Murdoch University
Media Officer – Justine Chambers, ANU
New Zealand Representative - Ben Schonthal, University of Otago
International Representative - Gerard McCarthy, NUS
Student Representative – Sreang Chheat, University of Queensland

Vietnam’s nuanced securitization of China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea

08/04/2026

A new approach to understanding Vietnam's position on the South China Sea issue under the lens of securitization theory from the Copenhagen School

Vietnam’s nuanced securitization of China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea Facing mounting security threats posed by China in the South China Sea (SCS), Vietnam has put China’s assertiveness under a securitization process. Vietnam frames China’s assertiveness in the dispu...

Authoritarian states and their instrumental partnerships with civil society: environmental advocacy in lower Mekong hydro-politics

31/03/2026

Such an interesting article about how authoritarian regimes in mainland Southeast Asia engage with civil society’s environmental advocacy in lower Mekong hydro-politics by Associate Prof. Melissa Curley from the University of Queensland and Dr. Sreang Chheat.

Authoritarian states and their instrumental partnerships with civil society: environmental advocacy in lower Mekong hydro-politics We examine how authoritarian regimes in mainland Southeast Asia engage with civil society’s environmental advocacy in lower Mekong hydro-politics. A case study of activism in Cambodia and Vietnam (...

Call for Papers - 2026 Myanmar Update: Contours of a New Myanmar | ANU College of Asia & the Pacific

03/12/2025

https://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/news/call-papers-2026-myanmar-update-contours-new-myanmar

Call for Papers - 2026 Myanmar Update: Contours of a New Myanmar | ANU College of Asia & the Pacific The Myanmar Update conference convenors invite paper proposals for the 2026 Myanmar Update.

Postdoctoral Fellow - Canberra / ACT, ACT, Australia

31/07/2025

Postdoctoral Fellowship for a Myanmar researcher at the ANU:

Postdoctoral Fellow - Canberra / ACT, ACT, Australia Classification: Academic Level ASalary package: $87,135 – $109,369 per annum plus 17% superannuationTerm: Full time, Fixed Term (up to 12 months) Contribute to world-leading research on Myanmar Be part of a supportive research environment with a strong Asia-Pacific focus Work in a beautiful campus...

17/06/2025

https://amseas.net/so/5cPSkUFWG?languageTag=en&status=Draft&cid=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000

Hi all,
AMSEAS Conference: Call for papers open!

3rd AMSEAS Conference 2025

Call for Papers

The Association of Mainland Southeast Asia Scholars (AMSEAS) is inviting paper and panel proposals for the 3rd AMSEAS Conference to take place online 12-13 November 2025.

The conference theme is "Between Co-option and Dissent: Speaking Truth to Power in Mainland Southeast Asia".

Conference background:

AMSEAS welcomes papers from the full range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences with a focus on the mainland Southeast Asia region, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Key areas include climate change, development, politics, international relations, gender issues, sociology, geography, anthropology, archaeology, architecture, and art history.

Papers will be also be accepted from other disciplines focusing on mainland Southeast Asia and interdisciplinary contributions are welcomed.

In light of the theme, we are particularly interested in contributions that consider the challenges in methodological challenges in authoritarian environments, speaking out as academics, freedoms versus restrictions, navigating and traversing binary perspectives, persistent resilience, the limitations of existing frameworks and approaches, responding to oppression and repression, identifying and understanding risks and opportunities, and changes in the political landscape including in relation to shifts outside the region.

The conference will be held online.

Key Information

Date: Wednesday-Thursday 12-13 November 2025
Proposal submission deadline: 31 July 2025
Notification of results of review of proposals: 31 August 2025
Award for best paper presentation at the conference
Presenters and participants must be AMSEAS members

Conference Registration

AMSEAS Membership covers conference participation. In order to be able to submit an abstract, you need to be an AMSEAS member.

Proposals

We welcome two types of submission: (i) Individual Proposals; and (ii) Panel Proposals

Abstracts for Individual Proposals should be no longer than 200 words. They should contain the paper title, your name, email address, and affiliated institution. You must also confirm your membership of AMSEAS.

Abstracts for Panel Proposals should be no longer than 200 words and should be emailed to [email protected] along with a list of proposed presenters. Panels should have no more than three presenters. The proposal should also state the chair of the panel. Presenters are asked to please also submit the abstracts of the individual papers via the link below, with the paper title, name, email address, and affiliated institution of each presenter, and title of the Panel.

Abstract submission closes on 31 July 2025.

To submit your abstract, please go to: AMSEAS Conference 2025 | Association of Mainland Southeast Asia Scholars (amseas.net)

AMSEAS is the professional association for scholars in Australia and New Zealand who work on Mainland Southeast Asia. It was founded in 2017. It is affiliated with the Asian Studies Association of Australia.

Thank you and we look forward to receiving your proposals!

AMSEAS Conference: Call for papers open! 3rd AMSEAS Conference 2025 Call for Papers The Association of Mainland Southeast Asia Scholars (AMSEAS) is inviting paper and panel proposals for the 3rd AMSEAS Conference to take place online 12-13 November 2025. The conference theme is "Between Co-option and Dissent: Speaking Truth to Power in Mai...

15/01/2025

https://politicalsciencenow.com/call-for-applications-2025-research-development-group-for-early-career-scholars-from-southeast-asia/

10/01/2025

01/01/2025

This is a good event for those interested in politics in Southeast Asia:

ASEAS International PhD Workshop 2025 The Association of Southeast Asian Studies presents an International PhD Workshop in Bangkok Hosted by Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand20–21 May 2025 Convenors: Adam Tyson (ASEAS, Lee…