Asian/Pacific Studies Institute at Duke University

Thai political leader Pita Limjaroenrat joined DCID director Edmund Malesky for a fireside chat examining the pressing challenges Thailand is facing, including socio-economic inequality, political polarization, shifting regional relationships among ASEAN nations and their neighbors, and climate change.

In 2023, as leader of the progressive Move Forward Party, Pita was poised to become the prime minister of Thailand. However, in 2024, Thailand’s Constitutional Court dissolved the party, banning Pita and other key party leaders from politics for 10 years.

Pita became the 252nd Thai politician to be removed through legal and procedural means, a pattern he describes as a “judicial coup.”

Now a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, Pita continues to work on democratic reform from abroad. He lectures and mentors students, focusing on how laws and institutions are sometimes used to weaken democracy instead of protecting it.

Thank you to Duke APSI for sponsoring the event and to Charlie Colasurdo '23 for helping coordinate Pita's visit!

Event recap: https://asianpacific.duke.edu/news/looking-back-moving-forward-thai-political-leader-pita-limjaroenrat-speaks-duke/

Are well-trained business managers less corrupt?

Edmund Malesky (Duke Center for International Development director), Tuan-Ngoc Phan (Duke PhD alumnus), Yi (Daniel) Xu (Duke Economics) and Rob Fetter (DCID senior fellow) argue that better managers are less likely to cut regulatory corners and therefore less reliant on bribes to avoid fines by regulatory inspectors.

In the journal article, "Do better managers bribe less? Cross-national and experimental evidence," the authors present two theories of change that illustrate how better management practices can reduce incentives to pay bribes during regulatory inspections. Their analysis includes findings from two interconnected studies: a cross-national business survey and a field experiment that provided management training courses to randomly assigned firms in Vietnam.

Read the Business and Politics (Cambridge University Press & Assessment) article: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-and-politics/article/do-better-managers-bribe-less-crossnational-and-experimental-evidence/DD4C2BB5C2C9F3654C315C0A07737D89

Duke students! Remember to apply to APSI for funding to support:
➡️ summer language study in Asia (for graduate and undergrad students)
➡️ undergraduate research in Asia

APSI also administers awards for the Sirena WuDunn Memorial Scholarship and the Janet B. Chiang grant.

🎯 Applications are due Friday, March 6. Details and links to the 2026 application are on the APSI website (asianpacific.duke.edu/funding).

🔹 The Janet B. Chiang grant can be applied to graduate or undergraduate student projects with the goal of furthering Asian-American understanding, as well as need-based grants for students to study in Asia.

🔹 The Sirena WuDunn Memorial Scholarship is an academic-year award for undergraduate students (2026–27) and cannot be used for summer programs.

Happy Lunar New Year from APSI! May the fire horse bring you positive energy, confidence, resilience, an adventurous spirit, and light to illuminate your thinking and the world.

新年快乐 ⋆ 새해 복 많이 받으세요 ⋆ 新年おめでとう ⋆ Chúc Mừng Năm Mới ⋆ สวัสดีปีใหม่ ⋆ Manigong Bagong Taon ⋆ Selamat Tahun Baru ⋆ နစ်သစ်မှာ ပျော်ရွှင်ပါစေ ⋆ шинэ жилийн мэнд хүргэе

Duke grad students working on East or Southeast Asia: apply for up to $3,000 from APSI for your summer research in Asia.

📅 Applications for summer 2026 are due February 15!
asianpacific.duke.edu/funding/graduate-student-funding/

Duke University Graduate School

As a result of expected hazardous conditions resulting from accumulations of ice, Duke University and Duke University Health System will activate the severe weather and emergency conditions policy from 7 p.m. Saturday through 11:30 a.m. Monday.

Details: https://emergency.duke.edu

Duke University | Duke Students | Duke University Graduate School | Duke University Student Affairs

Congratulations to Lei He! This sounds like a fascinating film, and we are excited to see it brought to the screen at the Rubenstein Arts Center!

We're excited to support graduate student Lei He's documentary screening for FREE this weekend at the Ruby!

Interested in hosting a program on campus? Apply for our Global Engagement Microgrants (GEMs) using the link in our Link Tree.

Cast your vote for Professor Chow! 🎃 ☕

direct link to the photo: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BbkBS1V5h/

Eileen Chow

Asia Pacific Studies Institute

Tsundoku: the Japanese practice of buying books and letting them pile up unread

Tundoku: the Japanese practice of buying books and letting them pile up unread - I am a stack of unread books on your bedside (complete with nightstand lamp), haunting you!
The Duke Asia Pacific Studies Institute (APSI) has a tradition of hosting a Halloween party for all our graduate students, faculty, visiting scholars, and affiliates. As Director of Graduate Studies for the MA program and as APSI director this year, I had everyone over to our place. To my left is Yitong Guo, a graduate student in the Critical Asian and Middle Eastern Humanities Program in the AMES department.

This Wednesday, be sure to stop in for what promises to be an amazing conversation between Curtis Chin and Eileen Chow!
🕟 4:30PM
📆 October 22
🏫 East Duke 209 (East Campus)
details: https://asianpacific.duke.edu/event/book-talk-w-curtis-chin-everything-i-learned-i-learned-chinese-restaurant-10-22-2025/

Less than one week to go

WHA Korea 2026 Korea 2026 The WHA will be hosting the 35th WHA Annual Meeting in Incheon, Korea, from 25- 27 June, 2026, co-sponsored by George Mason University Korea, in affiliation with The Academy of Korean Studies. Conference Theme Closed Borders and Global Connections: Being Global after Globalization The wor...