News and Events

Public Seminars

Public Seminar 15th May, Senate Room, Murdoch University, 12:30 pm
Professor Mark Beeson, University of Birmingham
Trading places? China, the United States and the evolution of the international political economy

Public Seminar 28th March, 8th Floor Conference Room, Exchange Plaza, Perth, 2:00 pm
Ambassador Lalit Mansingh, Republic of India
The Rise of India and the Implications for Regional Stability

Public Seminar 28th April, Senate Room , Murdoch University, 10:30 am
Dr Tim Huxley, Executive Director, The International Institute for Strategic Studies – Asia, Singapore
An Arms Race in the Region? Southeast Asian Defence Policies, Military Spending and Weapons Procurement

ASIAVIEW

Asiaview 2007 now available: This edition focuses on Violence, Security and the State. It contains articles on the ‘Political Imbroglio in Pakistan’ by Rajat Ganguly, ‘The Future of RAMSI: Australian State Building Abroad and its Discontents’ by Shahar Hameiri, and the ‘Prospects for US Peace Efforts in the Southern Philippines’ by Nathan Quimpo. Carolin Liss looks at ‘The Culture of Piracy’ in Southeast Asia and Loh Kah Seng reflects on ‘Being “Young” and “Without History”’ as a researcher into recent Singapore history. In addition to these feature articles, there are items on the 2007 Public Seminar Series, including the Special Seminar Series on ‘Japan’s Role in Asia’. The Centre also introduces its new flagship project ‘New Modes of Governance in the Asia Pacific’. If you would like a hard copy of ASIAVIEW, please contact Tamara Dent on T.Dent@murdoch.edu.au

Centre Embarks on New Modes of Governance Project

The Asia Research Centre is embarking on a new flagship project, New Modes of Governance in the Asia-Pacific, with the aim of identifying, analysing and assessing new modes of governance in the region. Researchers will investigate such questions as: What patterns are discernible in the way that public goods are being provided? What are the competing conceptions of the ‘public’ in the provision of these goods and can they be reconciled? What conflicts and coalitions of interest are involved in the competing notions of how to provide public goods? More broadly, what are the links between new modes of governance and political regimes? Are these modes fostering forms of political participation and accountability that converge with or depart sharply from institutions of representative democracy? And what are the implications of this – both for the region and engagement with it?

Op Ed: Match language skills to booming markets

2006 Annual Report

The Annual Report of the Asia Research Centre for 2006 is now available to download as a .pdf file (3Mb), simply by clicking on the image of the cover to the right. If you would like a hard copy of the Annual Report, please contact Tamara Dent on T.Dent@murdoch.edu.au

the report contains such higlights as

life as a 2 yr old

Working Papers

The Asia Research Centre is pleased to announce further additions to our Working Paper Series, with the publication of Lieutenant General Dr John Sanderson, AC's 'The Shifting Centre Of Global Power: Australia’s Emerging Relationships In Asia And The South Pacific', Miyume Tanji's 'Futenma Air Base as a Hostage of Us-Japan Alliance: Power, Interests And Identity Politics Surrounding Military Bases In Okinawa', and Rizal G. Buendia's ‘The Politics of Ethnicity and Moro Secessionism in The Philippines'. You can also find the rest of our working paper series here.

Policy Commentary on Australia’s White Paper on Overseas Aid

The Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) announces the release of a policy commentary which looks at Australia’s White Paper on Overseas Aid. The AIIA seeks to keep Australian citizens informed on international affairs through its events and publications which provide quick and targeted expert responses on current issues. The current AIIA Policy Commentary includes the speech given by the Hon. Alexander Downer MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the launch of the Australian Aid White Paper and two commentary articles by Dr Robert Glasser, Chief Executive of CARE Australia and Toby Carroll and Shahar Hameiri, experts from the Asia Research Centre at Murdoch University.
Dr Robert Glasser is Chief Executive for CARE Australia, which is the largest non-political nonreligious overseas aid organization in Australia, providing humanitarian assistance across the globe. In his article he addresses trends and changes in Australia’s White Paper on Overseas Aid. Trends include ‘the focus of the program on the Asia-Pacific region, support for sectors, such as education, health and governance, and the emphasis on aid ‘partnerships’. A clear factor of evolution of policy has been ‘the huge body of recent research on, and Australian experience with, aid effectiveness’. Another factor that significantly influenced the evolution of aid policy is ‘the instability in Australia’s immediate region’. The second external trend is the ‘emergence of transnational threats, such as terrorism, drug and people trafficking, and health threats’.
Toby Carroll and Shahar Hameiri research development issues at the Asia Research Centre of Murdoch University. In their article The Politics of AusAid’s White Paper they doubt whether the White Paper will be successful in promoting its stated objectives. The White Paper’s claims to make Australia safer are ‘not at all convincing’ and both authors conclude that the White Paper could ‘actually achieve just the opposite’.

Southeast Asia, History of Marine and Animal Populations

Associate Professor Malcolm Tull has been invited to join the History of Marine Animal Populations (HMAP) steering group and take overall responsibility as principal investigator (PI) for the SE Asian HMAP activities. HMAP is the historical component of the Census of Marine Life (CoML), and 'aims to improve our understanding of ecosystem dynamics, specifically with regard to long-term changes in stock abundance, the ecological impact of large-scale harvesting by man, and the role of marine resources in the historical development of human society.' Full details of the HMAP Project are available from the website: http://www.hmapcoml.org/

Statecraft, Welfare and the Politics of Inclusion

the new book by Kanishka Jayasuriya, Palgrave, 2006
Jayasuriya explores the dynamics of a new social agenda conceived within the boundaries of neo liberalism. The enhanced focus on issues such as poverty through strategies of inclusion frames new terms of engagement for social policy, different from that which existed in the terrain of the post war welfare state. The author argues that this represents a form of neo liberal sociability built around a diverse complex of welfare reform extending from the advanced industrial states to East Asia, all of which creates a new social contract within a market model.