Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia - Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia

History with Documents: New Research on the Indonesian Left

The Indonesian left has always been on the defensive when it comes to the production of history. Though it is commonplace to associate anticommunism most strongly with the 32 years of Suharto’s Orde Baru or the New Order Regime (1966-1998), such a deep-seated political view has long been presupposing the Indonesian state and society since the late colonial period. Anticommunism has manifested itself in different guises throughout the last century, from the Dutch counterinsurgent police (Shiraishi 2021) to the sanctioned maturation of the army during Soekarno’s Guided Democracy (Roosa 2020, Ch.1) and the manufactured fear of the rise of communism (kebangkitan PKI) in the contemporary Reformasi period (Estrelita 2024). Immediately after the [...]

Eroding Electoral Integrity: Reasons for Democratic Backsliding in Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asian countries that hold competitive elections, there has been a noticeable erosion of electoral integrity, leading to a regression in democracy since 2010. This has been evidenced by global democracy indexes.[1] In several of these countries, the traditional elites initially either choose to accept or endorse efforts to strengthen competitive multi-party democracy. Multi-party elections were accepted, in some instances, due to the pressure from the international community to promote democracy.[2] In other cases, it was driven by the internal momentum for democratic reforms and the aspirations of their populations.[3] However, when these reforms began to dissipate and threaten their political hegemony, these very elites, who initially supported multiparty elections, began to undermine and dismantle the electoral framework to re-establish their political grip over power. Free and fair elections are key to ensuring electoral integrity, as they promote trust, inclusivity, and peaceful transitions of power. Election legitimacy largely depends on the consistent application of electoral integrity principles throughout the [...]

Dr Kao Kim Hourn, ASEAN Secretary-General, on the Relevance of ASEAN

On behalf of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) and as the editor of the Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, professor at CSEAS, interviewed Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, ASEAN’s Secretary-General, on the topic, “Is ASEAN Still Relevant?” The interview was conducted on 19 December 2024 during which time Dr. Kao was invited to give a lecture on the said topic at CSEAS. [...]

Guest Editor’s Introduction – Decha Tangseefa, CSEAS

A border is a “contact zone” of people, culture, and capital. In an area like the Thai-Myanmar border, disease must also be included, as tuberculosis, drug-resistant malaria, and other illnesses have been prevalent since long before COVID-19 raged across the world. These transnational forces entwine and tremendously complicate the spaces in-between the two nation-states. As Burma/Myanmar has witnessed far more protracted armed conflicts than unarmed negotiations since its independence in 1948, this border region has become a space where hundreds of thousands have had to endure manifold sickness due to their marginal positionalities either as displaced peoples or voluntary migrants, many of whom become sources of unskilled or low-skilled cheap labor in Thailand. […]

Critical Counterpoints: Human-mosquito relations from the Thai-Myanmar borderlands to Singapore

Building on my previous work on environmental peacebuilding in Southeast Myanmar, my current research explores processes of “making peace” with disease-bearing mosquitos in Singapore. When I recently returned to the Thai-Myanmar borderlands for the 47th [...]

Circumventing undocumented-ness: Ethnic migrants along the Thai-Burma border pursue multiple mobilities

Having studied the migration of young Yunnanese migrants along the Thai-Burma border for several years, the 47th Southeast Asia Seminar gave me the chance to learn from other migrant [...]

The Mae La “Temporary Shelter Area” as migration infrastructure & (im)mobility of people on the move

The Mae La “temporary shelter area” is the largest of nine such sites located along the Thailand-Myanmar border. It is situated in Tha Song Yang District, approximately 60 kilometers from the cross-border trading hub of Mae Sot District and less than 10 kilometers from Myanmar. [...]

The crime of caring

What does it mean when your own country does not care about you? Among others, this question swirls in my mind when I recall the places that we visited during the 47th Southeast Asia Seminar. Roaming the vicinity of the new Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Bible School and College just across the stream from the Mae La “temporary shelter area,” I was intrigued by the rustic cadence of the place. En route to the school, [...]

Experiences in temporary host countries and their impact on integrating resettled refugees

As South Korea marks the 10th anniversary of its pilot resettlement program, research findings on the experiences of resettled refugees are emerging. The 47th Southeast Asia Seminar offered a timely opportunity to further my own [...]

Intersections of health, border, and marginality: Field research enriches understanding of Japanese engagement with post-coup Myanmar

My academic career is marked by a prolonged focus on Japanese diplomacy and Asian politics. Currently, my research concentrates on Japan’s role in the health and social welfare of refugees and minorities. The consequences of [...]

(Health) care and family (planning) of undocumented people along state borders

The 47th Southeast Asia Seminar offered an excellent opportunity to expand my focus from displaced Rohingya refugee families in South and Southeast Asia borderlands to gain a deeper understanding of different displaced groups in the Thai-Myanmar borderlands. Instead of focusing on Rohingya as refugees, [...]

Enriching the land discourse from the Thai-Myanmar Border

Throughout the 47th Southeast Asia Seminar, participants examined a diverse range of topics from health to border dynamics and marginalization. Amidst the rich discussions, one theme particularly captured my attention: how people residing in borderlands perceive land. [...]

International relations research and borderland as inhabited space

Researchers and practitioners from multiple disciplines gathered to learn about and discuss the situation in the Thai-Myanmar border region during the 47th Southeast Asia Seminar. Field trips to several locations in Tak Province, Thailand generated ideas about what research can be further pursued by positivist International Relations (IR) studies that address security [...]

Exploring the Role of Contextual Evidence in Understanding the Myanmar-Yunnan (China) Border from a Microeconomic Perspective

by YALEI ZHAI in Issue 41 Sept. 2025

Development issues in border areas between two countries are often highly complex. From a microeconomic perspective, this complexity is reflected in the production and consumption decisions of cross-border residents, influenced by historical, political, and social factors from both sides. If these factors were entirely different or completely identical, [...]

A pragmatic approach towards peace in Southern Thailand

by Sascha Helbardt in Issue 40

One of the most challenging security policy issues that Thailand’s current government, led by Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai (as of late July 2025), faces is the lack of a clear strategy for the ongoing Malay-Muslim insurgency in Thailand’s southernmost provinces, which has raged since 2004. This article aims to identify the most important political factors hindering a peaceful solution and suggests a new approach that addresses these obstacles more directly than in the past. A first major obstacle is [...]