Rethinking Impartial Humanitarianism: Lessons from the Recent History of the Asia-Pacific Region. Australia today is increasingly involved in complex international humanitarian missions, involving cooperation with other nations and with international non-government organizations. These actions have profound implications for relationships between Australia and other countries. Through an investigation of key case studies from the Asia-Pacific region, this project will create a deeper understandin ....Rethinking Impartial Humanitarianism: Lessons from the Recent History of the Asia-Pacific Region. Australia today is increasingly involved in complex international humanitarian missions, involving cooperation with other nations and with international non-government organizations. These actions have profound implications for relationships between Australia and other countries. Through an investigation of key case studies from the Asia-Pacific region, this project will create a deeper understanding of the long-term experiences, possibilities and limitations of impartial humanitarian action. It will thus contribute to global debates about humanitarianism, and to better-informed Australian engagement in responding to humanitarian crises in our region and the wider world.Read moreRead less
War crimes and the Japanese military, 1941-1945. During the Second World War, Japanese military forces in Asia and the Pacific committed extraordinary atrocities against prisoners-of-war, civilian internees and local populations. These atrocities shocked Japan's Western enemies, not least because Japanese military behaviour in the early 20th century had been celebrated as remarkably humane. This project seeks to explain Japanese wartime brutality, identifying the specific circumstances in which ....War crimes and the Japanese military, 1941-1945. During the Second World War, Japanese military forces in Asia and the Pacific committed extraordinary atrocities against prisoners-of-war, civilian internees and local populations. These atrocities shocked Japan's Western enemies, not least because Japanese military behaviour in the early 20th century had been celebrated as remarkably humane. This project seeks to explain Japanese wartime brutality, identifying the specific circumstances in which it occurred and considering the particular wartime context. It challenges the prevalent explanation of Japanese wartime violence which locates the causes of brutality in deeply rooted aspects of Japanese national culture. This research is expected to contribute to understandings of war and violence.Read moreRead less
Repatriation and release of Japanese war criminals 1946-1958: Southeast Asia, Japan and the Great Powers. Japanese war criminals held in Southeast Asia were repatriated and released in Japan from the late 1940s. Releases were negotiated between Japan and the nation that had convicted the prisoner. The project provides new understandings of the emergence of Southeast Asian states in regional diplomacy and of Japan's re-emergence as a regional power.
The Politics of Guilt in Asia: the Afterlife of Japanese War Crimes. This project aims to investigate the perception of Japan’s continuing guilt for atrocities committed during the Second World War. Until the 1970s, it was widely believed that Japan had resolved its guilt by accepting punishment, paying recompense and apologising, and could move on. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the process by which the idea of Japan’s guilt was revived to become a major issue in East Asian ....The Politics of Guilt in Asia: the Afterlife of Japanese War Crimes. This project aims to investigate the perception of Japan’s continuing guilt for atrocities committed during the Second World War. Until the 1970s, it was widely believed that Japan had resolved its guilt by accepting punishment, paying recompense and apologising, and could move on. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the process by which the idea of Japan’s guilt was revived to become a major issue in East Asian and world affairs. Expected outcomes include enhanced understanding of how historical grievance is constructed and why it has come to be considered always open to review. Anticipated benefits include a greater understanding of the changing ways in which historical grievance is used, both politically and ethically.Read moreRead less
Mekong governance: State officials at the margins of empire. This project aims to bring a historical perspective to a zone of ongoing conflict, disorder and international competition. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the British, French and Siamese imperial powers posted officials to the upper Mekong. This project will explore how their cross-empire interaction created a zone of hybrid and compromised governance which blurred the political demarcation between Burma, Indochin ....Mekong governance: State officials at the margins of empire. This project aims to bring a historical perspective to a zone of ongoing conflict, disorder and international competition. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the British, French and Siamese imperial powers posted officials to the upper Mekong. This project will explore how their cross-empire interaction created a zone of hybrid and compromised governance which blurred the political demarcation between Burma, Indochina and Siam. It aims to show how officials at the margins of empire created some of the region’s contemporary governance challenges. The project could influence policies and programmes that promote development and stability in the region.Read moreRead less
Reconfiguring ideology: embodying China's new concepts of heritage in commemorative rituals. Knowledge of China's newly listed and recently revived commemorative rituals is of international significance, and in the era of rising religiosity and civil religion, this study of the state sponsored 'heritage cults' will provide an understanding of the changing terrain of identity, tradition and cultural value in a country that is of crucial importance and increasing significance for Australia.
Critical thought in Thailand after Marxism: modern political history through ideas. This collaborative Australian-Thai project will document competing schools of critical thought that emerged in Thailand after the Cold War. Our team will map and analyse the battles of ideas that parallel political contests in the country, deepening understanding of tensions that now polarise one of Australia's most important regional neighbours.
Handbooks and Environmental Knowledge in Thailand. This project will contribute to maintaining Australian scholars at the forefront of innovative research in Southeast Asia. The project will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of attitudes towards the environment within the region. Australia has a significant aid investment in the region and this is likely to grow as a result of the White Paper on overseas development aid. In Southeast Asia much of the aid effort addresses issues of susta ....Handbooks and Environmental Knowledge in Thailand. This project will contribute to maintaining Australian scholars at the forefront of innovative research in Southeast Asia. The project will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of attitudes towards the environment within the region. Australia has a significant aid investment in the region and this is likely to grow as a result of the White Paper on overseas development aid. In Southeast Asia much of the aid effort addresses issues of sustainable resource management. Australian businesses have also indicated that deeper insights into local perspectives on sustainability and resource management will be useful in enhancing economic cooperation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101838
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Impunity and state violence in Thailand. This project will detail the complexities of the legal and extrajudicial challenges to democracy in Thailand, one of Australia's strategically and economically important Southeast Asian neighbours. The results will offer new historical and theoretical insights on how impunity for state violence affects state formation and nation-building.
The Maritime Silk Route as a world system. New archaeological evidence suggests that cultural interaction along the Maritime Silk Route was more complex than previously held. By using new analytical techniques to source artefacts from pre-Oc Eo sites in South Vietnam, this project will provide new insights into the production and distribution of trade goods 2000 years ago.