Governance, Conflict & Security
The projects that fall under this theme explore the concepts of "Failed", "Failing", "Functional" and "Rising" states in the Asia-Pacific and will map and measure the various factors that put states at risk of governmental and societal collapse and threaten the prospect of peace in the region. Among these factors might be included: political stability and change, constitutional challenge, ethnic tensions and identity, poverty, corruption, migration, and food security.
Major focus will be on South and South East Asia including the Pacific. These historically volatile regions include the two economic and military power houses, India and China, and crucially an ‘arc’ of states on their borders that are deemed to be failing - Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka – or facing various challenges to their long-term stability such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and various Pacific Islands.
While UNE has a long-standing collaborative research engagement with the Asia-Pacific, particularly through the UNE Asia Centre established in 1992, and the School of Humanities, the broad, interdisciplinary comparative approach we intend to adopt will break new ground at two levels of investigation: at the national level between the countries in question, and at the provincial level between ethnically and culturally divided regions within them. In this way we hope to build on the platform of individual research that both Staff members and Higher Degree Students have achieved hitherto in history, political science, sociology, international relations, and Asian studies.
Useful Links:
Asia Centre: http://www.une.edu.au/asiacenter/
Howard Brasted Home Page: http://www.une.edu.au/staff/hbrasted.php
School of Humanities Home Page: http://www.une.edu.au/humanities/
Contact:
Professor Howard Brasted
Email: hbrasted@une.edu.au
Phone: 02 6773 2081