IAPS Blog Assistant Paid Internships

Salary: Approx. £10 per hour (plus holiday pay) Location: Residence in Nottingham is not required Hours: 10-15 hours per month About The Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies is seeking applications for four paid internships to work with the Editor of the Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies’ soon-to-be-launched new blog platform – IAPS Dialogue …

Conferencing in Dhaka

Written by Carole Spary. I recently had the privilege of participating in a conference on ‘Inclusive Governance in South Asia’ in Bangladesh on 8-9 May in the capital Dhaka. The conference was organised by Professor Nizam U. Ahmed, Chief Co-ordinator of the Public Administration and Governance Research Network and Professor at the Department of Public …

Neoliberalism’s Exploitation of Women Workers: the true price of our clothing

We are delighted to announce that recent School of Politics and International Relations graduate Zoe Kemp is the winner of the Tomlinson 2015/16 BA dissertation prize for the best dissertation on Asia. Congratulations Zoe! The award will be presented at the Tomlinson 2016/17 Annual Lecture. Below we have reproduced with permission a blog post written …

Ethnic tourism in Vietnam

Written by Esther Bott. Thanks to generous IAPS seed-corn funding, my study leave got off to a brilliant start in February with a successful research trip to Sapa in northern Vietnam. The purpose of the trip was to generate pilot data on ethnic tourism, a niche market that is growing rapidly in Vietnam and other …

Why China won’t back off the South China Sea – whatever the world might say

Written by Jing Cheng. A much-anticipated ruling on the South China Sea dispute initiated against China by the Philippines finally came down – and unsurprisingly, the Hague-based international tribunal that judged it ruled in favour of the Philippines, rejecting China’s claims of historical rights to the sea’s resources. The Philippines welcomed the ruling, and celebrated …

Impressions of Identity in Myanmar

Written by Carlotta Panchetti. I let two weeks pass before putting some thoughts on (digital) paper to elaborate on my 3 weeks in Myanmar. Due to the country’s size (it is in fact the fourth biggest country in the world) and the difficulties in transportation, I only had the chance to scratch its surface, spending …

Controlling the Media in Japan

Written by Griseldis Kirsch. “Freedom of assembly and association as well as speech, press and all other forms of expression are guaranteed. No censorship shall be maintained, nor shall the secrecy of any means of communication be violated.” (Article 21, Constitution of Japan) In spite of this clear embracement of Freedom of Press, Japanese politicians, …

Philippine Democracy: Stuck at the Halfway House

Written by Basanta E. P. Thapa. The Philippines’ democracy is an unfinished project. The country’s strong civil society, which is usually considered a driving force of democratisation, has become a keeper of the status quo. A close look at three local chambers of commerce and industry and how they interact with their local governments makes …

Enforcing the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone Treaty

Written by Roland G. Simbulan All ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapons-Free ZoneTreaty (SEA-NWFZT) on 15 December1995 in Bangkok. The ‘Bangkok Treaty’, as it became known, entered into force on 28 March 1997. The NWFZT is considered a model for regional de-nuclearization.  The treaty covers …

Survey Fatigue and the Search for ‘Good’ Data: post-disaster strategies

Written by Claire L. Berja. Leyte in the Eastern Visayas of the Philippines was one of the areas hardest hit by Typhoon Yolanda in 2013. Tacloban, the city that became the ‘poster town’ of the disaster, is located in Leyte facing the Pacific Ocean at the head of the Leyte Gulf. Leyte is one of …