Indonesian labour migration to north Australia, 1880-1972. This study of mobility between Indonesia and Australia provides a historical context for understanding Australia's relations with Indonesia and the complex history of our shared maritime border. Exploration of Indonesian immigration experiences will add to current political debate over temporary labour migration. This project demonstrates the importance of cross-border research as a means of enriching Australian history and enhancing our ....Indonesian labour migration to north Australia, 1880-1972. This study of mobility between Indonesia and Australia provides a historical context for understanding Australia's relations with Indonesia and the complex history of our shared maritime border. Exploration of Indonesian immigration experiences will add to current political debate over temporary labour migration. This project demonstrates the importance of cross-border research as a means of enriching Australian history and enhancing our cultural capital in relation to our northern neighbours. This detailed study of our multi-ethnic northern communities from which came the first Indonesian-Australian citizens makes a significant contribution to our knowledge of Australia's Asian diaspora.Read moreRead less
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.
Confronting Historical Injustice in Indonesia: Memory and Transnational Human Rights Activism. Since the 1990s there has been a boom in memory and in human rights activism relating to historical injustice in Indonesia. Using an innovative framework of the concept of ‘regions of memory’ this project examines how human rights activists located within and outside Indonesia use memory for the purposes of achieving human rights outcomes. Through national and international collaborations this project ....Confronting Historical Injustice in Indonesia: Memory and Transnational Human Rights Activism. Since the 1990s there has been a boom in memory and in human rights activism relating to historical injustice in Indonesia. Using an innovative framework of the concept of ‘regions of memory’ this project examines how human rights activists located within and outside Indonesia use memory for the purposes of achieving human rights outcomes. Through national and international collaborations this project will analyse why transnational activism concerning crimes from the Japanese occupation (1942-45), the independence struggle (1945-1949) and the 1965 mass violence escalated at particular points in time and deepen our understanding of the relationship between memory and human rights.Read moreRead less
A history of Filipino migration and identity, 1906-2010. The purpose of the research is to write a history of Filipino migration over the long twentieth century from the perspective of the migrants themselves. The story that emerges will help us understand migrant activism and explain how migration has had an enormous impact on the host countries including Australia as well as the Philippines.
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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100619
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$345,838.00
Summary
How torture becomes normal: Indonesia's New Order regime, 1965-1998. This project aims to research how torture became normal under Indonesia’s New Order military regime (1965-1998). By mapping the experiences of thousands of men, women and children, the project will investigate torture throughout the regime’s history. By combining select statistical methods with textual analysis, the project will map the historical spread and evolution of torture. The study expects to uncover how serious violenc ....How torture becomes normal: Indonesia's New Order regime, 1965-1998. This project aims to research how torture became normal under Indonesia’s New Order military regime (1965-1998). By mapping the experiences of thousands of men, women and children, the project will investigate torture throughout the regime’s history. By combining select statistical methods with textual analysis, the project will map the historical spread and evolution of torture. The study expects to uncover how serious violence becomes entrenched within security forces, how specific forms of torture evolve over time, and the relationship between spectacular and interrogative forms of this violence. This may lead to effective interventions to prevent torture.Read moreRead less
Systemic Corruption and Regime Change: State, Business and Political Elites in Indonesia and Implications for Governance Reform. The development of a stable, prosperous and democratic Indonesia is fundamental to Australia's long-term security. Systemic corruption has been identified as a fundamental impediment to such development and the Australian Government through AUSAID funds institutional reform programs. Yet formal law remains ineffective and corruption has continued to flourish, pointing ....Systemic Corruption and Regime Change: State, Business and Political Elites in Indonesia and Implications for Governance Reform. The development of a stable, prosperous and democratic Indonesia is fundamental to Australia's long-term security. Systemic corruption has been identified as a fundamental impediment to such development and the Australian Government through AUSAID funds institutional reform programs. Yet formal law remains ineffective and corruption has continued to flourish, pointing to weaknesses of policy design. This project will explain how competing political elites systematically use the leverage of the state to redistribute resources within business and society and seek to identify the formal and informal rules that underpin such behaviour. Outcomes will be better models and more effective governance reforms.Read moreRead less
The Life and Writings of Sir Charles Brooke, second Rajah of Sarawak (1829-1917). The benefit of the project is an understanding of the processes and mentality which underlaid what was perhaps history's most successful experiment in enlightened European rule over Asian peoples during the Imperial era. There are lessons here here for Australians' relations with their Southeast Asian neighbours, notably Malaysia and Indonesia. In the British context, it will document and evaluate for the first ti ....The Life and Writings of Sir Charles Brooke, second Rajah of Sarawak (1829-1917). The benefit of the project is an understanding of the processes and mentality which underlaid what was perhaps history's most successful experiment in enlightened European rule over Asian peoples during the Imperial era. There are lessons here here for Australians' relations with their Southeast Asian neighbours, notably Malaysia and Indonesia. In the British context, it will document and evaluate for the first time the achievement of one of the great figures of the Imperial era. Within Malaysia (and notably Sarawak) it will provide a major contribution towards an understanding of the 'White Rajah' era and its legacy of economic autonomy and political and cultural pluralism. Read moreRead less