Comparative Border Studies. While borders are of increasing interest to Australian scholars and policy-makers, much existing research in Australia is focused on issues of border security or border integrity. There is an urgent need to supplement this work with theoretical and empirical insights drawn from the field of border studies. North America is a key site for international research in this field. Collaboration with North American scholars is thus an important step in developing and expandi ....Comparative Border Studies. While borders are of increasing interest to Australian scholars and policy-makers, much existing research in Australia is focused on issues of border security or border integrity. There is an urgent need to supplement this work with theoretical and empirical insights drawn from the field of border studies. North America is a key site for international research in this field. Collaboration with North American scholars is thus an important step in developing and expanding Australian expertise in border studies. This project will provide the intellectual environment and collaborative networks necessary to establish the first dedicated Centre for Border Studies in Australia.Read moreRead less
From Migrant to Worker: New Transnational Responses to Temporary Labour Migration in East and Southeast Asia. This project compares the nature and impact of civil society initiatives concerning temporary labour migration in Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It provides a model for understanding NGO-union cooperation on migrant labour issues, useful not only in East and Southeast Asia, where foreign workers - and foreign workers' rights - are already matters of serious concern, bu ....From Migrant to Worker: New Transnational Responses to Temporary Labour Migration in East and Southeast Asia. This project compares the nature and impact of civil society initiatives concerning temporary labour migration in Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It provides a model for understanding NGO-union cooperation on migrant labour issues, useful not only in East and Southeast Asia, where foreign workers - and foreign workers' rights - are already matters of serious concern, but in countries like Australia, where skills shortages and ageing populations are increasing pressure on governments to allow large-scale temporary foreign labour. The project's findings will assist government agencies and local and transnational civil society groups to respond more effectively to temporary labour migration.Read moreRead less
The Overseas Chinese Water Frontier of Southeast Asia, 1700-1900. This project proposes to view the South China Sea/Gulf of Thailand rim as a single economic region, a "water frontier" that endured for two centuries. Focusing on the Mekong delta and adjacent coasts, it will examine the major roles the Chinese played in the establishment of the Siamese and Vietnamese states. Despite the frontier's marginalisation in the nineteenth century, the populations supplied the manpower and expertise that ....The Overseas Chinese Water Frontier of Southeast Asia, 1700-1900. This project proposes to view the South China Sea/Gulf of Thailand rim as a single economic region, a "water frontier" that endured for two centuries. Focusing on the Mekong delta and adjacent coasts, it will examine the major roles the Chinese played in the establishment of the Siamese and Vietnamese states. Despite the frontier's marginalisation in the nineteenth century, the populations supplied the manpower and expertise that fueled the national and colonial economies which later developed around Saigon, Bangkok and Singapore. Our aim is to restore the "lost" history of this region and its peoples and to set new agendas for future research.Read moreRead less