On 15 December 2023, CSDS and MAIDS-GRID joined the International Migrants Day. The presentation title was “Climate change, agrarian change and conflict: A scoping study on recent migration between Myanmar and Thailand”.
Further details on the program of the launch can be found here.
A recording of the full program can be viewed here.
WriteShop on “Shifting Practices and Experiences of Development Cooperation in Southeast Asia: Understanding Local Voice and Agency”
Introduction
Since the new Millennium, the development cooperation landscape has drastically changed in Southeast Asia. Actors providing, receiving, influencing and affected by development cooperation have diversified. So too has the forms and tools of development cooperation, for example South-South cooperation including by China and India, climate funds, philanthropic foundations, and global vertical funds (Mawdsley 2017). The financial volume of new contributions has grown to outpace that of earlier Western donors. Such a shift has led to what Greenhill et al. (2013) describe as a new ‘age of choice’ in which countries of the Global South are provided with a range of development cooperation options to choose from for financing their development. Yet, in reality, the variety of opportunities differ greatly between countries in the Global South, depending on their economic/ geopolitical ‘credentials’ (Fuchs and Quante 2021; Waisbich et al. 2021). Furthermore, as donors pursue their (national) interests through development cooperation, so-called 'donor competition' has intensified (Fuchs et al. 2013), including in Southeast Asia in recent years (Liao and Dang 2020; Liao and Katada 2021).
Existing development studies literature on donor competition predominantly focuses on the accounts of financiers and providers, for example their motivations and processes of competition. Far less attention is paid to the perspectives and agency of local actors in Southeast Asia, including the diverse voices within governments, as well as civil society and impacted communities (see Sato et al. 2011). As a consequence, less is studied on how local actors evaluate and understand the shifting practices and experiences of development cooperation in Southeast Asia: and in particular, how they see opportunities and challenges within the changing development cooperation landscape to address what they define as their development challenges – and the very meaning of ‘development’. Exploring the local voice and agency in development cooperation is salient at this critical juncture as the crises of climate shock, pandemic, and the war in Ukraine have not only aggravated existing development challenges in the region but also shape the very dynamic development cooperation landscape in the region.
WriteShop program
This WriteShop hosted paper presentations submitted to the earlier call for papers (here for full details). The full program was as follows:
Field visit
The WriteShop participants were invited to a community field visit to Khun Samut Chin village, Samut Prakarn Province. The field visit offered the opportunity to learn about coastal erosion and land subsidence, and the impacts on residing communities including regarding land rights, access to natural resources, and forced displacement.
This event was co- organized by M.A. and Ph.D. Program in International Development Studies (MAIDS-GRID) and Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University; School for Cross-faculty Studies, The University of Warwick; and Chulalongkorn University UNESCO Chair in Resource Governance and Futures Literacy.
Speakers
Opening remarks:
Dr. Bhanubhatra Jittiang, Assistant Dean for International Affairs and Director of the M.A. and Ph.D. Program in International Development Studies (MAIDS-GRID)
Speakers:
Dr. Naruemon Thabchumpon, Associate Professor and Director of Asian Research Center for Migration (ARCM), Chulalongkorn University
Dr. Marta Guerriero, Associate Professor and Head of International Partnerships, Global Sustainable Development, School for Cross-faculty Studies, The University of Warwick
Dr. Carl Middleton, Assistant Professor and Director of Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
Chair:
Dr. Jessica Savage-Wilkes, Associate Professor, Global Sustainable Development, School for Cross-faculty Studies, The University of Warwick
Concluding remarks:
Dr. Stephanie Panichelli, Professor and Head of School, School for Cross-faculty Studies, The University of Warwick
A recorded video can be found here.
On December 6, CSDS hosted a book launch and discussion. The book title is “Land into Capital”. Carl Middleton from CSDS is the chapter author of the book.
Commentator:
Dr. Pasuk Phongpaichit is an Emeritus Professor in Political Economy with the Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Thailand, and co-laureate of the Fukuoka Grand Prize, 2017. Professor Pasuk’s publications include: Unequal Thailand (2016); We the People Revolutionize Tax for Equality (2020) and Land Governance in Thailand (forthcoming in 2023).
Moderator:
Dr. Naruemon Thabchumpon is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, and Director of the Asian Research Center for Migration
Book editors/ chapter authors
Dr. Philip Hirsch is an Emeritus Professor in human geography at the University of Sydney and coauthor of Powers of Exclusion: Land Dilemmas in Southeast Asia
Dr. Kevin Woods is a Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu.
Natalia Scurrah is an independent researcher based in Thailand and coauthor of The Mekong: A Sociolegal Approach to River Basin Development.
Chapter author
Dr. Carl Middleton is Director of the Center for Social Development Studies and Deputy Director on the MA and PhD graduate program in International Development Studies in the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University.
A recorded video can be found here.
This was a public seminar in person co- organized by the Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), Chulalongkorn University; Chulalongkorn University UNESCO Chair in Resource Governance and Futures Literacy; and China Dialogue Trust.
Please see the full agenda here.
A recorded vide can be found here.
On November 24, CSDS and RWI collaborated for the hybrid seminar on “Climate Change, Mobility and Human Rights: ‘Slow-onset’ Environmental Change and Displacement in the Mekong Region”.
This full day hybrid public seminar addressed the following questions, with a focus on mainland Southeast Asia.
How are climate change, people’s mobility and human rights connected?
What is the experience on the ground?
Is current law and policy adequate to address emerging vulnerabilities, especially regarding ‘slow onset’ environmental change?
What are the actionable polices and on-the-ground approaches to protect and promote human rights?
What are the implications for ‘loss and damage’ claims and climate justice?
For more information about the event, you can visit the CSDS website here and you can watch the full seminar here.
This event was co- organized by Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), Chulalongkorn University; Chulalongkorn University UNESCO Chair in Resource Governance and Futures Literacy; SustainAsia; Research Institute on Contemporary Southeast Asia (IRASEC); Institute of Political Sciences (Sciences Po) Toulouse; and Heinrich Böll Foundation.
Our panelists are:
Dr. Apisom Intralawan, Institute for the Study of Natural Resource Management and Environmental Management, Mae Fah Luang University
Prof. Dr. Catherine Baron, Sciences Po Toulouse
Karen Delfau, PhD candidate at Sciences Po Toulouse
Dr. Anindrya Nastiti, Institut Teknologi Bandung
Phong Huynh, Deputy Project Manager, GRET (Laos)
The panel was moderated by Gabriel Facal, IRASEC Deputy Director.
Please see the full event below.
On Thursday, 2nd June 2022, CSDS co- organized with Chulalongkorn University and the Australia – Mekong Partnership for Environmental Resources and Energy Systems (AMPERES) for report launch and discussion on “Pathways to a Sustainable and Just Transformation of the Mekong Region’s Electricity Sector”.
The event covered the following questions:
Rethinking electricity narratives: How are different electricity options narrated and justified? How do they reflect visions for the electricity transformation? What are the implications for a just electricity transformation in the region?
Rethinking electricity planning: Beyond changes in generation technology, in what ways could/should electricity systems in the region change in the near future? What are the challenges and opportunities to do so? What are the economic, social and environmental implications?
Rethinking scale and design: Why does scale matter in electricity planning and practice? Are different scaled technologies and practices mutually exclusive options? What are the trends and the region and what are the consequences?
Please see the full agenda here. Please view the final report here.
You can watch the full discussion here.
This event was co- hosted by The Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Chiang Mai University (RCSD); Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute (CUSRI); Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, Chulalongkorn University; Center for Social Development Studies, Chulalongkorn University (CSDS); College of Politics and Governance , Mahasarakham University; Faculty of Science and Social Sciences, Burapha University Sakaeo Campus.
This seminar shared recent research on the water policy and practices and its impacts especially on community livelihoods and culture in Thailand, and to contextualize the findings by engaging in discussion with innovative approaches beyond Thailand.
Please see the panel and more information here.
A recording of the full event can be found here.
CSDS collaborated with Chulalongkorn Futures Literacy and Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University for a panel discussion for Chulalongkorn University’s Futures Literacy Week.
The full event panels are:
Panelists;
Prof. Dr. Jin Sato, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo; President, Japan Society for International Development
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mandy Sadan, Director of the Graduate Taught Programmes in Global Sustainable Development, University of Warwick
Mr. Hermes Huang, Design Thinking Practitioner, Co-Founder, InsightPact
Moderator;
Dr. Bhanubhatra Jittang, Director, MAIDS-GRID, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
The full event can be found below.
Carl Middleton from CSDS was the moderator for a panel discussion on “A Bridge Over Troubled Water: Anticipating and Reimagining the Future of Rivers in Southeast Asia”. This was a panel for the International Conference of Chulalongkorn University’s Futures Literacy Week. You can find more information about Chulalongkorn’s University Futures Literacy here.
The full panelist for the event are:
Chol Bunnag, Assistant Professor and Director, Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)
Pianporn Deetes, Thailand and Myanmar Campaigns Director, International Rivers
Saw John Bright, Water Program Manager, Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN)
Raymond Yu Wang, Associate Professor, Center for Social Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology
Tarek Ketelsen, Director General, Australia – Mekong Partnership for Environmental Resources and Energy Systems (AMPERES)
Yong Ming Li, Fellow, East West Center
Moderator
Carl Middleton, Director, Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
The full event is below.
CSDS was the co- organizer for a panel discussion on climate change, climate action and climate justice on Chulalongkorn University Futures Literacy week. Co- designers and facilitators shared what they learned and what will be next.
See the full panel below.
Carl Middleton from CSDS was one of the speakers for the online webinar organized by Metropolis Asia-Pacific titled “Report on the UN Climate Change Conference and the Impact of Climate Change on Migration in South East Asia”.
The full panelist for the event are:
Opening remarks: Imelda M. Nicolas, Former Cabinet Secretary, Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Co- convener, Metropolis- Asia
Moderator: Tasneen Sidiqui, University of Dhaka, Banglades
Closing Remarks: Binod Khadria, Former Professor, Jwaharlal Nehru Univ, Indida, Co- convener, Metropolis- Aisa
Speakers: Ouvais Samad, Deputy Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), Bonn, Germany Kristin Marie Dadey, Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Manila, Philippines Carl Middleton, Director, Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS), Chulalaongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
A recording of the event can be found here
Carl Middleton from CSDS was one of the speakers for the online discussion on how biodiversity in the Mekong Basin can be protected, despite its constant evolution, notably through integrated management and community-based approaches.
This event was organized by Agence Française de Développement.
Speakers :
Anoulak Kittikhoun, Chief Strategy and Partnership Officer, Mekong River Commission
Carl Middleton, Director at the Center for Social Development Studies, Chulalungkorn University (TH)
Jake Brunner, Head of IndoBurma Group, IUCN
The full video is below:
