Southeast Asia

Abstract

Australian academics, like their North American counterparts, showed little interest in Southeast Asian politics until after the Second World War, and then, initially, only in a miniscule way. By the 1970s, however, the situation was definitely changing toward more Australian academic engagement in the region. During the 1980s—early 2000s, Australia become well-known in international social science circles for its scholarship on Southeast Asian political life. My purpose is not to explain this increased Australian scholarship but to present its contours.²

I thank Rod Rhodes for inviting me to prepare this chapter; and Garry Rodan for suggestions for how to approach the task and for commenting on a draft version. For other suggestions and advice, I am grateful to Bill Case, Harold Crouch, John Funston and Marcus Mietzner.