The RSCS programme studies and examines the history, sociology and anthropology of national and transnational processes within Southeast Asia. RSCS is concerned with ethnographic practices and theory-building in contemporary histories, nation-building, civil society and religion, cultural globalisation and identity-making, contemporary politics, and democratisation and multiculturalism in Southeast Asia.
The programme publishes the internationally-refereed SOJOURN thrice a year. The journal covers topics on urbanisation, migration, ethnicity, religion, popular culture, nation-building, civil society, family and gender.
For more information on RSCS researchers, please click here.
Projects
- Religion in Southeast Asia
The projects under this theme examine the impact of religious growth and revival on multicultural and multi-religious societies and their role in shaping politics and public debates. They analyze, among others, the role of religious elites, religious movements, religious education, and new modes of religious transmission.
For more information, please contact the Coordinators, Dr Norshahril Saat and Dr Terence Chong
- China and Southeast Asia in the 21st Century
This project seeks to monitor and understand the extent to which Chinese political and cultural influence is impacting Southeast Asia, overseas Chinese and new Chinese migrants. It also investigates new forms of governance and organization of Chinese-owned industries and investments in Southeast Asia.
For more information, please contact the Coordinator Professor Leo Suryadinata
- Media, Technology and Society
This programme studies the different ways in which social media influences the state, politics, and everyday life in Southeast Asia. It focuses on the digital revolution that has extended access to information to many across the region, and the potential of the revolution in mobilising collective actions and behaviours.
For more information, please contact the Coordinator, Ms Lee Sue-Ann
Past Events
Selected Seminar series
- Digital Technologies and Democracy in Southeast Asia Webinar series
- ISEAS-SPF Asia Impact Dialogue Webinar Series
- Politics of Art in Southeast Asia Seminar Series
- Heritage of Malaysia and Singapore Seminar Series
Selected Workshops
- Online Workshop on Rising China and New Chinese Migrants in Southeast Asia
- Online Workshop on Social Media and Polarization in Southeast Asia
- Workshop on From Grassroots Activism to Disinformation: Social Media’s Impact on Southeast Asian Society
- Workshop on Contested Resource Frontiers in Mainland Southeast Asia
- ISEAS-IDE JETRO Workshop on Political Transitions in Southeast Asia” and “China in Mainland Southeast Asia: New Strategies and Practices
Past Publications of RSCS Researchers
Selected Books
- Norshahril Saat, Azhar Ibrahim, and Noor Aisha Abdul Rahman. Reaching for the Crescent: Aspirations of Singapore Islamic Studies Graduates and the Challenges (2021)
- Aim Sinpeng and Ross Tapsell, From Grassroots Activism to Disinformation: Social Media in Southeast Asia (2020)
- Michael J Montesano, Terence Chong and Prajak Kongkirati (eds), Praetorians, Profiteers or Professionals? Studies on the Militaries of Myanmar and Thailand (2020)
- Norshahril Saat and Ahmad Najib Burhani (eds), The New Santri: Challenges to Traditional Religious Authority in Indonesia (2020)
- Terence Chong (ed), Navigating Differences: Integration in Singapore (2020)
- Norshahril Saat and Azhar Ibrahim (eds), Alternative Voices in Muslim Southeast Asia: Discourses and Struggles (2019)
- Norshahril Saat. Tradition and Islamic Learning: Singapore Students in the Al-Azhar University (2018)
- Norshahril Saat, The State, Ulama and Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia (2018)
- Norshahril Saat, Islam in Southeast Asia: Negotiating Modernity (2018)
- Terence Chong (ed), Pentecostal Megachurches in Southeast Asia: Negotiating Class, Consumption and the Nation (2018)
- Leo Suryadinata, The Rise of China and the Chinese Overseas: A Study of Beijing’s Changing Policy in Southeast Asia and Beyond (2017)
- Terence Chong and Hui Yew-Foong, Different Under God: A Survey of Church-going Protestants in Singapore (2013)
- Hui Yew-Foong, Encountering Islam: The Politics of Religious Identities in Southeast Asia (2012)
Selected TRENDS
| Religion in Southeast Asia | Mohd Faizal Musa, Naquib Al-Attas’ Islamization of Knowledge: Its Impact on Malay Religious Life, Literature, Language and Culture (2021) A’an Suryana and Nur Syafiqah Mohd Taufek, The Serious Social Impact of Non-violent Extremism in Indonesia (2021) A’an Suryana, Challenges in Tackling Extremism in the Indonesian Civil Service (2020) Quinton Temby, Terrorism in Indonesia after “Islamic State” (2020) Syafiq Hasyim and Norshahril Saat, Indonesia’s Ministry of Religious Affairs under Joko Widodo (2020) Leo Suryadinata, Pancasila and the Challenge of Political Islam: Past and Present (2018) Norshahril Saat, The Traditionalist Response to Wahhabi-Salafism in Batam by Norshahril Saat (2017) Norshahril Saat, Johor Remains the Bastion of Kaum Tua by Norshahril Saat (2017) |
| China and Southeast Asia in the 21st Century | Danielle Labbé, Urban Transition in Hanoi: Huge Challenges Ahead (2021) Enze Han, Non-State Chinese Actors and Their Impact on Relations between China and Mainland Southeast Asia (2021) Siwage Dharma Negara and Leo Suryadinata, Indonesia and China’s Belt and Road Initiatives: Perspectives, Issues and Prospects (2018) Leo Suryadinata, The Growing “Strategic Partnership” between Indonesia and China Faces Difficult Challenges (2017) Vannarith Chheang, The Political Economy of Chinese Investment in Cambodia (2017) |
| Media, Technology and Society | Pauline Pooi Yin Leong, Digital Mediatization and the Sharpening of Malaysian Political Contests (2021) Dien Nguyen An Luong, The Growing Salience of Online Vietnamese Nationalism (2021) Ross Tapsell, Deepening the Understanding of Social Media’s Impact in Southeast Asia (2020) |
Some of these titles are available in PDF and hard copies. For a more comprehensive list, please check our bookshop.
Concluded Projects
- Demographic Change in Southeast Asia
- Singapore’s Islamic Studies Graduates
- State Responses to Extremism in Post-Authoritarianism Southeast Asia
- Christianity in Southeast Asia: Comparative Growth, Politics and Networks in Urban Centres
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