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Empire Competition: Southeast Asia as Site of Imperial Contestation


Jointly organized by Global Asia Institute, Pace University and NYSEAN, this month-long conference brings together a leading experts from around the world to examine Southeast Asia’s position in the shadow of China, and in the sights of European imperial powers.

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The conference addresses questions such as, how has Southeast Asia been subject to power projection from great powers and empires from the past to the present?  In what ways has a combination of state-sponsored and voluntary migration to Southeast Asia been a soft power tool for China, or Western countries?  How have ethnic Chinese communities in the region been tied to, and shaped by, larger political, social and economic trends at home? How did these similarities and differences of interactions between Chinese diaspora and various Chinese regimes vary across different periods of rule (CCP, KMT, and Qing)? How did these historic relations change under European colonial rule, Japanese military occupation, and post-independent movements?  And how is Southeast Asia today addressing great power rivalries between the US and China over the control of maritime space—especially groups of resource-rich islands—and the exercise of maritime jurisdiction related to disputes taking place in international waters?

Click here to register for one or more sessions.