SEARBO: Supporting the Rules-Based Order in Southeast Asia

SEARBO - Supporting the Rules-Based Order in Southeast Asia

The 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper calls for Australia to support an ‘increasingly prosperous, outwardly-focused, stable and resilient Southeast Asia’. While this goal is grounded in sustaining a rules-based order at the regional level, it also points to the importance of encouraging domestic arrangements conducive to such an order. In seeking to counter illiberal trends in much of the region, Australia can put greater focus on nurturing more inclusive democratic structures with stronger potential to uphold human rights and the rule of law.

In 2018, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) funded the Department of Political and Social Change (PSC) of the Australian National University (ANU) for a program of applied research and advocacy to generate insight and ideas about these critical issues. PSC, part of the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, houses Australia’s largest concentration of expertise on Southeast Asian politics. By December 2018, the ‘Supporting the Rules-Based Order in Southeast Asia’ project, known as SEARBO, was underway with activities that focused on electoral dynamics in Indonesia and the Philippines, democratic and judicial reform options in Malaysia and a major conference on entrenched illiberalism in mainland Southeast Asia.

This initial phase of work ran through 2019, with the summary report on its findings available here.

A second phase of activities continues into 2021, and a culminating conference was held in May 2021. Once again, through a combination of policy-oriented research and advocacy activities, SEARBO continues to develop a fresh agenda for Australia to promote and support democratic institutions within stable and resilient Southeast Asian states. Across five core themes, we identified activities expected to have the greatest impact:

a) Religion, ethnicity and inclusive democracy;

b) Democracy, authoritarianism and political economy;

c) Protecting rights and democracy;

d) Women’s substantive representation; and

e) National and subnational dimensions of democratic institutions.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, SEARBO2 activities were re-oriented in two major ways. First, in line with the Australian Government’s Partnerships for Recovery: Australia’s COVID-19 Development Response, to put a strong emphasis on pandemic responses across Southeast Asia—particularly as they affect vulnerable populations. Second, cognisant of on-going travel restrictions, to shift as necessary toward new remote means of delivering project outcomes. This led to the addition of a sixth theme, as follows:

f) Surveys on the politics of COVID-19 response.

Whereas SEARBO1 was organised primarily along geographic lines, this second phase was constructed around the six themes specified above. Within these themes, the proposed body of work stretches across many of the same countries in both insular and mainland Southeast Asia, most of all Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Timor-Leste. It also includes activities that have a broader region-wide focus. In both SEARBO1 and SEARBO2, the delivery of activities draws heavily on close collaboration with PSC’s wide network of academic partners across Southeast Asia, supplemented with extensive contacts in national government agencies, local governments, civil society groups, polling organisations and beyond. In addition, PSC works closely with scholars of Southeast Asia based elsewhere in Australia as well as in North America.

The project’s communication strategy ensures the wide distribution of its policy-oriented outputs. This includes research briefs and podcasts that can already be found on the PSC-hosted New Mandala website https://www.newmandala.org/ (the leading forum for academic and policy outreach on Southeast Asia, attracting an audience of around 2 million readers each year—the majority from the Southeast Asian region). We gratefully acknowledge the editorial assistance provided by New Mandala, particularly Mr Liam Gammon in SEARBO1 and Dr Elly Kent in SEARBO2.

While SEARBO is funded by DFAT, it is a program of independent academic research and advocacy. All opinions expressed are the authors’ own, and do not represent those of ANU or DFAT.

Professor Paul Hutchcroft – Overall Chief Investigator

Ms Peta Jones – Program Manager

Policy Briefs (with a pdf report embedded within each New Mandala cover article)

Indonesia

Paul Kenny and Eve Warburton, Paying bribes in Indonesia: A survey of business corruption, New Mandala, 20 January 2021.

Chris Morris, Governing a pandemic: Centre-regional relations and Indonesia’s COVID-19 response, New Mandala, 20 November 2020.

Sally White and Ed Aspinall, Why good women lose elections in Indonesia, New Mandala, 3 December 2019, translated into Indonesian.

Marcus Mietzner, Why Indonesia’s electoral system needs reform, New Mandala, 1 September 2019.

Malaysia

Amrita Malhi, National harmony: Race, politics and campaigning in Malaysia, New Mandala, 22 October 2020.

Tricia Yeoh, Federal-state friction amid Malaysia’s dual political and pandemic plight, New Mandala, 12 August 2020.

Alicia Izzharudin, Securing the electoral success of women in Malaysia Baharu, New Mandala, 19 November 2019.

Myanmar

Anonymous, The centrality of the civil disobedience movement in Myanmar’s post-coup era, New Mandala, 19 October 2021.

Salai Samuel Hmung, New friends, old enemies: Politics of ethnic armed organisations after the Myanmar coup, New Mandala, 10 June 2021.

Philippines

Allen Hicken, Designing institutions for the BARMM: Electoral systems, political parties, and parliamentarism, Access Bangsamoro, 20 August 2021. Paul D. Hutchcroft, A backgrounder to Professor Allen Hicken’s policy paper, “Designing institutions for the BARMM: Electoral systems, political parties and parliamentarism”, Access Bangsamoro, 20 August 2021.

Nicole Curato, Jonathan Corpus Ong and Ross Tapsell, From disinformation to democratic innovations: amplifying ordinary citizens’ voices, New Mandala, 15 June 2021.

Jonathan Ong, Ross Tapsell and Nicole Curato, The changing face of fake news, New Mandala, 1 August 2019.

Sri Lanka

Lia Kent, The Rajapaksa regime: navigating the victor’s peace, New Mandala, 20 September 2021.

Southeast Asia

Edward Aspinall, Nicole Curato, Diego Fossati, Eve Warburton and Meredith L. Weiss, COVID-19 in Southeast Asia: Public health, social impacts, and political attitudes, New Mandala, 13 August 2021. Evidence from a survey of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Evelyn Goh and Nan Liu, Chinese investment in Southeast Asia, 2005-2019: Patterns and significance, New Mandala, 11 August 2021.

Ruji Auethavornpipat and Maria Tanyag, Protests and pandemics: Civil society mobilisation in Thailand and the Philippines, New Mandala, 29 July 2021.

Hunter Marston, Civil Society and Southeast Asia’s Authoritarian Turn, New Mandala, 4 June 2021.

Mathew Davies, Human rights ritualism in Southeast Asian regionalism, New Mandala, 6 May 2021.

Special Journal Issue

Edward Aspinall, Sally White, Amalinda Savirani, Women and elections in Indonesia, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 3 May 2021.

Edward Aspinall, Sally White, Amalinda Savirani, Women’s political representation in Indonesia: Who wins and how?, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 3 May 2021.

Sri Budi Eko Wardani, Valina Singka Subekti, Political dynasties and women candidates in Indonesia’s 2019 election, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 3 May 2021

Luky Sandra Amalia, Aisah Putri Budiatri, Mouliza KD. Sweinstani, Atika Nur Kusumaningtyas, Esty Ekawati, Simultaneous elections and the rise of female representation in Indonesia, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 3 May 2021.

Muhammad Mahsun, Misbah Zulfa Elizabeth, Solkhah Mufrikhah, Female candidates, Islamic women’s organisations, and clientelism in the 2019 Indonesian elections, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 3 May 2021.

Longgina Novadona Bayo, Women who persist: Pathways to power in eastern Indonesia, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 3 May 2021.

Amalinda Savirani, Nuruddin Al Akbar, Ulya Niami Efrina Jamson, Listiana Asworo, Floating liberals: Female politicians, progressive politics, and PSI in the 2019 Indonesian election, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 3 May 2021.

Muhammad Ichsan Kabullah, M. Nurul Fajri, Neo-ibuism in Indonesian politics: Election campaigns of wives of regional heads in west Sumatra in 2019, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 3 May 2021.

Rofhani Rofhani, Ahmad Nur Fuad, Moderating anti-feminism: Islamism and women candidates in the prosperous justice party (PKS), Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 3 May 2021.

Zulfatun Ni’mah, The political meaning of the hijab style of women candidates, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 3 May 2021.

Articles

Cambodia

Katrin Travouillon, Rainsy’s point of no return, New Mandala, 14 November 2019.

Indonesia

Greg Fealy, Sally White and Burhanuddin Muhtadi, Counter-polarisation and political expediency, New Mandala, 1 July 2022.

Greg Fealy and Sally White, The politics of banning FPI, New Mandala, 18 June 2021.

Paul Kenny, Rashesh Shrestha, Ed Aspinall, Commodity booms, conflict, and organized crime: Logics of violence in Indonesia’s oil palm plantation economy, Arndt-Corden Department of Economics, ANU, 16 November 2020.

Bjoern Dressel, COVID-19, presidents, and courts in Indonesia and the Philippines, Presidential Powers, 16 November 2020. Alia Swastika, Revolution from the kitchen: Women and ecological responses to COVID-19, New Mandala, 26 October 2019.

Suhadi, Is COVID-19 muting or fueling religious polarisation in Indonesia?, New Mandala, 28 September 2020.

Alia Swastika, Revolution from the kitchen: Women and ecological responses to COVID-19, New Mandala, 26 October 2019.

Malaysia

Bjoern Dressel, Volatile politics risks undermining Malaysia’s courts, East Asia Forum, 26 February 2021.

Bjoern Dressel and Tomoo Inoue, Politics and the Federal Court of Malaysia, 1960-2018: An empirical investigation, Asian Journal of Law and Society, 1 September 2020.

Ben Reilly, Electoral Reform and Ethnic Politics: Malaysia in Comparative Perspective, 19 May 2020 (hard copy).

Ben Reilly, Electoral reform promises to change Malaysian politics, East Asia Forum, 1 November 2019.

Ben Reilly, Democracy and divided societies, School of Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, 12 September 2019.

Ben Reilly, Malaysian electoral reform: Three proposals, School of Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, 1 September 2019.

Ben Reilly, Ethnic representation in Pacific Asia, School of Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, 1 September 2019.

Ben Reilly, Electoral system reform in East Asia, School of Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, 1 September 2019.

Myanmar

Roisai Wongsuban, In limbo: Migrant workers struggle with the Myanmar coup and COVID-19, New Mandala, 9 June 2021. Also translated into Thai.

Hunter Marston, Behind the coup: What prompted Tatmadaw’s grab for power?, New Mandala, 12 February 2021.

Hunter Marston, Myanmar grabs global attention, again, East Asia Forum, 3 February 2021.

Mathew Davies, Myanmar exposes ASEAN’s cheap talk on democracy, East Asia Forum, 4 February 2021.

Nick Ross, Today’s Myanmar election feels like an afterthought - and that’s OK, Canberra Times, 8 November 2020.

Bina D’Costa and Than Tun, The 2020 Myanmar Election: Resetting the role of civil society organisations, New Mandala, 6 November 2020.

Su Mon Thant and Nicholas Ross, Myanmar’s electoral management institutions: The challenges of monitoring, New Mandala, 30 September, 2020.

Nicholas Ross, Myanmar votes 2020: The COVID election, New Mandala, 26 August 2020.

Khin Khin Mra, Fighting on two fronts: The women facing conflict and COVID-19 in Rakhine state, New Mandala, 1 May 2020.

Melissa Crouch, Illiberalism and democratic illusions in Myanmar, New Mandala, 20 November 2019, translated into Burmese.

Khin Zaw Win, Twin authoritarianisms in Myanmar, New Mandala, 1 September 2019.

Philippines

Primitivo III “Prime” Cabanes Ragandang, The value of post-conflict inclusion of youth, New Mandala, 21 April 2021

Bjoern Dressel, COVID-19, presidents, and courts in Indonesia and the Philippines, Presidential Powers, 16 November 2020.

Athena Charanne R. Presto, Mayors are keeping the Philippines afloat as Duterte’s COVID-19 response fails, New Mandala, 8 July 2020.

Weena Gera, Heightened contradictions: Duterte and local autonomy in the era of COVID-19, New Mandala, 5 June 2020.

Neen Sapalo, Who will look after Lola during the pandemic?, New Mandala, 1 June 2020.

Samuel Cabbuag and Rossine Fallorina, Samira, Imee, and Pia: What can we learn from politicians’ social media profiles?, CNN Philippines Life, 20 September 2019.

Jose Mari Lanuza and Jonathan Corpus Ong, Beyond Conspiracy: The ties that bind Filipino Flat Earthers and populist supporters, LSE Media Policy Project Blog, 28 August 2019.

Jonathan Ong, UMass Amherst researcher finds increase in ‘fake news’ innovations during Philippines elections shows electoral integrity at risk, UMass News & Media Relations, 12 August 2019.

Jonathan Ong, Samuel Cabbuag and Rossine Fallorina, FACT-CHECK: Did senate bets tell the truth in #TheFilipinoVotes: Senatorial forum part 2?, CNN Philippines, 29 January 2019.

Jonathan Ong, Samuel Cabbuag and Rossine Fallorina, #TheFilipinoVotes: CNN Philippines’ reality check team guards against online trolls in second senatorial forum, CNN Philippines, 28 January 2019.

Thailand

Ruji Auethavornpipat and Kriangsak Teerakowitkajorn, Thai workers against dictatorship?, New Mandala, 29 June 2021.

Wannaphong Durongkaveroj, Thailand’s COVID-19 prisons outbreak: time for an early release, New Mandala, 26 May 2021. Also translated into Thai.

Ruji Auethavornpipat, Thailand’s weak reaction to the Myanmar coup, East Asia Forum, 22 April 2021.

Ruji Auethavornpipat, Thailand’s protests and preventing a ‘second 6 October’, New Mandala, 2 November 2020.

Pinkaew Laungaramsri, Moral economies: The politics of donation in Thailand under COVID-19, New Mandala, 1 August 2020.

Chris Baker, Buddhism and authority in Thailand in the long run, New Mandala, 1 August 2019.

Timor-Leste

Meabh Cryan, Cyclone Seroja in Timor-Leste: A complex crisis, Australian Institute of International Affairs, 15 April 2021.

Southeast Asia

Jonathan Ong, Southeast Asia’s disinformation crisis: Where the state is the biggest bad actor and regulation is a bad word, SSRC - Social Science Research Council, 12 January 2021.

Ross Tapsell, Social media and elections in Southeast Asia: The emergence of subversive, underground campaigning, Asian Studies Review, 9 November 2020.

Jonathan Ong, How “fake news” regulations can serve political incumbents, Centre for International Governance Innovation, 2 November 2020.

Broadcasts and Interviews (interviews involving, or broadcasts moderated by, SEARBO researchers)

Cambodia

Katrin Travouillon, Dr Katrin Travouillon talks to Ou Virak, New Mandala, 8 May 2019.

Malaysia

Ben Reilly, Let’s Talk with Sharaad Kuttan (Episode 235), Let’s Talk, 11 June 2019.

Myanmar

Nicholas Ross, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party wins enough seats to form Myanmar’s next government, ABC News, 14 November 2020.

Nicholas Ross, Myanmar votes 2020: The COVID election, VOA Burmese Service morning news, 28 August 2020.

Nicholas Cheesman, Dr Khin Zaw Win speaks with Dr Nicholas Cheesman, New Mandala, 21 June 2019.

Philippines

JM Lanuza and Rossine Fallorina, The shift to micro-influencers, One News PH, 29 August 2019.

Jonathan Ong, Rappler Talk: Tracking digital disinformation in the 2019 Philippine midterm elections, J.C. Gotinga, Rappler, 9 August 2019.

Nicole Curato, Political conversations on social media (Part 1), CNN Philippines (Live), 13 May 2019.

Nicole Curato, Political conversations on social media (Part 2), CNN Philippines (Live), 13 May 2019.

Nicole Curato, The Filipino votes: Social media conversations, CNN Philippines (Live), 13 May 2019.

Nicole Curato et al. Disinformation and the 2019 elections, CNN Philippines live election coverage. 13 May 2019.

Paul Hutchcroft, Rappler Talk: Redesigning the Philippine electoral system, Marites Vitug, Rappler, 30 April 2019.

Paul Hutchcroft, Redesigning PH electoral system, Christian Esguerra, ANC television interview, 28 April 2019.

Nicole Curato, Meet the millennials: The Filipino votes, CNN Philippines, 25 January 2019.

Thailand

Greg Raymond, Democratic Thailand?, New Mandala, 12 April 2019.

Webinars

Southeast Asia

Evelyn Goh, ‘Chinese investments in Southeast Asia: Patterns and significance’, 9 November 2021. Organised by the Brookings Institution, by-invitation and off-the-record.

Evelyn Goh, ‘Chinese investments in Southeast Asia: Patterns and geopolitical significance’, 4 October 2021. Co-organised by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.

Malaysia

Amrita Malhi, Social cohesion in Malaysia, ANU Malaysia Institute, 20 January 2021. Organised in collaboration with the Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya.

Bjoern Dressel, Malaysia’s judiciary: Challenges and Future Directions, National University of Singapore (NUS), 5 October 2020. Organised under the Comparative Public Law Cluster at the Centre for Asian Legal Studies, National University of Singapore, in collaboration with the ANU Malaysia Institute.

Tricia Yeoh, Federal - State friction amid Malaysia’s dual political pandemic plight, ANU Malaysia Institute, 27 August 2020. Organised in collaboration with the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), Kuala Lumpur.

Myanmar

Tin Tin Nyo, Gerard McCarthy, Yun Sun, Myanmar Coup and the Aftermath, The Diplomat Webinars, 1 March 2021.

Working Paper

Indonesia

Paul Kenny and Eve Warburton, A firm-centered analysis of corruption and reform: Evidence from Indonesia, American Political Science Association, 25 August 2020.

Related Publications

(Publications by SEARBO researchers on topics of close relevance to the project but not supported by it; all are published within the timeframe of SEARBO, i.e., November 2018 to September 2021.)

Cambodia

Katrin Travouillon, COVID-19 worsens Cambodia’s political oppression, New Mandala, 5 January 2021.

Alice Beban-France, Land, Emotions and the durability of power in Cambodia, New Mandala, 25 November 2019.

Indonesia

Oleh Ross Tapsell and Sita Dewi, The rise of local news on Instagram and what it means for Indonesia’s democracy, Remotivi, 30 June 2021. Also translated into Indonesian.

Greg Fealy, Jokowi’s repressive pluralism, East Asia Forum, 27 September 2020.

Marcus Mietzner, Populist anti-scientism, religious polarisation, and institutionalised corruption: How Indonesia’s democratic decline shaped its COVID-19 response, Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs, 5 August 2020.

Edward Aspinall and Marcus Mietzner, Southeast Asia’s troubling elections: Nondemocratic pluralism in Indonesia, Journal of Democracy, 1 October 2019.

Myanmar

Nick Cheesman, Myanmar’s theatre of violence: The act of killing – online, ABC Religion & Ethics, 14 June 2021.

Nick Cheesman, State terror and torture: The hatred of politics in Myanmar, ABC Religion & Ethics, 24 March 2021

Nick Cheesman, Post-legalism and the fear of politics: Understanding Myanmar’s contradictory coup, ABC Religion & Ethics, 9 February 2021.

Terence Lee and Gerard McCarthy, Are ’Softliners’ the key to ending the crisis?, Global Asia, March 2021.

Nicholas Farrelly, Seizing power, losing influence, Inside Story, 26 February 2021.

Hunter Marston, Analysis: Why is Myanmar’s military so powerful?, Aljazeera, 2 February 2021.

Philippines

Ross Tapsell, Divide and rule: Populist crackdowns and media elites in the Philippines, SAGE perspectives, 21 January 2021.

Nicole Curato and Jonathan Ong, Information dystopia and Philippine democracy, Internews, 1 January 2021.

Ronald Holmes and Paul Hutchcroft, A failure of execution, Inside Story, 4 April 2020.

Bjoern Dressel and Cristina Bonoan, Southeast Asia’s troubling elections: Duterte versus the rule of law, Journal of Democracy, 1 October 2019.

Paul D. Hutchcroft, Strong Patronage, Weak Parties: The Case for Electoral System Redesign in the Philippines. Metro Manila: Anvil Publishing, 2019 and Singapore: World Scientific, 2020. Table of contents is available here, introductory chapter here, and a four-page briefer on the volume here.

Southeast Asia

Edward Aspinall, Allen Hicken, Paul D. Hutchcroft, and Meredith L. Weiss, Contemporary Southeast Asia 43, no. 1 (April 2021): 1-89. A special roundtable of 12 short articles on local political dynamics Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, April 2021.

Bjoern Dressel, COVID-19 and abusive constitutionalism in Southeast Asia: where are the courts?, New Mandala, 9 July 2020.

Jonathan Ong and Ross Tapsell, Mitigating disinformation in Southeast Asian elections, NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, 1 May 2020.

Aim Sinpeng and Ross Tapsell, editors, From grassroots activism to disinformation: Social media in Southeast Asia, Singapore: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, 2020.

Nicole Curato and Pam Combinido, Curing ‘Patient Zero’: reclaiming the digital public sphere in the Philippines, in Sinpeng and Tapsell, eds. Singapore: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, 2020.

Ross Tapsell, Deepening the understanding of social media’s impact in Southeast Asia, ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, 2020.

Björn Dressel, COVID-19 and abusive constitutionalism in Southeast Asia: where are the courts?, New Mandala, 9 July 2020.

Indonesia

Ghina Ghaliya, Open-list voting system ‘needs reform’ , Jakarta Post, 1 July 2019.

Malaysia

Minderjeet Kaur, Thinking Malays concerned about direction of country, says ex-MP, Free Malaysia Today, 22 January 2021.

Astro Awani, Malaysia perlu ubah ‘skrip’, kata Nazir Razak, Astro Awani, 21 January 2021. Raihan Mohd Sanusi, Malaysia perlu buat tetapan semula sistem nasional: Nazir, Sinar Harlan, 31 January 2021.

Nicholas Chung, Rewrite script on Malaysia, says Nazir Razak, Free Malaysia Today, 20 January 2021.

Philippines

Shashank Bengali and Evan Halper, Troll armies, a growth industry in the Philippines, may soon be coming to an election near you, Los Angeles Times, 19 November 2019.

International IDEA and Institute for Autonomy and Governance, Electoral system reform and design, Charter Change Brief No. 2, November 2019.

Phillip Adams, Social medial hoaxes threaten democracy, ABC Radio National, 24 October 2019.

Catalina Ricci S. Madarang, Micro-influencers played a key role in the spread of fake news for Philippines’ 2019 elections, Interaksyon, 16 October 2019.

Paolo Vergara, How disinformation is a major symptom of a sick democracy, NOLISOLI, 12 September 2019.

Janvic Mateo, Fake news took new form in 2019 polls – study, PhilStar Global 31 August 2019.

Kelsey Munro, Disinformation and democracy: Podcast out now, The Interpreter, 27 August 2019.

Rapper.com, De Lima urges google Philippines to take down fake content on YouTube, Rappler, 26 August 2019.

Bianca Ysabelle Franco and Septrin Calamba, Despite disinformation, social media in the Philippines remains a space for genuine grassroots mobilisation, New Mandala, 23 August 2019.

Matt Field, Why 2020 disinformation campaigns may be outsourced to the Philippines, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 23 August 2019.

AJ Siytangco, De Lima urges Google PH to clean up YouTube of fake videos, Manila Bulletin, 23 August 2019.

Noemi Lardizabel-Dado, Disinformation innovations used in the May 2019 Philippine elections, Manila Times, 18 August 2019.

Robbin Dagle and Rossine Fallorina, The new battleground against disinformation, Rappler, 16 August 2019.

Ian Cigaral, Spread of fake news ‘more insidious’ in 2019 elections — report, PhilStar Global, 13 August 2019.

Llanesca T. Panti, Social media ‘micro-influencers’ were useful disinformation tool in 2019 polls — report, GMA News Online, 12 August 2019.

Celine Isabelle Samson, More transparency needed in digital election campaign spending, media experts say, PhilStar Global, 12 August 2019.

Gillan Ropero, Fake news’ innovations increased in 2019 PH midterm polls: study, ABS-CBN News, 12 August 2019.

Karen Davila, How to fight against fake news?, ANC Headstart, 11 August 2019.

Celine Isabelle Samson, Media experts recommend transparency in digital campaign spending for 2022 elections, ABS-CBN News, 11 August 2019.

Paige Occenola, Disinformation campaigns: Thirst traps and ‘hugot’ in 2019 Philippine elections, Rappler, 8 August 2019.

Craig Silverman, The Philippines was a test of facebook’s new approach to countering disinformation. Things got worse, BuzzFeed News, 7 August 2019.

Coco Alcuaz, “Work on alternatives and growth, before speeding into federal system,” Rappler, 11 June 2019.

Access Bangsamoro, “Prof. Paul Hutchcroft on Parliamentary and Electoral Systems in the BARMM,” 17 May 2019.

Inday Espina-Varona, “Patronage, power trump God in the Philippines: Country’s electoral system perpetuates a cycle of corruption, injustice and conflict,”, UCA News, 15 February 2019.

The Asia Foundation, “Asia Foundation supports new book on the Philippines’ Electoral System,” 13 February 2019.

V.J. Bakunan, “Having too many political parties said to harm voters,” Vera Files, 13 February 2019.

Professor Paul Hutchcroft – Overall Chief Investigator

Ms Peta Jones – Program Manager

SEARBO 1

N.B. Asterisk indicates activity lead; affiliations are ANU unless otherwise noted.

Indonesia

Business and Campaign Finance Study

Professor Ed Aspinall*

Professor Paul Kenny*

Dr Eve Warburton (National University of Singapore)

Political Economy of Democratic Malfeasance

Professor Ed Aspinall*

Professor Paul Kenny*

Dr Rashesh Shrestha (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia)

Women’s Political Participation activities

Dr Sally White*

Professor Ed Aspinall*

A/Professor Greg Fealy

Dr Burhanuddin Muhtadi (Lembaga Survei Indonesia)

Amalinda Savirani (PolGov, Universitas Gadjah Mada)

Electoral System Redesign

A/Professor Marcus Mietzner*

Malaysia

Gender and Parliament Project

Dr Ross Tapsell*

Dr Alicia Izzharudin (Harvard University)

• Mr Daniel Lo

• Ms HS Azizan

• Ms Siti Hajar Shamsudin

Anti-Discrimination and Minority Rights Project

Dr Amrita Malhi*

• Mr Lim Teng Kiang

Electoral System Reform

Professor Ben Reilly* (University of Western Australia)

Rule of Law Study

A/Professor Bjoern Dressel*

Philippines

Social Media and Digital Disinformation tracker

Dr Ross Tapsell*

A/Professor Nicole Curato* (University of Canberra)

A/Professor Jonathan Ong* (University of Massachusetts-Amherst)

• Ms Rossine Lyandre Yao C. Fallorina

• Mr Jose Mari Hall Lanuza

Civil Society Monitoring of Public Works Corruption (SEARBO contribution to on-going activity)

Professor Allen Hicken* (University of Michigan)

Professor Ron Mendoza* (Ateneo de Manila University)

Mr Eitan Paul* (University of Michigan)

Dr Nico Ravanilla* (UC San Diego)

Mainland Southeast Asia

Entrenched Illiberalism in Mainland Southeast Asia Conference. See conference program here.

Dr Katrin Travouillon*

Dr Rebecca Gidley*

Dr Nick Cheesman

Professor Nicholas Farrelly (University of Tasmania)

AI, Politics and Security in the Asia Pacific workshop (SEARBO contribution to on-going activity) See conference program here

Professor Toni Erskine*

SEARBO II

N.B. Asterisk indicates activity lead; affiliations are ANU unless otherwise noted.

Theme 1 - Religion, ethnicity and inclusive democracy

A/Professor Greg Fealy*

Dr Sally White*

• Mr Suhadi Cholil

• Mr Ahmad Fuad Fanani

Dr Yon Machmudi (University of Indonesia)

Dr Burhanuddin Muhtadi (Lembaga Survei Indonesia)

• Ms Nava Nuraniyah

Theme 2 - Democracy, authoritarianism and political economy

Commodities, cartels, COVID-19 and support for democracy

• Mr Colum Graham*

Professor Ed Aspinall*

Charina Chazali (Centre for Social Analysis, Akatiga, Indonesia)

Dr Dianto Bachriadi (The Transnational Institute, Indonesia)

Dr Burhanuddin Muhtadi (Indikator, Indonesia)

Danang Widoyoko (Transparency International, Indonesia)

Chinese investment and domestic regime legitimacy

Professor Evelyn Goh*

• Ms Nan Liu

• Mr Dominic Dwyer

Theme 3 - Protecting Rights and Democracy

Civil society engagement and resistance in protecting human rights

Professor Bina D’Costa*

Dr Lia Kent*

Dr Ruji Auethavornpipat*

Dr Meabh Cryan

Dr Mathew Davies

Mr Hunter Marston

Dr Maria Tanyag

• Dr Than Tun

Disinformation and social media regulation in Southeast Asia

Dr Ross Tapsell*

A/Professor Nicole Curato* (University of Canberra)

A/Professor Jonathan Ong* (University of Massachusetts-Amherst)

Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance (CDGG, University of Canberra)

• Ms Rossine Lyandre Yao C. Fallorina

• Mr Kai Clark

Dr Pamela Combinido (University of Cambridge)

Ms Sita Dewi (The Jakarta Post)

Mr Ismail Fahmi

• Mr Dominic Harvey-Taylor

Ms Erica Tortolani (University of Massachusetts-Amherst)

Theme 4- Women’s substantive representation

Dr Sally White*

Professor Ed Aspinall*

• Mr Ibnu Baru

• Mr Adrianus Hendrawan

Dr Rebecca Meckleburg (Centre for Sustainable Development Studies, Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Indonesia)

• Ms Pramashavira

Dr Sri Budi Eko Wardani (Department of Political Science, University of Indonesia)

Theme 5 - Democratic institutions: national and local dimensions

Professor Paul Hutchcroft*

A/Professor Marcus Mietzner*

Electoral system redesign

Professor Ben Reilly* (University of Western Australia)

Professor Paul Hutchcroft*

A/Professor Marcus Mietzner*

Urban middle class attitudes to democracy

A/Professor Marcus Mietzner*

Professor Ed Aspinall

Central authority and local politics amid the pandemic

Professor Paul Hutchcroft*

A/Professor Marcus Mietzner*

A/Professor Weena Gera (University of the Philippines-Cebu)

• Mr Chris Morris

A/Professor Viengrat Nethipo (Chulalongkorn University)

Ms Tricia Yeoh (University of Nottingham, Malaysia)

Ethnic politics in Myanmar: From 2020 election to 2021 coup and beyond

Dr Nick Cheesman*

Mr Nicholas Ross*

Professor Nicholas Farrelly (University of Tasmania)

• Mr Samuel Hmung

Ricardo Morel (Innovations for Poverty Action)

Dr Gerard McCarthy (National University of Singapore)

Ms Su Mon Thant (Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation in Yangon)

Ms Myat The Thitsar (Enlightened Myanmar Research Foundation in Yangon)

Theme 6 – Surveys on the politics of COVID-19 response

Professor Ed Aspinall*

A/Professor Nicole Curato (University of Canberra)

Dr Eve Warburton (National University of Singapore)

Professor Meredith Weiss (State University of New York, Albany)

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