From December 2 to December 4, the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG) based at the Thammasat University Faculty of Law will cohost an international conference, Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2019, at Banyan Tree Hotel, Bangkok. Admission is free and the TU community is welcome to attend. The conference will be copresented with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, Regional Programme, Asia Dialogue, Singapore. Named after the the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) or Konrad Adenauer Foundation, works for a unified Europe and social market economy. As its website notes,

In our European and international cooperation efforts we work for people to be able to live self-determined lives in freedom and dignity. We make a contribution underpinned by values to helping Germany meet its growing responsibilities throughout the world. We encourage people to lend a hand in shaping the future along these lines. With more than 70 offices abroad and projects in over 120 countries, we make a unique contribution to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and a social market economy. To foster peace and freedom we encourage a continuous dialog at the national and international levels as well as the exchange between cultures and religions. Human beings in their distinctive dignity and with their rights and responsibilities are at the heart of our work. We are guided by the conviction that human beings are the starting point in the effort to bring about social justice and democratic freedom while promoting sustainable economic activity. By bringing people together who embrace their responsibilities in society, we develop active networks in the political and economic spheres as well as in society itself. The guidance we provide on the basis of our political know-how and knowledge helps to shape the globalization process along more socially equitable, ecologically sustainable and economically efficient lines.

As all Thais know, the Kingdom will be honored to hold the Chairmanship of ASEAN next year. As the CPG website observes, the purpose of the conference is

to provide an overview of both external and internal challenges ASEAN is facing when Thailand is taking over the chairmanship. It will convene policy-makers, experts, professionals and diplomats in order to create a comprehensive picture of what ASEAN’s immediate and near future is likely to look like. Secondly, it is intended to provide a forum for Thai officials to discuss their plans and main agenda items for its chairmanship, as well as function as an opportunity for stakeholders to engage with the plans and raise issues that ought to be included or considered.

Hoped-for results include:

• Providing an overview of current ASEAN issues and challenges.
• Raising awareness for opportunities of regional solutions to regional problems.
• Linking Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs preparations for the chairmanship with stakeholders across ASEAN.
• Increasing regional ownership and coordination of various political and security challenges.
• Helping create a positive vision and leadership for an effective Thai chairmanship in 2019.
• Providing an opportunity for exchange between ASEAN and its partners.
• Formulating a number of policy recommendations based on conference outcomes.

Among the distinguished speakers will be Ajarn Praipol Koomsup, Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University. Ajarn Praipol, who earned a master’s degree in economics from Thammasat University before receiving a PhD in economics from Yale University, USA, has served as Economic consultant at Business & Economic Research Associates Co., Ltd. (BERA), Committee Member at the Energy Conservation Promotion Fund, and Monetary Policy Committee Member at the the Bank of Thailand, among other responsibilities. He has also served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean, Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University. His research publications have dealt with such fields as the energy sector in Thailand, international monetary economics, state enterprises and privatization in Thailand, exchange rate stability, international finance policy, and other essential topics. The TU Library owns a number of writings authored, coauthored, and coedited by Ajarn Praipol. These include Traffic Congestion Cost and Road User Pricing : a Case Study for Bangkok; The Analysis of the Causes of Instability in Individual Export Commodities in Thailand. 1957-1974; Technique of Production and Technology Transfer: with some Reference to Thailand, and many more.

Among other interesting speakers will be Dr. Mark Thompson, Head, Department of Asian and International Studies, City University of Hong Kong, China. Dr. Thompson earned master’s and PhD degrees from Yale University). A political scientist, Dr. Thompson is former president of the Asian Political and International Studies Association (APISA). The TU Library owns Reform after Reformasi: Middle Class Movements for Good Governance after Democratic Revolutions in Southeast Asia written by Dr. Thompson, and Routledge Handbook of the Contemporary Philippines, which he coedited. His other books, which may be obtained by interlibrary loan, comprise Authoritarian Modernism in East Asia; Dynasties and Female Political Leaders in Asia: Gender, Power and Pedigree; Democratic Revolutions: Asia and Eastern Europe; and The Anti-Marcos Struggle: Personalistic Rule and Democratic Transition in the Philippines.

Also speaking at the conference will be Dr. You Ji, Head, Department of Government and Public Administration, University of Macau, China. Dr. You earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science at Australian National University. His research interests include China’s military modernization, political and economic reforms in China, elite politics, and Chinese foreign policy. Among his publications are China’s Military Transformation: Politics and War Preparation; China’s Enterprise Reform; and The Armed Forces of China, all of which may be obtained by interlibrary loan.

A presentation will also be given at the conference by Carlyle A. Thayer, Emeritus Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australia. Professor Thayer is Emeritus Professor of Politics. He is currently a consultant, providing political analysis of current regional security issues and other research support. He earned a master’s degree in Southeast Asian Studies from Yale University and a PhD in international relations from The Australian National University. Professor Thayer studied Thai language at The University of Missouri at Columbia, among the multiple Asian languages that he speaks. He is particularly interested in the subjects of politics, foreign policy, and role of the military in Vietnam, as well as political terrorism in Southeast Asia, multilateral security institutions in the Asia-Pacific, and China’s defence cooperation with Southeast Asia.

Many other noted experts will be speaking at the conference, including Dr. Tang Siew Mun, Head, ASEAN Studies Centre, ISEAS-Yosuf Ishak Institute, Singapore. 

The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), was renamed ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in 2015, honoring the first President of Singapore, who served from 1965 to 1970. According to its website, the Institute’s primary objectives are:

• To be a leading research centre dedicated to the study of socio-political, security, and economic trends and developments in Southeast Asia and its wider geostrategic and economic environment.
• To stimulate research and debate within scholarly circles, enhance public awareness of the region, and facilitate the search for viable solutions to the varied problems confronting the region.
• To nurture a community of scholars interested in the region and to engage in research on the multi-faceted dimensions and issues of stability and security, economic development, and political, social and cultural change.

Dr Tang’s main research interests are Asian security, ASEAN’s relations with the major powers, and Japanese foreign policy. He earned master’s degrees in war studies from King’s College London, and in international studies from the Claremont Graduate University as well as a Ph.D. in political science from Arizona State University. He has contributed chapters to a number of books in the TU Library collection. Also contributing will be Dr. Nicholas Khoo, Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics, University of Otago, New Zealand, whose main research interests are in Chinese foreign policy; the international relations of Asia; security studies, and international relations theory. The TU Library owns his book Collateral Damage: Sino-Soviet Rivalry and the Termination of the Sino-Vietnamese Alliance. He also coauthored Asian Security and the Rise of China: International Relations in an Age of Volatility and Security at a Price: The International Politics of U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense, which may be obtained by interlibrary loan.

Finally, among many other highly interesting presenters, Dr. Deborah Elms, Executive Director, Asian Trade Centre, Singapore will speak. The Asian Trade Centre (ATC) works with governments and companies to design better trade policies for the region.

As the ATC website indicates, its activities include:

• Increasing capacities and knowledge of government and business leaders through training, workshops and seminars;
• Building bridges between government and business to foster the growth of trade in the region;
• Leading world-class research projects; and
• Conducting outreach to the media, business, NGOs and the interested public on trade issues.
• ATC is also the Secretariat to the Asia Business Trade Association (ABTA) and the Asia Pacific MSME Trade Coalition (AMTC)

In doing so, it provides through research, training, and advocacy:

• Strategic and creative thinking to complex policy and regulatory challenges;
• Design or redesign supply chains to use trade agreements or avoid trade barriers;
• Solutions for both government and companies to vexing trade problems;
• Practical advice and suggestions for improving bottom line performance for companies trying to make sense of complicated trade agreements;
• Sensible knowledge and input to government officials grappling with crafting modern trade agendas for the future.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)