ASAA feedback from members sought on FOR codes

If you are a member of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, we are seeking your feedback on the review that is currently underway into the Australian New Zealand Standard Research Classification system. This is the system which organises the Field of Research (FOR) codes by which our research is classified for government and reporting purposes. As you will be aware, these FOR codes are important, among other purposes, for classifying research projects in the ARC and for evaluating research quality through the ERA (Excellence in Research for Australia) process. You can read more about the review here: https://www.arc.gov.au/anzsrc-review

The existing FOR structure is organised according to broad areas at the two-digit level, and into disciplines at the four-digit level. At the level of the six-digit codes, some allowance is made for recognition of Asia-focused research in several disciplines (see list below) but with numerous omissions. The ERA process takes place at the level of two and four digit codes, thus not allowing for specific recognition of Asia-focused research. There is a catch-all six-level code “Studies of Asian Society”, which allows for the recognition of cross-disciplinary work, but the four-digit code under which this is located, Other Studies in Human Society, is a residual category and is often not assessed.

Broadly speaking, there are two pathways that could be recommended by ASAA:

A maximalist approach would be to argue for recognition of Asian Studies (or perhaps area studies) at the two- or four-digit code level. This would allow for our cross-disciplinary work to be better recognised, including in the ERA. It would be challenging to achieve this change, given that the system is organised on a disciplinary basis. Moreover, success might bring far-reaching and possibly negative consequences (for instance it might give incentives to university administrators to pull Asia researchers out of discipline-based units; it might mean that research projects end up getting evaluated by Asianists who lack the requisite disciplinary expertise).

A minimalist approach would be to argue for the creation of more six-digit codes recognising Asia-focused research. This would enable such research to be recognised in the ARC grants process, but would not affect ERA evaluations.

As noted above, there are currently no Asia-related six-digit codes in a lot of areas, including: Anthropology, Art Theory and Criticism, Applied Economics (or any of the economics codes), Built Environment and Design, Demography, Education, Human Geography, Law, Performing Arts and Creative Writing, Philosophy, Policy and Administration, Sociology.

If you have ideas or views on this issue, please contact me by email (edward.aspinall@anu.edu.au) by 22 May. We are especially interested in hearing from colleagues who feel that any of the six-digit omissions should be rectified, and would appreciate any justifications you could provide for the changes you propose.

Existing Asia-related six-digit codes and the four-digit codes in which they are nested: 

1606 Political Science

160606 Government and Politics of Asia and the Pacific

1699 Other Studies in Human Society

169903 Studies of Asian Society

2002     Cultural Studies 

200202 Asian Cultural Studies

2003 Language Studies

200311          Chinese Languages

200312          Japanese Language

200313          Indonesian Languages

200314          South-East Asian Languages (excl Indonesian)

200315          Indian Languages

200316          Korean Language

200317          Other Asian Languages (excl South-East Asian)

2005 Literary Studies

200516          Indonesian Literature

200517          Literature in Chinese

200518          Literature in Japanese

200519          South-East Asian Literature (excl Indonesian)

200520         Indian Literature

200521          Korean Literature

200522          Other Asian Literature (excl South-East Asian)

2101 Archaeology

210103          Archaeology of Asia, Africa and the Americas

2204     Religion and Religious Studies

220406          Studies in Eastern Religious Traditions (+ codes on Islam, Christianity, etc)

2103     Historical Studies 

210302          Asian History

Australia Indonesia Youth Association (AIYA): Career Champion

*This interview first appeared on the Australia Indonesia Youth Association (AIYA) website on 10 May 2019

Welcome to the Career Champion Series! This series is dedicated to the contributions of those who provide inspiration and enhance understanding between Australians and Indonesians. Celebrating the work and dedication they have put in, we featured their profile at AIYA Blog.

This week we are joined by Melissa Crouch. Associate Professor Melissa Crouch is based at the Law Faculty of the University of New South Wales, Australia. Working closely to the socio-legal field research in Southeast Asia, Melissa pays particular attention to constitutional and legal developments in Indonesia and Southeast Asia more broadly. Her research has been published in leading academic journals including the International Journal of Constitutional Law, the Sydney Law Review, and Asian Studies Review.

How did you become interested in Indonesia?

I studied Indonesian in high school and then continued to advance my language skills at university through an Arts/Law degree. I first went to Indonesia on a school trip and then went most summers during my undergraduate degree. One of my part-time jobs while at university was to teach Bahasa Indonesia at a primary and secondary school.

In 2006-2007, I was also part of the Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP), which is an incredible program supported by both governments that takes young Australians to Indonesia for two months with both a city and village experience, work placements and homestay.

Tell me how you became an expert on Indonesian Law.

During my undergraduate degree, I found my real interest in subjects on Asian Law. One summer, I was also able to do a student internship with the first provincial Ombudsman in Yogyakarta. The best part was when the Sultan of Yogyakarta came to the Office of the Ombudsman to be questioned on his role in a major telecommunications corruption scandal. The fact that he responded to the authority of the Ombudsman gave real credibility to this new independent accountability institution.

I also had the opportunity to work as a Research Fellow at the Asian Law Centre and Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society at Melbourne Law School. It was a privilege to have a job where I could advance my interests and knowledge in Indonesian law and Islamic law, and Southeast Asian legal traditions more broadly.

How did you end up as an academic focusing on Indonesian Law?

My career path was certainly not planned, but after working in a law firm, I discovered that academia would really allow me to do the mix of things that I enjoy – research, writing and teaching on Southeast Asia. My PhD examined the judicialization of religion in Indonesia since 1998, which resulted in my book “Law and Religion in Indonesia”. The key findings from my study have ongoing significance for contemporary politics in Indonesia. I collated the first ever data on blasphemy trials in Indonesia (this was before the Ahok case). I was also able to show how the combination of democracy, decentralization and a history of tensions between Muslims and Christians had contributed to the rise of litigation on religious matters.

After the PhD I held academic jobs at the International Institute of Asian Studies (Leiden) and the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at the National University of Singapore. Being in the region for three years was an invaluable experience. As an academic, I get to teach subjects on Southeast Asian law and supervise PhD students, including from Indonesia.

What does your average week look like now?

Academia can vary greatly, but combines a mix of teaching, research and service. I travel regularly to Southeast Asia for field research. I am on the Board of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, which is the peak academic body to promote the study of Asia at Australian universities. I was also part of the consultation board that established the Law Practicum for the Australia Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies in 2018. I am currently facilitating the Women in Asia Conference at UNSW in June 2019, which is an opportunity to support and promote the study of women in Asia (students can volunteer for the event).

Academia also allows you room to pursue your own research interests. One of my recent research projects is a reflection on the past twenty years of court reform in Indonesia and a chance to re-examine the work of the Indonesianist Prof Dan S Lev (The Politics of Courts: Judicial Change and Legal Culture in Indonesia CUP 2019).

What is your favourite part of Indonesia?

I enjoy the diversity of Indonesia, from the Malukus to Sulawesi to Bali to South Kalimantan and West Java. The time I have spent in Ternate and Manado has been particularly memorable.

*insert photo

Melissa (sitting third from right) at an Academic Conference in Indonesia

What advice would you give students who have an interest in Indonesia?

Learn Indonesian because language skills are an incredible asset on so many levels and it will be well-worth your efforts. Pursue work, exchange and volunteer opportunities that enable you to enhance your interests in Indonesia and apply your knowledge of its complex social, political, economic and historical environment. In the past, I undertook internships with the Ombudsman, with a law firm, and at the Religious Courts in Banjarmasin, among other things. There are so many opportunities now – from the New Colombo Plan and ACICIS program to AIYEP.

Stick with your commitments to people and place, even when its not fashionable. My PhD topic on the blasphemy law in Indonesia was not in trend when I did the PhD. But when the former Governor of Jakarta, Ahok, was convicted in 2017 for blasphemy, then suddenly everyone was interested in the topic. Continue to be open to learning and show respect and appreciation for new ideas and perspectives on life.

Why do you think the number of Australian students undertaking Indonesian studies (language or general interests) keeps declining? 

Many Australians have misperceptions and negative views of Indonesia. This is shown in studies like the Lowy Institute 2017 poll, when only 27% of Australian’s surveyed said that Indonesia was a democracy (despite the transition to democracy taking place since 1998). When asked whether they admired President Joko Widodo, almost half of the Australian respondents said they didn’t know. There is also the issue of incentives and this requires effort across sectors. Schools and universities need to make it easier for students to study Indonesian early on and to keep studying it at advanced levels. This also requires strong government backing and funding.

What advice would you offer to both Australia and Indonesia youth?

Australia and Indonesia need young people to use their ideas and creativity and energy to enhance the relationship between the two countries. It’s the youth who can really lead the way in forging stronger relationships, deeper social connections and understanding, and more meaningful forms of engagement across the two countries.

What is your opinion on the future of Australia-Indonesia relations?

This is the Asian Century, and the region is only going to increase in importance to Australia over time. Indonesia is a critical neighbor and regional partner. It is imperative for the Australian government to reinvigorate Indonesian language learning in Australia and invest in institutions and incentives that enhance knowledge about the people, cultures and history of Indonesia.

I am encouraged to see the many ways that people-to-people initiatives are flourishing, like the UNSW ASEAN Society, a student led association that works to promote and foster understanding and links with people and countries in ASEAN. AIYA is of course another wonderful example!

Hope, Despair and the New Normal in Myanmar

*This article first appeared in The Interpreter on 9 May 2019. 

Human rights advocates had a rare chance to celebrate yesterday as two local Reuters journalists were released from prison. Their situation is viewed by the international community as a test case of the political reform process in Myanmar.

The case is a remind of the mixed feelings of both despair and hope about the relationship between Myanmar and the international community, and the absence of a commitment by the government and the military to basic human rights.

The arrest of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two local journalists, garnered global attention in late 2017 because of their connection to Reuters as an international news outlet. It demanded attention because the journalists were covering what the UN Fact Finding Mission has identified as credible markers of genocide in Rakhine State.

At a meeting with the police in Yangon in late 2017, the two journalists were arrested for allegedly possessing documents that contained state secrets. This is an offence under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

In fact, they were set up by the police who were aware that the two journalists were investigating a massacre that took place in Rakhine State. The police are closely connected to the military in Myanmar, and the political transition has not yet led to any meaningful separation between the role of the police and the military.

Despite the case pending against them, the devastating findings of the massacre of ten Rohingya in Rakhine State was published by Reuters. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were two among four of the attributed authors in this remarkable piece of reporting.

In September 2018, the court trial of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo culminated in a guilty verdict and a sentence of seven years jail for their alleged crime. In April 2019, the appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected.

In a surprise development, on 7 May, the pair were released as part of the President’s decision to grant amnesty, alongside other prisoners. Such a decision is entirely at the discretion of the President, who is a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

While in detention, the two journalists were awarded the Pulitzer Prize in honour of their original report that clearly implicated the armed forces and villagers in the killing of 10 Rohingya in Rakhine State.

In many respects, the fact that the pair had to endure a court trial, an extended period in jail, and were found guilty at first instance and on appeal is not surprising. The courts are easily influenced by the security apparatus and administration in Myanmar.

It is also not surprising because Myanmar has shown time and again that it will not be swayed by international pressure regarding the conflict and major humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding in Rakhine State since 2016.

And yet, no one in Myanmar wants a return to sanctions. For many in the international community, the failure to release the pair was to be the final straw for some Western countries who were considering cutting ties and a return to sanctions. Further, no one in Myanmar wants to be entirely dependent on China, yet without broader international support this remains a risk.

The Reuters case is instructive because in many respects Myanmar has still retained the upper hand. It is an example of how the military and the administration works to control the local narrative about what has occurred in Rakhine State. This is evident in the military’s Orwellian-sounding ‘True News’ agency and its efforts to determine the stories that are told about what happened in Rakhine State.

The Reuters case is also about much more than press freedom. It is ultimately about how the conflict and human rights violations in Rakhine State will be remembered. Who were the perpetrators? Why are close to a million Rohingya now stuck in camps in Bangladesh, and others in precarious displacement camps in Rakhine State? Who should be held responsible?

For the international community, the impending 2020 elections offer an opportunity to rethink their engagement. Will there be elections in Rakhine State in 2020? If so, who will get to vote? Should the international community refuse to provide electoral assistance and monitoring in Rakhine State as a tangible form of protest? What is the way forward to ensure that the Rohingya have a place in the political future of Myanmar? None of these questions have easy answers but they need to be discussed.

The two Reuters journalists are incredibly luckily. Their truth telling efforts have not cost them their lives. Others, like the late lawyer U Ko Ni, were not so fortunate and paid the price for advocating for constitutional change and for denouncing the efforts to exclude the Rohingya from the 2015 elections. Then there is the fate of the hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons who face a future of deep uncertainty and poverty.

And so we swing from despair to hope and back to despair as the new normal of an NLD government with a strong military presence takes root in Myanmar, a government arrangement that is likely to be endorsed again in the 2020 elections.

Teaching as a Subversive Activity

On 27-28 November, UNSW Law will be hosting a conference on legal education.

The theme of the 2019 conference is: ‘Teaching as a Subversive Activity’. We will be looking for panels, papers, posters and performances on legal education research related to the theme, which we have drawn from Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner’s classic Teaching as a Subversive Activity (1969). We take this to mean the consideration of research into legal education as lifetime learning, as ‘crap-detecting’, as creating meaning, as transformative and as developing world-changing thinking within the legal context.

In an age when everyone aspires to teach critical thinking skills in the classroom (or, at least, no teacher would say they want to produce uncritical students!), what does it mean today to be a subversive law teacher? Who or what might a subversive law teacher seek to subvert – the authority of the law, the university, their own authority as teachers, perhaps? Are law students ripe for subversion, agents of, or impediments to, subversion?

The call for papers is available on the UNSW website here

I will put together a panel on “Teaching Asian Law in the Asian Century” – if this is of interest to you please let me know.

Law & Society Association book panel

At the upcoming Law & Society Association Conference, there will be a book session on “The Constitution of Myanmar: A Contextual Analysis”.

The panel includes:

Chair, Dr Nick Cheesman, ANU

Prof Tom Ginsburg, Chicago – Myanmar in the Context of Comparative Constitutional Law scholarship

Maryam Khan, Wisconsin – Myanmar in the Context of Scholarship on South Asia

Cynthia Farid, Wisconsin – Myanmar in the Context of Scholarship on South Asia

Prof Heinz Klug, Wisconsin [author of The Constitution of South Africa in the same series] – The study of constitutionalism in Law & Society Scholarship 

The book session will be held in the Hyatt, Concord, from 11:50am-12:35pm on Saturday 1 June 2019. 

Protecting Rights, Addressing Inequality: The Promise of Writs as Constitutional Transfer

Conference call for papers

The courts are often a key site of the struggle for the enforcement of rights and accountability. The rise of constitutional adjudication globally is usually framed within the context of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the creation of independent constitutional courts in many parts of the world over the past three decades. This development in constitutional review is held up as a key moment in the globalization of constitutional law and protection of rights. And yet, there have been prior moments in history when key ideas and institutions of constitutional review spread across regions and around the world.

For example, from the late 1940s, the prerogative writs as a set of common law remedies were included in writing in post-colonial independence constitutions across former British colonies, particularly across South Asia, as well as parts of Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean (Crouch 2018). Constitutional writs – the remedies of habeas corpus, certiorari, prohibition, mandamus and quo warranto – are important remedies both historically and for contemporary modes of administrative/constitutional adjudication. In the immediate post-colonial era, the constitutional writs were a remedy sought for the protection of rights against the power of the state. While the postcolonial courts in Burma were among the first to award constitutional writs as remedies for rights protection in 1948, it is in India that the writs became associated with judicial activism. The writs in constitutional form were also included in the constitutions of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, among other countries.

This workshop seeks to investigate the history, development and variations of this model of constitutional adjudication, following the transformation from the common law remedies of England to a constitutional means of protecting rights. It will also consider the symbolic status of constitutional writs, how the importance of these remedies has changed over time, who has access to these remedies, and what rights are protected through this mechanism of review. This workshop seeks to draw attention to the role of constitutional writs as legal transfers. It will consider these remedies at the intersection of constitutional and administrative law and rights protection.

Papers in the workshop will consider the following questions:

· To what extent did courts have writ jurisdiction prior to independence from colonial rule (ie under the common law), and how was this power used to protect rights?

·     How did the Indian constitution-makers formulate and understand the importance of the constitutional writs and the relationship with the provisions on rights?

·     Why did other countries decide to include the constitutional writs in their independence constitutions? Was it part of a strategy of borrowing from the Indian constitutional model more generally? To what extent were specific discussion had over the inclusion of remedies and rights provisions?

·     To what extent has the use of the constitutional writs as a remedy for the protection of rights against the state and to address inequality changed over time? Following Anuj (2017), to what extent do the constitutional writs serve the middle class, rather than offering a remedy for the poor against the abuse of power?

·     Countries with constitutional provisions on quo warranto continue to grant this remedy, while its use has died out in Western common law jurisdictions. Why is this the case? When is quo warranto as a remedy granted and how in what kinds of cases is it used in today?

·     How does consideration of the emergence of constitutional writs change the broader narrative within comparative constitutional law and politics about when and how constitutional review emerged? What are the implications of this for the field?  

Date of the Conference: 15-16 November 2019

Details of the Conference: The conference will be held at the University of New South Wales Law School. Presenters will be asked to submit a 8,000-10,000 word draft paper one week before the conference. The purpose of this workshop will be to produce a special journal issue or edited volume.  

Applications: Applicants should send an 400 word abstract and short biography to Melissa Crouch at melissa.crouch@unsw.edu.au by 10 May 2019. Successful applicants who are based in Asia, or for academics whose proposed paper is on Asia but who are based in Australia, will have the cost of their travel and accommodation covered.

Don’t rely on luck: making the most of the FTA with Indonesia

This article was first published at The Interpreter, 18 April 2019.

The Australia Indonesia free trade agreement presents an opportunity to strengthen relations between the two countries, but is Australia ready?

Talks about a free trade agreement with Indonesia have been long standing, and the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was finally signed in March. This will open up new opportunities in terms of business, trade and education between Australia and Indonesia. More broadly, it is another step that could help strengthen Australia-Indonesia relations.

To make the most of these opportunities requires strong cultural understanding and solid language skills. This is sorely lacking in Australia. In fact, despite repeated warnings, the study of Indonesian language has been in steady decline for many years.

We pride ourselves in Australia on being the lucky country. One of the great opportunities we have is to high quality education. Yet over the past decade or so a number of Australian universities have in fact closed their Indonesian language programs. This is devastating and detrimental to efforts to strengthen Australia-Indonesia ties.

It is time to put Indonesian back on the priority list of languages to be studied. This should be a key priority of the next Australian government.

The benefits of multilingualism are profound and go far beyond mere economic arguments. We need to see our knowledge about Indonesia as critical to the quality and level of our engagement with the country.

Collaboration and partnership require mutual trust and understanding. Australia’s bilateral relationship with Indonesia could be strengthened by a significant investment in Indonesian language programs. We know that Australia still struggles to maintain a positive image and stable relations with Indonesia. Our collective lack of commitment to investing in language capabilities affects our relationships in the region.

Options for Australian students to study Indonesian in schools and universities are shrinking. Things have taken a particularly unlucky turn for the next generation in Australia, who are far less likely to have the opportunity to study an Asian language than in the past.

I was extremely lucky because as a student I had the opportunity to study Indonesian in high school. I also had the chance to visit Indonesia as part of my high school studies. This was a formative time and helped shape many of the future decisions I have made about my career.

I want the same opportunities I had for the next generation of students in Australia.

I was lucky enough to be accepted into the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP), a fantastic government sponsored initiative. This program enhances links between young people and is now in its 38th year. I studied at a university that offered advanced classes in Indonesian language. In contrast, some universities in recent years have closed their Indonesian language programs while others remain under threat.

I was also lucky enough to receive support as an undergraduate from my faculty to fund an internship with the Office of the Ombudsman in Yogyakarta as part of my degree. While later working as an Indonesian language primary school teacher, I also had the fortune to be funded by the Victorian state government to further my language studies in Indonesia.

And when undertaking post-graduate research, I was lucky enough to receive an Australian Government Endeavour Award to support my year-long PhD field research in Indonesia.

I am very aware that for the current generation of students, many of these opportunities are either shrinking or no longer exist.

I have since spent several years of my career outside of Australia. Coming back, it is disheartening to see the stagnation, and in some cases decline, in the study of Indonesian language. This seems ironic, given that we live in the Asian Century.

Of course, the problem starts with primary and high schools, many of which no longer teach Indonesian. New incentives are needed at this level so that students can start studying Indonesian early.

There is also the importance of creating the right incentives at university to encourage undergraduate students – particularly students in degrees like science and engineering – to take up a language.

The government’s New Colombo Plan is a fantastic initiative and has seen the expansion of valuable programs such as the Australian Consortium of In-Country Indonesian Studies. But short-term travel or study is absolutely no substitute for the long-term commitment required to learn a language.

In the process of learning a language, you learn as much about yourself and your own language as you do about the language you are learning.

Both countries – Indonesia and Australia – are soon to go to the polls. This means there is uncertainty ahead in relations between the Indonesian and Australian governments.

The free trade agreement requires the consent of the respective parliaments in Australia and in Indonesia. One step the next Australian government can take to strengthen Australia-Indonesia relations is to increase its commitment to the study of Indonesian

Why ASEAN Matters

On 4 April 2019, UNSW’s ASEAN Society student group is hosting its inaugural forum on “Why ASEAN Matters” at Kensington Campus, from 7:30pm. The UNSW ASEAN Society aims to create a platform for like-minded students from different South East Asian countries to come together and explore their shared culture, tradition and ideologies. Details on the event are available here.

Workshop: China’s Presence in Mainland Southeast Asia

Upcoming Event By the Association of Mainland Southeast Asia Scholars (AMSEAS).

The peoples of the mainland Southeast Asian countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, have a long history of relations with China. These relations covered the areas of trade, migration, religion and culture, and occasionally, conflict. The colonial period and the Cold War significantly disrupted contact between the two regions, but with China’s opening up and economic rise in the last 40 years relations have resumed arguably with greater intensity than at any time in recent history.

As China seeks to convert its economic power into further regional influence this workshop aims to provide a clearer picture of the current relationship between mainland Southeast Asian countries and China. It will also consider its significance at a time of growing geo-political tension in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Workshop will give particular attention to four broad themes:

  • security and shifting geopolitics in mainland Southeast Asia;
  • national politics, in particular how China’s authoritarian model is affecting political development in mainland Southeast Asian states;
  • economic and social change in mainland Southeast Asia, particularly in relation to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); and
  • Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence operations in mainland Southeast Asian countries.

This workshop is co-hosted by the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre and the Association of Mainland Southeast Asia Scholars (AMSEAS). 

Registrations at Eventbritehttps://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/chinas-presence-in-mainland-southeast-asia-today-tickets-59564858094

Women in Asia in an Era of Anti-Elitism

Registration for speakers at the Women in Asia conference 2019 is soon closing! Make sure you register before 20 April as a speaker for the event. 

Registration is available here: https://www.international.unsw.edu.au/women-in-asia-conference-2019

The Women in Asia conference is a biennial event run by the Women in Asia Forum of the Asian Studies Association of Australia. The University of New South Wales is hosting the 2019 conference.