SEATIDE (Integration in Southeast Asia: Trajectories of Inclusion, Dynamics of Exclusion) is an EU FP7-funded project that will make use of a field research based approach to study processes of integration and exclusion in Southeast Asian (SEA) countries. Led by the Ecole francaise d’ Extreme-Orient (EFEO), it will benefit from the resources and expertise of major Asian Studies institutions in SEA and Europe, as well as the unique EFEO network of 10 field centres located in SEA.
- Main scientific objective
Integrative processes offer the promise of economic and cultural development, the free movement of people, the promotion of citizenship and knowledge networks with extensive links with the wider world. At the same time, failure to take advantage of these benefits can result in processes of exclusion that undermine national/regional frameworks, and entail risks in the fields of human development/security, including the danger of framework disintegration. In examining these processes, SEATIDE s research will be informed by an awareness that dynamics of exclusion should be studied in tandem with dynamics of inclusion to produce holistic analyses of integrative processes and their contemporary forms, which take into account long-term local perspectives.
- Research capacity building
By reinforcing European research on SEA, the project will contribute to the coordination of EU-ASEAN scholarly exchange, the improvement of networking capacity, and the promotion of a new generation of field researchers on SEA.
SEATIDE ’s Approach
Field research
The project will conduct field research and produce analyses that take into account local knowledge as well as macroeconomic studies and expert perspectives. Qualitative and quantitative data will be presented in case studies structured by a common analytical framework, centred on but not restricted to four SEA countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia), with a unifying focus on transnational issues.
Targets
Project outcomes will be disseminated and discussed with SEA specialists in Europe and Asia, community representatives and local stakeholders, as well as policymakers in both ASEAN and the EU. Overall research framework SEATIDE will implement four work packages (WP) on issues relating to diversity, prosperity, knowledge and security. The dissemination of research results will be the task of a separate WP designed to maximize the project’s impact through the encouragement of public debate on its results, which will be presented in country reports, journal publications, and conferences.
Project Work Packages
Diversity (WP2)
The University of Hamburg and the EFEO, in collaboration with the University of Tallinn, will examine whether and to what extent national integration can cope with regional diversity. The costs/benefits of nation-building will be analysed in the context of economic development, national culture, religion, citizenshi p rights, centralization processes, and competing nationalisms.
Prosperity (WP3)
The University of Milano-Bicocca and the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences will study voluntary and involuntary movements of people in SEA, notably cross border circulation, rural-urban migration, intranational and transnational labour migration, to assess their impact on the lives of individuals and groups. A gender perspective is fundamental to this set of studies.
Knowledge (WP4)
The Centre for History and Economics, Magdalene College, Cambridge, and Universiti Sains Malaysia will analyse the knowledge networks and interaction sites that connect and constitute this diverse region, and its links with the wider world. Specific attention is given to the past and present role of Europe in these knowledge systems.
Security(WP5)
The University of Gadjah Mada will evaluate political framework development at national and regional levels in SEA, including analysis of historical and contemporary crises that have given rise to new integrative structures and the cultural formations that distinguish the oeASEAN Way from EU-style integration.
Dissemination of results(WP6)
Chiang Mai University is in charge of communicating the project’s results through the organization of conferences, publications, press coverage and policy briefs. In addition to producing innovative research on Southeast Asia, SEATIDE aims at improving the dialogue# initiated in the EFEO’ s FP7 project