3rd International Conference on International Relations and Development (ICIRD 2013)
“Beyond Borders: Building a Regional Commons in Southeast Asia”
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 22-23 August 2013
Co-organized by: Master of Arts in Development Studies Program, Chulalongkorn University; Faculty of Political Science, Thammasat University; Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Chiang Mai University; and Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University.
Call for Panel Proposals and Paper Abstracts – Submission Deadline 1st March 2013
Please send all submissions and inquiries to icird2013[atmark]icird.org
Further information on www.icird.org
Purpose
Southeast Asia is a region in rapid economic, social, political and cultural transition. Both state-led development and an increasingly liberalized market economy have characterized the region’s development trajectory. There also exists, however, a long tradition of sharing - and contesting - various “commons” between people, communities, and countries. These commons include the spheres of: the economy; the social and societal; nature and natural resources; culture and knowledge; and the digital domain. In Southeast Asia, perhaps the most well-known commons are the diverse forms of community cooperation over natural resources. The commons are not limited to this, however, and span the realm of the physical as well as the normative. In the region’s urban areas, for example, public spaces such as parks and universities are important places for peoples’ interaction and dialogue shaping various civic common values. Furthermore, at the regional level, governments attempt to cooperate through a deepening commitment to ASEAN, including in the economic, social, cultural, security and political spheres, which has the potential to either reinforce or undermine various commons across the region. In response, civil society has pushed for stronger regional common values, for example on political and civil rights, and addressing the social and environmental costs of economic growth.
A number of challenges persist in Southeast Asia of relevance to the commons. These include uneven economic development and governance across the region, political and social inequality, democratic deficits, unresolved ethnic conflicts, environmental degradation and enclosure of a range of natural resources, impacts from large-scale development projects, and human rights violations. By moving beyond the dichotomy of state-led or market-led development alone, the values, interests and institutions of the “commons” could offer transformative perspectives on development, international relations and human rights. It has been argued, for example, that a greater focus on the commons and their role in society can help enlarge freedoms, deepen democratic processes, strengthen political accountability, promote international cooperation, protect human rights, and ensure social and environmental justice.
